The AACC's Artist Showcase features works by students, faculty, staff and local artists. Themes of art exhibits have varied from international adoption, the environment and sustainability, fabrics and textiles of Asia, and traditional Chinese arts. If you are interested in having an art show at the AACC, please contact us at aacc@illinois.edu.
Winter Artist Showcase Opening Reception
Exhibit: In Between
Artist: Soyoung Jung
In Between features painting and collage works spanning from the early years of Jung’s practice to the present. The exhibition centers on the idea of “journey,” a recurring and defining theme in her work. These pieces metaphorically explore movement between “home” and the many places that have been “away,” capturing the quiet, persistent experience of crossing from one place into another.
Jung’s interest in urban environments—such as off-street alleys—is grounded in the Korean concept of 공간 (gong-gan). Often translated as “space,” gong-gan is understood in Korean culture as something shaped by relationships, boundaries, and lived experience.
In Jung’s work, space shifts from the physical to the psychological, becoming a site where emotional and relational dynamics unfold. Through this approach, viewers are invited to move beyond physical space and engage with deeper emotional and psychological experiences.
Date: Friday, February 6, 2026
Time: 5:00–6:30 PM
Location: Asian American Cultural Center, 1210 W. Nevada Street, Urbana, IL 61801
To view her work, please visit Urban Landscape | Artist Soyoung Jung.
Previous Showcases
Fall 2025 Exhibit - Katie Khau
Fall 2025 Exhibit - Katie Khau
Katie Khau is a visual artist and graphic designer based in Champaign, IL, where she designs museum exhibits for Taylor Studios and creates freelance art for board games. She serves on the board of CUDO and co-chairs the CUDO Plays board game design competition, fostering creative collaboration in her community.
Her portrait work features bold lines and vibrant colors, combining a strong sense of composition with expressive artistry. Focused on themes of identity and emotion, her work invites viewers to connect with the stories and feelings behind each piece. Katie approaches her art with curiosity and care, creating thoughtful and engaging visuals.
Exhibit - "Marks of Heritage"
This exhibition presents a series of portraits that reflect on Asian American identity and the layered experience of heritage, memory, and self-expression. At the center of the work is the human face and body, rendered as sites of both personal narrative and cultural connection.
Across the series, recurring motifs such as ceramic patterns and the practice of kintsugi appear as symbolic interventions. At times, these designs take the form of tattoo-like markings, evoking the permanence of history and the resilience carried forward through generations. Other portraits remain unadorned, their quiet presence emphasizing the individuality of each subject and the diversity within shared identity.
Rather than prescribing a single interpretation, the work embraces both fragility and strength, fracture and repair, ancestry and individuality. The juxtaposition of traditional references with contemporary portraiture underscores the ongoing dialogue between past and present, heritage and self-definition.
Through this visual language, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how identity is shaped not only by cultural inheritance but also by the lived, evolving experiences of being Asian American today. The portraits act as mirrors of belonging and difference, offering a space for recognition, reflection, and connection.
Join us for our Fall 2025 Artist Showcase Reception!
Date & Time: September 12, 2025 | 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Location: Asian American Cultural Center, 1210 W Nevada St, Urbana, IL 61801
Most recent exhibit
Waters of Asia (collaboration with Ascend Art 360) - Boneyard Arts Festival
April 4-May 7, 2025
Reception: Friday, April 4, 2025
3:00 pm-5:00 pm
Water - a life source of this planet - supports not only biological life but also affects the socio-cultural ethos of civilizations that evolved around water bodies. Cultures have therefore revered water through their rituals, folklores, and celebrations around waters of their lands. Water has been compared to Yin energy. It affects our emotions. It soothes and opens our heart, speaking to us if we can hear its language.
This exhibit aims to explore the deep relationship between waters and Asian diasporic peoples, connecting our diverse communities, stories, and cultures.
