Exhibition & Festival

Asia North 2026

May 1 – May 31

Various locations throughout the Station North Arts District, Baltimore, MD

Celebrate Baltimore’s Charles North – Station North – neighborhood’s constantly evolving identities as a Koreatown, arts district, and creative hub. Co-produced by Asian Arts & Culture Center and Central Baltimore Partnership.

Exhibition
Shoes at the Door
Guest curated by Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill
Friday, May 1-Sunday, May 31
SNF Parkway Theatre and Currency Studio
Parkway Gallery Hours: During Asia North and Parkway events at the Parkway
Currency Studio Gallery Hours: Thursday - Friday 1 - 5 pm; Saturday 12 - 3 pm

Every household is familiar with the pleasures and pains of hospitality. Hours of unseen preparation yield specialty dishes and spotless interiors for strangers and family alike. For many of us who are part of the APIMEDA (Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and Desi American) community, guests are not expected to do anything, but leave their shoes at the door. This simple act–rooted in respect and ritual–demonstrates the way in which hospitality creates space for communal exchange. Shoes at the Door brings together works by seventeen APIMEDA-identifying artists living in the greater Baltimore and DMV region whose artworks consider 

hospitality as a malleable practice shaped by diaspora, cultural tradition, inheritance, colonial commodification, and celebration.

The works in this exhibition capture the breadth and diversity of hospitality customs and notions of home through installation, ceramics, painting, sculpture, drawing, and textiles, displayed throughout Parkway Theatre and Currency Studio. Some of the featured artists engage explicitly with intergenerational practices associated with welcoming others into our homes, reimagining household objects that evoke familial gatherings and celebratory meals. While such works incite nostalgia and joy, they also excavate the gendered labor and colonial legacies that inform them. Select artists also offer meditations on hospitable conditions within our built and natural environments, gesturing to the complexities of diasporic placemaking. 

Shoes at the Door offers a nuanced glimpse of what it means to prioritize the care of others through acts of hospitality, which have the ability to both strengthen our ties to distant homelands and subvert cultural expectation. 

P.S. Unlike the title suggests, you will not be asked to take your shoes off at any point.

Featured Artists:

Hannah Atallah, Thea Canlas, Aishwariya Chandrasekar, Rosa Chang, Michelle Chen, Riya Devi-Ashby, Anna Divinagracia, Heejo Kim, Anthony Le, Nadia Nazar, Lynn Nguyen, Katherine Pon-Cooper, AX Qin, Artie Sadahiro, Julie Sayo, Asma Waheed, Amelie Wang.

Opening Event
Asia North 2026
Friday, May 1, 5-9 pm
SNF Parkway Theatre and Currency Studio

Celebrate the kick-off of Asia North 2026. Meet guest curator Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill and the artists featured in Shoes at the Door. Spend the evening getting energized through the sounds of Korean samulnori and Japanese taiko drums, being entranced by the exquisite art of Odissi dance, grooving to synth pop, and chilling out to indie-pop. Featuring performances from Han Pan Samulnori, Arpita Rakshit Sabud, Hello Fans, Plant Dad, and B’more Taiko. Savor dishes provided by the Baltimore Xiamen Sister City Committee. B’more Taiko performance sponsored by the Baltimore Kawasaki Sister City Committee. Performances curated and hosted by Kandi Wong.
 

Workshop
Born in Fire: Queer Asian Crafting 
Sunday, May 3, 3:30-5:30 pm
SNF Parkway Theatre
Hosted by: Hannah Shaw and Phyllis Zhu
Registration Required. Limited to 15 Spots.

The Year of the Fire Horse is here! What parts of you were shaped by passion or struggle and are ready to be expressed? Come collage, paint, and create with us in queer Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and Desi American (APIMEDA) community. Make your own mini canvas and/or add to a collective piece - supplies included. Snacks and refreshments will be provided by Blueprint Cafe!
 

