UC Irvine faculty and Alumnus Awarded ARTnews 2024 Award for Best Thematic Museum Show

Scratching at the Moon exhibition is the first focused survey of Asian American artists in a major Los Angeles contemporary art museum

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) exhibition Scratching at the Moon has been awarded the ARTnews Award for Best Thematic Museum Show of 2024. Organized by artist Anna Sew Hoy and curator Anne Ellegood, the show includes contributions from UC Irvine’s Department of Art faculty Simon Leung, Bruce Yonemoto, Amanda Ross-Ho, Na Mira, late Professor Emerita Yong Soon Min and alumnus Young Chung '96. The exhibition was created in response to the rise in violence against Asian Americans during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores themes of immigration, intergenerational dynamics, environmental racism, and identity formation within the Asian diaspora.

Image: Bruce Yonemoto, Hanabi Fireworks, 1999, courtesy of the artist and O-Town House, Los Angeles. Photo by Jeff McLane.

Focusing on artistic production in Los Angeles, Scratching at the Moon examines the overlapping activities of Asian American artists who have significantly contributed to the city’s art world over the past two decades. The exhibition offers critical insights into the artistic networks and histories that shape Asian American contributions to contemporary art. Through a range of media — including video, installation, sculpture and photography — the installation explores the breadth and complexity of Asian American experiences.

Image: Na Mira, Hotel, 2024, from Dust series, 2022 — ongoing, courtesy the artist and Paul Soto, Los Angeles. Photo by Jeff McLane

Scratching at the Moon also highlights the diverse stories of the Asian diaspora, which are undeniably “American” stories that counter the extreme falsehoods implemented to further marginalize Asians of all backgrounds. Though the exhibition centers on the category of Asian American to redress the lack of representation, it also pulls apart that very category by honoring the diversity and multiplicity within it.

Image: Amanda Ross-Ho, Untitled Prop Archive (THE PORTFOLIO), 2024, courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York. Photo by Jeff McLane.

The acknowledgment by ARTnews amplifies the contributions of Asian American artists and reflects on each artist's roles as educators, activists and cultural producers. Scratching at the Moon addresses historical underrepresentation while creating thoughtful narratives on coalition building, collective memory and beings as a source of archive.

Image: Installation view, clockwise from left: Young Chung from Not By Birth series, 1996/2023. Yong Soon Min, Defining Moments, 1992. Yong Soon Min Springtimes of Castro and Kim, 2009, courtesy of the artists and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles, Mexico City. Photo by Jeff McLane.

For additional information about ARTnews, visit here.  To learn more about Scratching at the Moon, visit theicala.org.