About KAAC

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The Korean American Artist Collective (KAAC) was born during the pandemic out of an urgent need for community and representation. As the world retreated into isolation, Korean American artists found themselves navigating not only the challenges of lockdown but also a rising tide of anti-Asian violence and erasure. In response, KAAC emerged as a vital space for connection, solidarity, and creative expression—a gathering place for artists who had long been seeking to tell their stories on their own terms.

The collective's mission is to provide resources and opportunities for Korean American artists to collaborate and tell their stories, presenting the Korean American experience in all of its complexity and diversity. This is not a monolithic narrative but rather a mosaic of voices shaped by immigration, assimilation, resistance, and resilience. By building solidarity with and providing support for Korean American artists, KAAC works toward a more just and liberatory future—one where Korean American perspectives are not footnotes but central to the cultural conversation.

Co-founded by Los Angeles-born artist and muralist Dave Young Kim, KAAC carries forward a legacy of activism and resistance that spans generations. Kim is a direct descendant of independence activist Yu Gwan-sun—his great-great-grandfather was her father's brother—connecting his work to Korea's struggle for liberation and self-determination. Yu Gwan-sun, a teenage activist who participated in the March 1st Movement of 1919 against Japanese colonial rule, became a martyr for Korean independence. She died in prison at the age of 17, her body broken by torture but her spirit unbroken. This lineage of courage and defiance runs through Kim's practice and through KAAC's collective vision, reminding us that the work of liberation is never finished—it is passed down, reinterpreted, and carried forward by each new generation.