Asian Improv aRts Midwest

Asian Improv aRts Midwest Arts Initiative Program is thrilled to announce the debut of Nancy Wong (@nancywongphotography)’s ongoing portrait series Noble at Hairpin Arts Center. Featuring photographs of Asian Americans from the Midwest, Noble will be on view from 5/19 – 6/1. The exhibition will open with a reception on 5/19 from 7-9 pm.

Noble is an ongoing portrait series by Chicago-based photographer Nancy Wong. The series seeks to build a diverse, multigenerational archive of contemporary Asian America through portraits of its constituents. Each image acts as a visual acknowledgement of the vast and varied stories – the dreams, the fears, and everything in between – that constitute the Asian American community. Wong’s subjects are invited to select the clothing in which they are photographed, and to bring an object of significance to their Asian American identity to be photographed with as well.

In this way, Noble uses the genre of portraiture – a genre often used to affirm and record one’s place in history – as a tool with which to interrogate the historical invisibilization and marginalization of Asian Americans. The series serves as a platform for this community to be seen and heard on their own terms, issuing a challenge to systems of xenophobia, anti-immigration rhetoric, and racial violence that loom large today.

The Hairpin Arts Center (2810 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618) is open Mondays from 5-8 pm and Wednesdays from 5-11 pm, by appointment only. Please contact hello@hairpinartscenter.org to schedule a viewing.