SunAh M Laybourn – Memphis Flyer

When SunAh Laybourn founded Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month Memphis in 2023, she knew an art show would always be a part of the annual activities. After all, the 2022 removal, and eventual reinstallation, of photographer Tommy Kha’s Elvis-inspired portrait in the Memphis International Airport was just one of the events that got the University of Memphis professor thinking about Asian-American representation, and, sadly, anti-Asian hate, in Memphis.

For that first AAPI Heritage Month art show, Laybourn chose the title “Asian American in the South.” “That approach for me last year,” she says, “was really just making the statement that Asian Americans are in the shadows, but we’re part of the South, and so I love to be able to see all of the creativity from all the artists. It was really a lot about identity-making.”

This year’s show — “Between Heaven and Earth, We Build Our Home” — is an expansion of that. “The theme of the exhibition is about family and home and ancestry, kind of like how we communicate and pass down knowledge and wisdom and lessons from generation to generation,” says Neena Wang, the show’s curator. “The theme really just came out of the pieces that I [was sent]. Everybody was sending in work about family, about their relatives, about ancestry.”

Participating are Thandi Cai, Sai Clayton, Sharon Havelka, Vivian Havelka, John Lee, Christine Yerie Lee, Huifu Ma, Susan Mah, Lili Nacht, Yangbin Park, Neena Wang, and Yidan Zeng. All are AAPI individuals from Memphis or living in the South, whose art showcases a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, textile, photography, video, and performance.

Wang and Laybourn also point out that “Between Heaven and Earth” marks UrbanArt Commission’s first show by an outside organization. “I think what’s great about having this partnership with UrbanArt is that the show will be on view for a few weeks [through June 19th],” Laybourn says. “Last year was just one night only.”

“Between Heaven and Earth” opens on Saturday, May 25th, with a reception featuring a special performance by the MengCheng Collective (Cai, Nacht, Wang, and Zeng). Nacht and Zeng will also lead a free Raise Your Flag workshop on Sunday, May 26th, 2 to 5 p.m. “They’re going to do a cyanotype flag-making workshop,” Wang says. “The idea is making a flag as a representation of place because the theme of the show is very much about building your own place as an immigrant or as an outsider.” Participants can register in advance at bit.ly/mcraiseflag.

For more information on AAPI Heritage Month Memphis, presented by Google, visit aapiheritagemonthmemphis.com.

“Between Heaven and Earth, We Build Our Home” Opening reception, UrbanArt Commission, 422 North Cleveland, Saturday, May 25, 4-8 p.m.

In 1992, May was officially designated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) by the George H. W. Bush administration, but more than 30 years later, this May marks the first time Memphis celebrates AAPI Heritage Month in an official capacity, thanks to the work of SunAh M. Laybourn, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Memphis.

“I just didn’t want another AAPI Heritage Month to go by and for there to be nothing [in Memphis],” she says, especially after last year. “I was feeling sensitive with the rise of and attention to anti-Asian hate, and with it being the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shooting and then what happened with Tommy [Kha’s portrait being removed and reinstated] at the airport, it really just made me so upset. … Last year, I remember googling ‘AAPI Heritage Month list’ just to see if maybe I missed a news story, or maybe I missed some sort of celebration, but I couldn’t find anything. I’m seeing national celebrations where my Asian-American friends in other cities are having this great month of events, and there’s nothing here in the city that I love, in the city that is my home. And so I said, ‘I’ll do it.’”

For this first AAPI Heritage Month in May, Laybourn and community partners have planned a number of activities, including happy hours, screenings, book displays, and the upcoming “Asian American in the South” art exhibition, presented by Google. The exhibition will include artists Tommy Kha, Erin Kim Siao, Anna Cai, Shameka Carter, LiLi Nacht, Yidan Zeng, Sharon Havelka, Vivian Havelka, and Neena Wang.

The exhibition, throughout the planning of AAPI Heritage Month, was a priority for Laybourn, stemming from a conversation last year with Tommy Kha following the airport saga. “I was like, ‘We have to have an art show if nothing else.’ I felt like we needed more visibility of Asian-American artists — because it gives the opportunity for people to understand who Asian Americans are in the South.” After all, the art featured in this exhibition reflects a gamut of experiences, offering unique insights into the Asian-American community in the form of paintings, sculptures, videos, photography, and graphic illustrations. “Oftentimes we can have a limited view of other cultures and ethnicities,” Laybourn continues, “and, for me, when talking to the different artists, I said, ‘The theme of the show is Asian Americans in the South, and you can interpret that in any way you want.’”

In addition to perusing art, the first 100 guests will also enjoy a limited-edition, custom AAPI Heritage Month Phillip Ashley chocolate collection, and Inkwell will have themed cocktails available. Admission to the exhibition is free, but make sure to RSVP at aapiheritagemonthmemphis.com/events, where you can also find more information on other upcoming events.

“This is definitely just the start of creating community, not just in May, but throughout the year,” Laybourn says. “And Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month — that’s not just for Asian Americans — it’s for everyone.”

“Asian American in the South,” Museum of Science & History, Thursday, May 18, 6-9 p.m., free with rsvp.