Design and art direction for thirdspace Issue 5, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Spring 2026.
✨𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚✨ is an internal MACP publication that chronicles community, connection, and learning. This spring’s theme, creative resiliency, explores ways to meet the moment we’re in—through activities, reading, and reflections on what it means to bring our full selves both within and beyond formal roles.
This issue features gorgeous photography by @rebeccazenefskislater and stunning illustrations by @andresitoguzman , who will be illustrating the next two issues. Deep thanks to @kayeherranen and the entire MACP comms team, and to Enpointe for a beautiful print job.
The 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚 mural debuted at @capitolregionwatershed ‘s 𝙒𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙈𝙉 opening reception last Thursday. Thank you, CRWD, for the opportunity to share my creative process and reflect on my connection to water and caring for our watershed. I love the excitement captured on slide 4!
Special thanks to Sarah Peters, Anna Eleria, and Maricella Xiong who brought this opportunity my way. A heartfelt thank you @hawonawrites , for your stirring intro ahead of my talk. Your words are a salve, and you are a gift—thank you, friend!
The 𝙒𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙈𝙉 exhibit, featuring stories from 15 community members, is on view until June 14—learn more at the link in bio.
Five of my posters will be on sale this weekend (Sat, March 21) at the Interwoven Benefit Concert to help raise money for MN families impacted by 🧊 Please help share, attend, purchase a ticket at xiaarts.com/interwoven. Link in bio.
The campaign goal is to raise $30,000. Ticket sales, merchandise sales, and donations throughout our campaign will be shared directly with impacted families, community organizations, and advocacy groups.
Tickets are $20 (ages 14+) and open to the public. We invite all allies and neighbors, Hmong or not, to join us for a night of music, art, and community. Can’t come? Purchase a ticket to show your support anyway.
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Interwoven: A Tapestry of Resilience and Resistance Benefit Concert is organized by a collective of Hmong artists, organizers, and volunteers.
Thank you friends and family who helped review my Hmong!
Finally got my hands on the flowerscape txoj puam that I illustrated for @3drdcrafts . These limited edition scarves were gifted to 2025 McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer fellows last year, along with Third Daughter, Restless Daughter’s signature snarky cross stitched affirmations. Thanks again Wone and Youa, for the invite to collab!
Book Cover Design, Spectropolis by Josh Comaroff, University of MN Press, 2025
The photograph for this book cover features proxy commodities used to hedge financial risks—this paper money is often burned as spiritual offerings to ensure business ventures go well. The abstract and photoreal portions of the cover represent the dichotomy of a ghostly world and the real world. I added striping to the upper half of the photo to make it as if the luxury and buildings proxies were being beamed up to the spirit world. This effect also echoes the skyscrapers of Singapore.
Learn more about the book @ link in bio.
It’s come to my attention that many people think I don’t design anymore. I’ve been working on a bunch of different things, so I totally get it! I split my time between art, muraling, design, and community work. The truth is, these past few years, I’ve been working on not defining myself by my job title, so I don’t feel the need to post everything I work on. I’m much happier as a result. That’s not to say I don’t love what I do—because I absolutely do! Anyway, today I felt like sharing a recent design project I wrapped up in December.
A big thank you to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center for inviting me back to design the visual identity for their 2026-27 exhibition theme. I get to work with the chillest, most insightful, and collaborative curatorial and marketing team.
JMKAC’s In Tune exhibitions will explore, among many things, the idea that our collective well-being is linked. Through their work, artists will exhibit how harmony emerges through shared responsibility in moments of gathering, ceremony, protest, and satire. Each exhibition will highlight gestures of support and protection, presenting interdependence as a means of survival and thriving. I couldn’t think of a more apt theme for the times we are in.
The identity system I designed is anchored by a distinctive type treatment that deconstructs letters to create a repetitive pattern that vibrates outward. The pattern represents synchronicity and assembly, calling attention through a sensory and kinetic effect.
Visit jmkac.org/whats-on/exhibitions/ to see upcoming shows—link in bio.
Hmoob Txoj Phuam design explorations, 2025. Many thanks to @3drdcrafts for inviting me to be a part of your project.
Revisiting this project has me thinking of the deep cultural, spiritual, and social significance of scarves and headwear. They’re not just decorative, but essential parts of identity, heritage, and communication.
I carry pride in my Hmong heritage—a pride that lives in memory, tradition, and the way I wear and move through the world. Each time I wrap a scarf, I feel the hands of generations before me—women who wove, dyed, and stitched fabric with patience and care, transforming it into something more than clothing. For me, wearing a scarf is a small but powerful act of continuity, and a way of saying that I remember who I am, and where I come from.
In moments when fear and discrimination try to erase and divide us, turning back to our roots gives us grounding. It reconnects us to our ancestors’ endurance and reminds us that identity is something no border or policy can take away. I hold onto the hope that our love, our community, and our care for one another can MELT THE ICE of cruelty that surrounds us. I hope you all are taking care.
