Our mission is to provide resources and support for the local Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander American community, and increase the visibility and representation of the Asian American diaspora in Evanston’s civic, cultural and community spaces through the arts.
Umbrella Arts Festival
The Umbrella Arts Festival is a celebration of Asian American history, culture and art. The umbrella symbolizes the Asian American diaspora which includes a diversity of ethnicities from over 40 Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries around the world, and is inclusive of the many intersections of identities that exist in our communities. The festival is free and for all ages!
Meet our MC!
Mia Park is a multi-dimensional, Korean American artist based in Chicago, IL. Mia’s upbeat energy fuels her multiverse of community engagement. She functions as a grassroots eco-system of projects that connect people as a taiji, yoga, and acting teacher, an actor, a producer, and as a Patient Care Tech in nursing school in Chicago.IL. Boundless enthusiasm binds them all.
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Highlights of advocating for Asian American representation include founding the non-profit arts group APIDA Arts, which produced the largest Asian, Pacific Island, Desi American arts festival in the Midwest; drumming in the female rock band, Kim; founding Our Perspective: Asian American Plays; producing Let Me Tell You: Stories of Asian American Authenticity; MCing ROAR Story Slam by KoreanAmericanStory.org; and producing an Asian American music series at Old Town School of Folk Music.
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Mia believes that with self-awareness, a life of purpose can be lived. Her passion for teaching taiji, meditation, and yoga is to support inner development and transformation. She co-owns the school Taiji in Chicago and is also in nursing school.
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As one of the first Asian American adjunct professors in The Theatre School at DePaul University and at Second City Chicago, Mia is committed to authentic representation by teaching with her whole self.