Art is a form of expression. It’s a great way for people to connect and learn about someone or something new. With that in mind, an art gallery has been displaying a special art exhibit in honor of the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month and is celebrating the diversity and contributions of the Asian American community to the American society and history.

“We have our own unique values that everyone should try to understand and appreciate,” said artist Andrew Kwok. 

Artists like Kwok and LO Pador Luce feel that they are still a work in progress.

“My family is from the Philippines, ancestrally,” Luce said. “And every time I go back, I’m like, Am I Filipino enough? And then sometimes when I’m here and I don’t understand, like the culture norms in America, because I wasn’t taught that way,  I feel like, do I belong here at the same time?”

Breaking the traditional norm, both artists are a part of the ongoing AAPI Heritage Month gallery at the Albany Center Gallery. The art exhibit is titled “threads” and is a partnership with the organization AAPI Heritage Month 518.

“The artwork is ranging from mixed media, from collage, photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, work [and] installation,” Albany Center Gallery executive director Tony Iadicicco said. “Threads is the idea of connecting the work and connecting the artists and community together.”

Kwok says that the month also highlights the challenges faced by this community on a taboo subject.

“Asian culture kind of shuns mental health in a way where it’s overlooked and not really considered,” Kwok said. “Something like a broken arm or something like that. And I think it’s important that Asian Americans know, and really anyone know, that it’s OK to express. It’s OK to go through mental health struggles.”

He is using his art piece to convey this message. Andrew hopes that through this other Asian Americans can reflect on their identity and perhaps try and figure out where they belong, just like him and LO.

“We all bring in different cultures,” Kwok said. “No matter what our backgrounds are. And I think the ability to understand, the ability to translate, it’s beautiful.”

“I hope that people get to see the pain, the hope, the love that’s in our cultures,” Luce said. “There are so many things that you can learn from by just looking at each piece and just start conversation.”