This project was a labor of love, a physical embodiment of our collective attempt to come together after a devastating 2020-21 marked by a global pandemic and increased anti-Asian hate crimes culminating in the death of 8 people in Atlanta, 6 of whom were Asian women. We, the Korean American Artist Collective (KAAC), gathered 23 Korean American women to contribute artwork, essays, and poems in the spirit of JEONG (정), a Korean concept that roughly translates to connection and solidarity.
As Korean American artists, we believe in the power of art to heal, to inspire, to resist, to revolutionize. We hope this is the first of many collective efforts to create artwork in the service of hope and liberation. We dedicate this project to the following four organizations who continue to work tirelessly for our Asian American communities, and to whom all proceeds of the Jeong Project will go: Red Canary Song, AAPI Women Lead, Hanul Family Alliance, and NAKASEC.
We want to thank all of our Indiegogo donors whose support allowed us to produce this project and fundraise on behalf of the aforementioned organizations. We also want to thank the following brands, organizations, and individuals who generously supported us in various ways: Bridget Lewis of Delta Letterpress, Nathalie Roland of Yellow Owl Workshop, Ellen Lee of Nossi Bojagi, Yunice Kang of SANSO, Binu Binu Soap House, SAUNA, Poets & Writers, Alex Sujong Laughlin, and Courtney Ahn, who designed the Jeong Project identity system.
What follows is a curatorial essay by the tremendously talented and generous Hannah Bae, who also contributed artwork to the portfolio. Each portfolio contribution includes accompanying artwork information, short essays, and biographies of the artists and writers. This digital version includes all of the artwork from the Standard portfolio, along with three additional pieces from the Deluxe portfolio.
We want to thank all 23 of our contributors whose collective efforts have allowed us to produce this beautiful offering. We hope these works inspire and enrich you.
In JEONG,
Steph Rue and Dave Young Kim
KAAC Co-Founders
December 2021