Presentations + Discussion

The Korean Diaspora in Baltimore and Beyond

Tuesday, May 5. 5:30-7pm

Motor House

Students from Johns Hopkins University present their original research exploring Black-Korean relations in Baltimore, Korean transnational adoptees, the Korean diaspora in Ellicott City, and artists in the global Korean diaspora. Dinner will be provided. Hosted by the Critical Responses to Anti-Asian Violence (CRAAV) Initiative at Johns Hopkins University.

Curator Tour 
Art Walk W/Dylan K. Hill 
Friday, May 8, 5:30 pm 
Starting location: SNF Parkway Theatre

Join Dylan K Hill, curator of this year's Asia North exhibition Shoes at the Door for Station North's May 'Art Walk W/...'! Hill will give Station North Art Walk W/ participants a tour of the exhibition starting at the Parkway Theater and lead us to the opening of Katazomé at Gallery CA.
 

Discover + Dine
Asia North Kamayan Feast
Saturday, May 9, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre

PURCHASE TICKETS BY MAY 4: https://bit.ly/AsiaNorth2026-KamayanFeast-tickets
 

Experience Asia North's annual communal Filipino feast where food is artfully laid out atop banana leaves in the middle of long banquet tables. "Kamay" literally translates to "hand" in this traditional Filipino practice of eating with your hands.

Conversation
Love Has Never Been a Popular Movement 
Monday, May 11, 6 – 8 pm
Impact Hub

Explore the role and dynamics of heritage knowledge (a community’s group memory that enables a sense of belonging) across the Asian Diaspora. Interact with art, concepts and each other to practice ways to imagine futures with expanded notions of belonging and solidarity. Facilitated by Paul J. Koh (Towson University Professor of Education).  Refreshments provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group.
 

Interactive Performance

Sticky Stars and Sheets: A Spoken Word Play

Friday, May 15. 8 - 9:15 pm

Club Car

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1986362045349?aff=oddtdtcreator

Regie Cabico takes on queerphobia in the classrooms and the dive bars with poetic lyricism and self-effacing humor, and resilience. Cabico presents his signature performance of poetry and stories of Asian appropriation and the daily triggers he confronts from a multiverse that gets smaller stepping out of a pandemic and surviving dive bars, bathhouses, teen stalkers, as he tries to get his groove back.  

Regie Cabico: Writer & Performer

Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi: Director & Dramaturg

K-town Culture Day
The Past, Present, and Future of Baltimore Koreatown
Sunday, May 17.
4 - 4:30 pm: Walking Tour. Meet at SNF Parkway Theatre entrance
4:35 - 4:50 pm: Performances
5 - 6:30 pm: Panel Discussion. SNF Parkway Theatre.
6:30 - 7:30 pm: Reception
Free Registration Required 

Join our guides for a walking tour of the Charles North neighborhood’s historical Koreatown landmarks and favorite food spots. Then, join us for an exclusive panel discussion in the Parkway Theater about Baltimore Koreatown’s past, present, and future. Our moderator is Jacqueline Shin, National Register Assistant at the Maryland Historical Trust. Our participating panelists are Shauntee Daniels, Executive Director of the Baltimore National Heritage Area; Phaan Howng, co-leader of the project for preserving Baltimore Koreatown; Angela Ra, Communications and Strategic Policy Manager at the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Matthew Lee, Founder/President & CEO of the FASTech, Inc. & A-Tech Systems, Inc. and President of KoBE Government Contracting Alliance; Myung Hwa Shin, President of the Korean Culture & Art of Maryland and business owner in Baltimore City, and Tae Wan Kim, a business owner for 30 years in Baltimore City. We will have a reception following the discussion with free Korean food. This event is organized by the Baltimore Changwon Sister City Committee and a program of the 2026 Asia North Exhibition and Festival.
 

Discover + Dine

Makan Pakai Tangan: The Art of Eating with Your Hands

Monday, May 18.  6 - 8 p.m.
Motor House
PURCHASE REQUIRED $20 TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/makan-pakai-tangan-the-art-of-eating-with-your-hands-tickets-1987842048077

SPACE IS LIMITED TO 20 PARTICIPANTS

In this lecture-demonstration, participants will learn about the widespread tradition of eating with the hands, without the use of utensils, in maritime Southeast Asia. This geographical area, known since antiquity as Nusantara in the Javanese language, includes the modern nations of Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. Participants will get a “hands-on” opportunity to practice the art and etiquette of makan pakai tangan (eating with the hands) by sampling the Indonesian rice-based Nasi Tumpeng, a communal dish served and shared at special occasions.

