The Central Baltimore Partnership (CBP) and the Asian Arts & Culture Center (AA&CC) at Towson University are proud to announce the 7^th Annual Asia North Exhibition and Festival, which will offer an array of programming throughout locations in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District, May 2-31. The festival honors the rich history of the Charles North neighborhood, once home to a thriving Koreatown, and celebrates the continued diversity and cultural richness of the area.

In addition to art exhibitions, creative performances and gatherings, walking tours, and food tastings, this year’s festival will feature EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS, a boundary-pushing exhibition guest-curated by Baltimore-based Taiwanese American artist Phaan Howng with Nerissa Paglinauan. The exhibition will highlight the work of 25 APIMEDA (Asian Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and Desi-American) artists for the year 2025. Howng’s exhibition will be Asia North’s most ambitious yet, taking over more than 15,000 square feet of space in the Historic North Avenue Market and Motor House and aiming to challenge preconceptions of AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) art during AAPI Heritage Month. It offers a dynamic exploration of Asian identity through humor, visual appeal, and unconventional artworks.

“I’ve always wanted to challenge the typical, identity-heavy and stereotypical artwork often seen at AAPI Heritage Month exhibitions,” said Phaan Howng. “When invited to be the guest curator for this year’s Asia North exhibition, I was excited to showcase talented Baltimore and DMV artists whose works are fun, visually engaging, and cleverly humorous, pushing against both Western orientalist views and cultural preconceptions within our own communities. I also wanted to highlight Baltimore’s impressive APIMEDA artists and their contributions to the local art scene, which many may not be aware of.”

New this year, the Asia North exhibition footprint will expand to include the activation of two vacant spaces, new multimedia and video artworks, and an ambitious wayfinding program to bring Asia North to the public realm along North Avenue.