- Credibility:
BRIDGEPORT — An art exhibition featuring Asian American artists from Chicago and the Midwest will open for the first time in person Saturday.
“SLAYSIAN 2.0” will celebrate the work of 22 artists from various backgrounds and ethnicities. The exhibition will include photography, sculptures, woodwork and more.
The opening reception — which will include drinks from nearby Marz Community Brewing and a live DJ — will be held 6-9 p.m. Saturday at Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St.
The gallery will be open 4-7 p.m. Fridays and 2-5 p.m. Saturdays until Jan. 15. It will be closed during holidays and Dec. 10-11.
The reception and the exhibit are free and open to the public. Visitors must wear a mask at all times and provide proof of vaccination, according to the event website.
“SLAYSIAN” was originally scheduled to open at Co-Prosperity on March 20, 2020, about the same time when Illinois’ stay at home order started because of the pandemic. Jenny Lam, “SLAYSIAN” creator and independent artist, decided to indefinitely postpone the in-person exhibition.
Later that spring, Lam launched the exhibit online, with photos or audio of artists’ work and a short description of each. The free digital exhibition is still available for viewing.
More than two years later, many of the artists — some of whom have never participated in an exhibition before — will now have the opportunity to show new work created during the pandemic at “SLAYSIAN 2.0.”
The name of the exhibition, which is a combination of the words “slay” and “Asian,” is representative of what the exhibition is all about. “SLAYSIAN 2.0” centers Asian American artists and underscores that “simply being and creating were enough,” Lam wrote on her website.
Participating artists:
- Aimy Tien
- Alex Belardo Kostiw
- Caroline Liu
- Charlene Moy
- Chris Gallevo
- Dao Nguyen
- James Gu
- Julius Dizon-Cruz Bautista
- Justin Suico
- Kaitlyn Hwang
- Kristin Anahit Cass
- Muriel Christensen
- Nini Hawes
- Priscilla Huang
- Richard Gessert
- Robert Apolinar
- Sam Riesmeyer
- Sophie Pokorny
- Stafford Smith
- Susie Xiong (InsomniaBird)
- Vivian Le
- Yuqing Zhu
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