Featuring artists:
Cover picture Artist - Amitauja (Title - "constant")
Guest Artist- Dr Tam Dang Wei - Illustration Drawing (prints)
Guest Artist- Dr Ian Wang- paintings
Guest Artist- Suci- Photographs honouring UIUC Scientists
Guest display- Michelle Le- Book display on Vietnam stories
Guest artist- Mohan Tracy Water Poetry on textile & paper
AACC affiliates- Flordemia Conrad | watercolor painting
Collaborative affiliate- Kuldeepa VM- 'Misu' Paper mache
Ascend Art Collaborative- 'Water drops' mobile
Attendees of Art workshop- Watercolor painting
Participants from campus- mixed media
Nada Sweid- Designing Water drop
Special Kids' entry- Olivia Mahaffey- Chinese brush painting
Special Kids' entry- Khushboo M.- Designing Water drop
Special Kids' entry- Divija Som Designing Water drop
Image Credit
Artist - amitauja
Title - "constant"
Medium - watercolor, gouache
Description - This is the Hooghly River, a distributary of the holy Ganges River, in Kolkata, India. I took this picture. I remember this day. I remember being enamored by the clouds after a monsoon, all bunched and billowing and the sheer color of the water. I always find river and creeks where I'm most peaceful, having grown up catching frogs in the backyard woods of North Carolina. I find that again whenever I go to reconnect with India. Rivers are constant, which is something that resonates with me profoundly. Recognizing the beauty in that quiet persistence heals me and gives me the strength to continue the same way.
2020-2025 Exhibitions
2025
EKAH Artist Showcase
EKAH
January 31, 2025 - March 21, 2025
2024
amitauja archives
amitauja
October 25, 2024 - December 8, 2024
Food Landscape Exhibit
by Tracy Jen
Reception: Saturday, April 13, 2024
2-3:30 PM
2023
"Red Thread Reflections"
Curated by Callie Goering
February 27, 2023-May 5, 2023
2022
"Fabrics of India on the Silk Road"
In collaboration with Spirit of India and Ascending Art 360
August 15, 2022-September 30, 2022
2021
Inspired by Nature Art Show
In collaboration with Ascending Aesthetics
Artist Meet-and-Greet and Reception
Meet our guest artists and hear about their art pieces on display!
- Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021
- Time: 3:30-4:30 pm
2020
"Vaigyanik Bharat/Scientific India" - Celebrating Indian Independence Day 2020
In collaboration with Spirit of India.
Featuring artists: Dr. Chandramallika Basak, PhD, Aadya Joshi, Juhi Gupta and Tanmay Takle
2011-2019 Exhibitions
One Inch Behind - A B&W Photography Exhibition
Featuring works by Yahsin Chen, Yanyu Xiong, and Ziang Xiao
4 November - 20 December 2019
Co-presented by the Urbana Museum of Photography
Windows to the Past - Art Work by Siti Mariah Jackson
August 22-September 30
Reception: Monday, September 16
5:30 pm-7:00 pm
Intricate Treatment, Two Person Exhibition
Jihee Lee & Hyelin Park
July 15-August 2
Reception: July 16, 5pm-6pm
Breaking Barriers Art Exhibit - Boneyard Arts Festival
April 1-May 17, 2019
Reception: Thursday, April 4, 2019
5:30 pm-7:00 pm
Featuring artists: Siti Mariah Jackson, Hyeon Jeong Lee, Jihee Lee, Gayathri Menokee, Hyelin Park, AJ Poe, Nada Sweid, Mohan Tracy, Kuldeepa Vatak-Mehta, Huanyan Zhao & Vimin Zhao
Can you Judge An Asian By Its Cover?
The River Flows North
by Ryan Fang
November 1-December 22, 2018
Reception: Monday 6pm-7:30pm, Nov 26
Co-presented by the Urbana Museum of Photography
Fighting for Visibility
A Group Art Exhibit
April 3, 2018 - May 12, 2018
Drama of Black and White
Pen and Ink Drawings of Hua Nian
February 2nd, 2018 to March 30th, 2018
Exhibit Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm
Manzanar Art Exhibit
December 18, 2017 to January 31, 2018
Exhibiting Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm
An Artist Impression of UIUC and Champaign Urbana
June 10, 2017 - July 10, 2017
Opening Reception: Monday, June 19, 2017
4:30pm - 6:00pm
Artist Talk @ 5:00 pm
Between Reslism & Abstract Conceptualization
A Group Art Exhibition By Chinese Americans On Living Within Cultures
September 1, 2016 - November 30, 2016
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 8, 2016
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Artist Talk: 6:30pm
(En)Gendering Culture
A Dual-Site Exhibition of Collective Works
The Asian American Cultural Center invites you to
Living History: Our Stories from 70s to Now
August 24, 2015 - December, 1, 2015
Tenth Anniversary
Flower in the Mind
Artwork by Su Sen | Curated by Ian Wang
A Community of Immigrants
A Group Art Exhibit
Art Reception: November 6th, 2014
5:00 - 6:00 pm
Exhibit Dates: November 3, 2014 – January 30, 2015
Many Voices. Single Story. #WeAreIllinois
More student narratives at the Asian American Cultural Center's art exhibition: July 14 - October 17, 2014
#WeAreIllinois by the Intercultural Horizons Interns
this voice of mine
photography and artwork by Puja Patel
On display at the Asian American Cultural Center
January 29 - March 31, 2014
Child of the World
Paintings and Photography by Jessica Lee Rojas
November 5, 2013 - January 28, 2014
Opening Reception: November 7th, 2013 5-6:30pm
Exhibit Hours at the AACC: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm
What Do You Care About? An APA Voice Project
Be Seen. Be heard.