Presented by Artharini (Artha Rini Indonesian Restaurant) and Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi (Towson University).

K-Movie Screening

Our Season 

Tuesday, May 19. 7-9 pm

SNF Parkway Theatre

REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/k-movie-screening-at-asia-notrh-our-season-tickets-1987700821665

A mother returns to the world for three days after her death to spend time with her daughter, sharing meals and heartfelt moments. Directed by Yook Sang-hyo, 2023. Hosted by the Korean Cultural Center, Washington, DC.

Generative Writing Workshop

Minute Monologues

Wednesday, May 20, 6 - 8pm

SNF Parkway Theatre

Registration is Encouraged: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/minute-monologues-tickets-1986831784351   

Limited to 20 participants.

Create and share 1-minute monologues inspired by the Shoes at the Door art exhibit at the SNF Parkway Theatre. In this workshop, participants will be invited to explore their imaginative responses to the artwork exhibited through a series of writing prompts to create original short monologues. Starting with a contemplation of the theme “hospitality” and its practice across cultural traditions, the workshop will culminate in a reading of the monologues generated over the course of the evening. Facilitated by Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi, Adjunct Professor in Towson University’s  Department of Theatre Arts.

Walk + Talkback

Queer Asian Artist Gallery Walk and Talkback

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asia-north-2026-queer-asian-gallery-walk-talkback-tickets-1986634089039

Thursday, May 21, 6 - 8pm

SNF Parkway Theatre

Join us for the Queer Asian Artist Gallery Walk and Talkback as part of the Asia North 2026 exhibition, Shoes at the Door.

This free event invites participants to reflect on how queerness and Asian identity intersect in our daily lives. Together, we will enjoy a gallery walk of the exhibition as shared experience, followed by a facilitated talkback and dialogue with several queer artists from the show: Riya Devi-Ashby, Anna Divinagracia, Katherine Pon-Cooper, and AX Qin.

The gathering is open to all, with a special invitation to those who identify as queer, APIMEDA, and/or part of diasporic communities. Come as you are - no prior art experience needed - and be a part of a collective exploration! Refreshments will be provided.

Closing Event
Asia North 2026
Wednesday, May 27. 5-9 pm
SNF Parkway Theatre

Celebrate the conclusion of Asia North 2026. Congratulate the artists featured in Shoes at the Door. Enjoy performances by Soul of Persia and the Sutradhar Institute of Dance. Conclude the evening with a selection of APIMEDA film shorts curated by filmmaker Zara Kahan. Performances curated by Kandi Wong. Hosted by Adrianna Morgan.

Location Info:

SNF Parkway Theatre, 5 W. North Ave
Currency Studio, 18 W. North Ave
Gallery CA, 40 E. Oliver St
Motor House, 120 W. North Ave
1718 N. Charles St
Impact Hub, 10 E. North Ave 
Club Car, 12 W. North Ave
Mobtown Ballroom & Cafe, 30 W. North Ave
Baltimore Improv Group, 1727 N. Charles St

Info: towson.edu/asianorth

Asia North 2026 is co-produced by TU Asian Arts & Culture Center and Central Baltimore Partnership.

Asia North 2026 partners and sponsors include Phaan Howng, SNF Parkway Theatre, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation,  William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Currency Studio, Citizens of Baltimore County, Maryland State Arts Council, Hiromitsu  Hubbard and Donna R. Omata, Korean Cultural Center Washington DC, TU-BTU Presidential Priority, Baltimore Changwon-Sister City Committee, Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, Neighborhood Housing Services, Baltimore Kawasaki Sister City Committee, NAAAP Baltimore, Impact Hub, Critical Responses to Anti-Asian Violence (CRAAV) Initiative at Johns Hopkins University,  Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group, Motor House, Club Car, Baltimore Improv Group, Blueprint Café, and Hayelin Choi.