Unapologetically Asian

Julia Kwon created this face mask using bojagi, a Korean style of patchwork. As a Korean American textile artist from Northern Virginia, her work explores notions of gender and identity. She made the Unapologetically Asian masks in response to anti-Asian racism and violence during the pandemic.

“I became deeply aware of how I may be misperceived not only as a perpetual foreigner, but, now during this pandemic, also as a carrier or cause of the COVID-19 virus. I felt tired and frustrated by the pressures to exist quietly and invisibly. So, I decided to create vibrant Korean patchwork face masks to unapologetically celebrate my ethnic identity.” —Julia Kwon

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022