Lunar New Year

Growing up it was rare to see myself and my heritage represented in the media but in the past two years it has been so inspiring and beautiful to see so many AAPI creative voices emerge and to witness our community create work that is reflective of our lives, of our stories.

As Asian Americans who are continually navigating what it looks like to celebrate these time honored traditions in a modern age, we wanted to create imagery that both reflected our roots, but also our present.

There’s elements of nostalgia represented here as well, pieces of my own history: the mahjong set I grew up playing with, classic red Chinese bowls & spoons that we would only use for hot pot on colder days.

You’ll see a mix of both old and new represented. It’s one of the reasons we chose Woon as our backdrop for this shoot. Born from a desire to share their mother's original Chinese comfort food, Woon is a family-owned restaurant with an interior that blends a modern aesthetic with vintage Chinese decor.

“I finally felt understood and seen.”

There’s a power in seeing imagery that speaks to you personally — that resonates with your own lived experience, but also the experience of your community.

It’s the feeling of being seen. Of feeling connected to something bigger than yourself because of a shared tradition from our history, even though celebrated in different ways.

There’s something beautiful about that.

But as I’ve grown older, you realize that these moments together are a gift, and I’ve come to appreciate and value these traditions for the mere fact that it is an opportunity to remember and honor where we came from together, and hopefully it also includes a whole roast pig, and a lively game of mahjong.