Asian American Resource Center Exhibits

The AARC’s Community Art Exhibit Program displays artworks year round that celebrate the diverse and dynamic cultural heritage, history, identity and creativity of Asian American Pacific Islanders. Exhibits are displayed on a quarterly schedule.

Current/Upcoming Exhibits and Programs

Rooted: Central Texan Artists in the Asian Diaspora | May 3rd, 2025 – June 6th, 2025. Exhibit Reception: May 16th, 2025 6-9PM

This May, the AARC presents Rooted: Central Texan Artists in the Asian Diaspora, an exhibit showcasing twelve local artists in the Asian diaspora and their personal narratives and views on culture, community, and heritage. In fostering community and connection, Rooted aims to emphasize the importance of fostering collective support with and among Asians in the diaspora by encouraging viewers to be both compassionate and celebratory for their diverse diasporic experiences. RSVP to attend the exhibit reception on May 16th on Eventbrite (link).

Reflections: Patchworks of Asian America | May 3rd, 2025 – June 6th, 2025

Reflections: Patchworks of Asian America is an ongoing community quilt project highlighting the diverse artistic contributions of Austin’s intergenerational and Pan-Asian communities. This quilt represents how our community members are able to express their own unique identities without feeling the need to assimilate to fit a homogenized notion of what it means to be Asian American in Austin. Reflections: Patchworks of Asian America will be displayed at the AARC in the secured display cases.

Permanent and Semi-Permanent Installations

Lotus

Lotus by Sunyong Chung and Philippe Klinefelter, 2013
granite, handmade ceramic tiles

Lotus is a large site specific sculpture created by Art in Public Places commissioned artists Sunyong Chung and Philippe Klinefelter for the Asian American Resource Center (AARC), and is located in the entrance plaza overlooking heritage live oaks.

Chung created an intricate and lively 12’ diameter mosaic of a lotus, made of hand-colored and hand-crafted dimensional tiles, which Klinefelter surrounded with seven 9’ tall hand-carved granite “petals” gracefully reaching toward the sky. Klinefelter also carved the lotus’s seed pod at the center of the mosaic from granite, which doubles as a gently flowing fountain. According to feng shui principles, the placement of the fountain near the AARC entrance creates positive chi, or energy, for the building. The lotus, native to Asia, was chosen as inspiration for the sculpture because of its symbolic attributes of harmony, purification and healing.

Prayer Phone

Prayer Phone | Semi-Permanent Art Installation

Prayer Phone, a handmade altar with a disconnected phone, is an invitation to the public to “call” their deceased loved ones while giving offerings and prayers. This project reflects a common custom of many Asian traditions: commemorating ancestors and venerating the spirit world.

Two essential elements compose this installation. The old fashioned phone is a symbolic artifact that represents humanity’s desire to connect and communicate with others. Its historic form evokes passage of time. By contrast, the spiritual act of lighting incense symbolizes the following: sacredness when the element of air is ignited, purification of the environment’s energy, and blessings in return for offerings. These two elements combine to help connect the earthly to the heavens.

This project is inspired by an episode of This American Life featuring stories about Telephone of the Wind in Otsuchi Town, a small seaside town in northeastern Japan. An iconic English telephone phone booth connected to nowhere was repurposed, and people began “calling” family members lost during the tsunami caused by the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake. Telephone of the Wind became a public space for people to grieve for their lost loved ones. In response, Prayer Phone shares in the deep tradition of respecting spirits and coexisting with entities beyond the physical realm, as well as providing a physical space and an outlet to feel connected with the departed.

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