Created in 1992, AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month celebrates the immense culture and history fostered in the AAPI community. AAPI media has long-since been embedded into our culture and society, yet AAPI artists often face stigmatization and microaggression in their work, when it deviates from the traditional ‘Asian ideal’. Thus, it is only by allowing Asian artists to express their heritage genuinely and candidly that true representation may be achieved.

We’ve seen this before—especially during the COVID era, where AAPI artists used their work as a way to advocate for themselves—to respond to stereotypes by embracing and taking pride in their backgrounds through artistic and creative expression. We hope to further promote the work of Asian artists, to dig below the Europeanized perceptions that have embodied the popularity of most Asian media, and to help our communities explore every facet of their Asian identities—the daylights, the dinners, the changes, the different phases of each moon.