WHAT: Virtual exhibition and artist talk
WHO: Illustrator and author Robin Ha
WHEN: Release: March 5 at 6:00 p.m. | On View: March 5 - 22
The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly announces K-Art at Home: Robin Ha, a new virtual exhibition and artist talk featuring art from two illustrated graphic novels by Korean American artist Robin Ha, who uniquely explores her cultural heritage and process of adaptation on a journey of finding her identity.
Set to release March 5 on KCCDC social media video platforms, K-Art at Home: Robin Ha features highlighted scenes from two of Ha's original and vivid graphic novels: Cook Korean! and Almost American Girl, plus a recorded talk by the artist offering an inside look at her creative themes, processes, and inspirations.
Cook Korean! (2016) is a unique combination of a Korean cookbook containing 64 recipes and a light graphic novel, presented through the medium of colorful and playful comics that weave together a culinary story. In this New York Times bestseller, Ha richly illustrates the creation of popular Korean daily cuisine, including kimchi (fermented vegetables), bulgogi (grilled meats) and gimbap (rolled seaweed sheets and rice), in her own colorful and humorous way. By design, readers can easily understand the ingredients and cooking processes in order to adapt the recipes for their own homes.
Almost American Girl (2020) is a graphic novel memoir about Ha's life transition from Korea to America and the struggle to find a new identity amid a sea of cultural change. Ha shares not only her personal experiences, including the bond between mother and daughter, but insights into how she navigated a new landscape of cultural diversity in search of her ethnic identity as Korean American. Almost American Girl was selected as a Walter Honor Book by the Walter Awards in 2021.
K-Art at Home: Robin Ha presents one artist's vivid encounters with the abundance of cultural diversity that defines everyday American life. Using her creative process as a meditative and expressive medium for this journey, Ha invites viewers to glimpse inside her own distinct cultural identity as a Korean American artist.
K-Art at Home: Robin Ha releases on March 5 at 6:00 p.m. with artist talk video on the KCCDC YouTube channel (@Koreaculturedc) and on IGTV (@Koreaculturedc).
About the Artist
Robin Ha (She/her) is a Korean American cartoonist based in Washington DC. She is the author and the illustrator of Almost American Girl, a 2021 Walter Award honoree memoir, and Cook Korean!: A Comic Book With Recipes, a New York Times bestselling cookbook graphic novel. Robin Ha grew up reading and drawing comics in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States at age fourteen. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she moved to New York City and worked in the fashion industry for several years before diving into comics. Her work has been published in independent comic anthologies as well as in the pages of Marvel Comics and Heavy Metal Magazine. She is currently working on her third graphic novel inspired by the Korean folklore of Gumiho. For more, information please visit the artist’s website.
Artist Statement
Robin Ha has been an avid reader of comics since she was introduced to them by her mother as a young girl in South Korea. She shares her interests in food, art, travel and storytelling with the world through comics. Her first two graphic novels, Cook Korean!: A Comic Book With Recipes, and Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir reflect her background as a Korean American immigrant. She strives to make comics that are entertaining and also empowering the readers to become more accepting of themselves and others.