Art Exhibit by University of Illinois Student Leaders
August - November 2013
The Art of India: Through the Eyes of a Child
Artwork by Barkstall Elementary Students
November 5, 2012 - January 31, 2013
We are Project A.
We are Asian American Artists.
We are poised to start a Revolution*.
We are going to change the System*.
We have power and we will wield it justly.
We will have you join us**.
March - July 2012 -- Art Blank Activism: 10 Years of Project A
* Revolution and System TBD.
** So long as you self-identify as Asian American. If not, you can support us financially or mystically.
Drama of Black & White
Artist: Hua Nian
December 2011 - March 2012
From Chinese Literati Painting to American Modernism Abstract Expression
Artist: Guoliang Wu
August - December 2011
Asian American and Pacific Islander's Community of Mothers
Images of Motherhood as part of the Boneyard Arts Festival
Champaign-Urbana Asian and Asian American Artists
April - August 2011
ImaginAsian
Artist: Kate Agathon
January - April 2011
2006-2010 Exhibitions
Halmoni's Hanboks
Lena Domyung Choe
October - December 2010
Bridging
Jason Tran
June - October 2010
Celebrating Asian American Heritage Through Artas
Champaign-Urbana Asian and Asian American Artist
April - June 2010
Part of the Boneyard Arts Festival
Sharing with the World
Annie Rong, Wynee Bao, Andrea Bajcsy and Sergio Juan
February - April 2010
commUNITY
Photographer Kate Agathon & William Snyder
November 2009 - February 2010
Not Between But from the East and the West
Yunnan Art Institute, UIUC, and Parkland College
September - October 2009
Infusion
Rajni Shinghal
May - September 2009
"Through an Asian American Lens of Identity and Culture"
Community and Students
featuring mixed media works
April - May 2009
"Vague"
Sarah Seyoung Kim, BFA candidate
featuring mixed media works
April - May 2009
"Knotted Passion Box"
Hyon Joo Kim
featuring mixed media works
December 2008 - March 2009
"To the East"
Lei Zhang Shanbhag
featuring mixed media works
August - November 2008
"My Recollections of the Joy of Art Creation"
Hermia Soo
featuring mixed media works
May - July 2008
Art Exhibit featuring mixed media works
Saemi Yi, BFA candidate
April 2008
Asian American Women Art Show: "Reflections of Who I Am…”
Asian American Women (Community and Students)
featuring mixed media works
February - April 2008
"Devotion and Love in Islamic Art"
Intercultural Friendship Foundation
Student Organization
featuring mixed media works
November 2007 - February 2008
"Kut-Kut—The Lost Art of the Philippines."
Fred DeAsis, International Artist based in Chicago
August - November 2007
"Om. A Creative Goddess Vision's The Mother Essence"
Sujata Dey-Koontz, Champaign resident
featuring watercolors, colored pencil, mixed media works and photography
April - June 2007
"Journeys"
Umeeta Sadarangani, Champaign resident
featuring watercolors, mixed media works and photography
January - March 2007
"Siti's Diary"
Siti Mariah Jackson, UIUC MA 1988, Champaign resident
featured twenty watercolor paintings
September 2006 - January 2007
"Solo Exhibition of Trans-cultural Photography"
Yu Wang, UIUC Spurlock Museum Adjunct Associate Curator of the East Asian Gallery
featured nineteen photographs
May - September 2006
"Paper Tearing Art"
Hua Nian, Urbana resident
featured twelve pieces
March - May 2006
"Displace"
Dan Ma, UIUC MFA 2006
featured eleven photographs
January - March 2006
"Transformation"
Hyon Joo Kim, UofI MFA 1985, UofI Undergraduate Library Science Library Specialist
featured six drawings and four paintings
September - December 2005
"Reconstructing Korean Memory"
Areujana Sim, BFA candidate
April 16-27, 2007
"Rice, Chopsticks, and the Melting Pot: Asian American Restaurants in Chicago"
Presented as part of the Filipino American Coming Together Conference by the Philippine Student Association and the Columbia College of Chicago
October 2006
"Constructing the Middle Ground"
Jeannie Chang, Jessica Rubenacker, and Eunji Rhim
all UofI BFA candidates
May 2006