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Asian Fusion Art Exhibit incorporates a variety of visual and performing arts

Des Moines, Iowa (May 11, 2009)—Asian Artists living in Iowa will come together for a one-day "Happening" at the 2009 CelebrAsian Art Exhibit. Rarely seen in Iowa's art arena, this art form dates back to the late 1950's. A contemporary piece to be created and unveiled at the festival, Happenings emphasizes place/space with a spirit of anarchy and chance while blending art with the everyday.

In keeping with this year's festival theme, Join the CelebrAsian, this happening will fuse the work of three visual artists with dance, video projection and music. Through out the day, the creation of this collaborative installation will interact with performances in which festival goers may participate actively in the energy of creation or as members of the audience.

Iowa State University Graduate Student, Hiromi Okumura, Singaporean Aerosol and Street Artist, Kenny Toft and Iowa Scholastic Gold key winning artist, Alice Yang will be fusing their interwoven artwork with the dance group Poetic Rebound lead by Nicole Hussain Morford. Live music will orchestrate the creation process through out the day.

Curator
Dawn Martinez Oropeza This is Mrs. Oropeza's third year as the curator for the Asian Heritage Festival. She is an installation artist who graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago with a B.F.A and received her M.F.A from the University of California San Diego at La Jolla. She was the curator for Mexican Heritage Museum, San Jose, Cesar Chavez Foundation and Museum, California, she also has a permanent exhibit at the Guadalupe Center in Kansas City. Oropeza is the founder and curator for the Latino Arts Association in Des Moines, IA.

Artists
Alice Yang was born in ZhengZhou, China, and immigrated to Ames, Iowa, at the age of five. She became interested in art and drawing when she was a toddler and never stopped. Yang is a student at Valley High School and a current Scholastic Art Award recipient from the Belin-Blank Center at The University of Iowa.

Hiromi Okumura was born in Japan and has lived in Ames since 2005. She is a member of Golden Key International Honor Society and Magna Cum Laude National Honor Society. Other honors and awards include: (1) Selected as "Iowa Artists 2009" by EMC Insurance Company, Des Moines, in Spring 2009; (2)Will be showcased as Emerging Artist at the Des Moines Art Festival in June 2009; (3) Private and Corporate collections in Ames, Des Moines, Perry, Okoboji, California, Santa Fe, Chicago, and Seattle; (4)MFA thesis show at Gallery of the Design College at Iowa State University until May 28, 2009.

Kenny Toft An outsider artist, Toft was influenced by hip hop and graffiti from the West while immersed in Eurasian culture in Singapore.

Poetic Rebound Performance Company is a non-profit professional modern dance company based out of Iowa City. The company's emphasis is on community outreach and interdisciplinary performance art, with an eclectic and progressive repertoire. Nicole Hussain Morford holds a B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Iowa. She founded Poetic Rebound Performance Company in 2007 and currently serves as Artistic Director.

Muses
Linh Ta- Valley High School Poetry Out Loud State Finalist
Radion Music Experience led by Rick Dressler
Gateway Dance Theatre
DJ Kelix Williams with Leeman and GThomas