Announcing 2026 Grant Awardees

Announcing 2026 Grant Cycle Awardees 

May 13, 2026 

The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) is proud to announce our 2026 Grant Cycle awardees. Through the exchange of artists and scholars, ACC is investing in a vision for the future: one built on mutual understanding and deep respect through the arts and culture that express our societies’ collective ideas, values, and hopes. 

These grants will enable artists, scholars, and arts professionals from Afghanistan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam to connect with their peers in other cultures. 

New York Fellowship 
 
Over six months, a diverse cohort of artists, scholars, and arts professionals from Asia can live in the U.S. and spend time learning and exploring a new cultural landscape. This rare pause from daily life and work—shared with peers across disciplines—offers space for reflection, exploration, and meaningful exchange, free from the pressure to produce or present new work. 

  

Riki BENEDICTO, Theater Director | Theater | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To investigate process-led and collaborative practices among independent, conceptual, and experimental theater-makers. Benedicto will immerse himself in artist-run spaces and collectives whose work expands authorship, reimagines performance-making, and develops new work. Through rehearsals, classes, and conversations with directors, performers, designers, and artistic leaders, he will observe how ideas, collaborative methods, and emerging concepts take form within an evolving creative relationship. Following the fellowship, Benedicto plans to contribute to a more connected and critically engaged network across the regions where he is actively working.  

Follow Riki BENEDICTO: Instagram 

 

 

 

Gargi BHARADWAJ | Theater | India → United States 

Grant Summary: To study the work of independent women theater makers in New York engaged in solo theater productions. Baradwaj will identify and engage with women solo performers, including those from the Indian diasporic community, to understand performance practices that facilitate experimental and intuitive play as well as the economics of solo work, its affective and labor dimensions, and the shifting networks through which this form circulates. In addition to these conversations, Baradwaj will observe performances, visit venues, and conduct archival research into curatorial practices and models of patronage. As a performance scholar whose work is informed by cultural policy, she hopes to articulate an alternate cross-cultural genealogy of women solo performers whose work responds to today’s ecological, financial, political and democratic crises. 

 

 

 

Yen Tzu CHANG | Visual Art | Taiwan → United States 
ACC Chen-Yung Foundation Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To explore advanced sound synthesis techniques, AI applications in sound creation, and connections between ecology and sound art. Chang’s fellowship will focus on exchanges with peer professionals, immersion in New York’s sound art scene, and fieldwork documenting urban soundscapes. She aims to meet with sound artists, curators, and art and technology institutions to better understand how New York’s artists create in such a diverse, urbanized environment, the issues they address, and how sound artists intervene in public spaces. Engaging with biologists and environmental researchers and documenting local soundscapes, Chang seeks to explore urban animal conditions and sound as ecological documentation. She hopes the fellowship will yield new perspectives for her practice, bring Taiwanese ecological concerns and sonic aesthetics into global dialogue, and foster cross-border connections. 

Follow Yen Tzu CHANG: Website | Instagram 

 

Ihot Sinlay CIHEK | Theater | Taiwan → United States 

Grant Summary: To examine the dramaturgy of identity in New York’s theater ecosystem. Ihot Sinlay Cihek proposes a fellowship focused on dismantling and reimagining the dramaturgy of equitable collaboration between indigenous and settler artists within a globalized creative environment. Over the six-month fellowship, she will conduct institutional research, visit vanguard experimental venues, and engage in dialogues with playwrights, directors, and dramaturgs whose work actively navigates complex racial and ethnic politics. Ihot Sinlay Cihek hopes the fellowship will help her develop a transnational comparative framework for future decolonial theatre-making while at the same time seeding a vital, reciprocal knowledge transfer between Taiwan’s Indigenous performing arts community and New York’s vanguard theatre scene, establishing new global models for creative alliance.  

Follow Ihot Sinlay CIHEK: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Abhishek GOSWAMI | Theater | India → United States 

Grant Summary: To explore how pedagogical drama informs educators’ professional development and creative learning in schools. Goswami will engage with institutions and practitioners in New York who employ drama as a transformative pedagogical tool, including Lincoln Center Education, New York University’s Program in Educational Theatre, and The New Victory Theater, as well as community-based art educators working in diverse cultural and socio-economic contexts. Through exchanges with these institutions and communities, Goswami will study how drama processes, including role play, image theatre, and ensemble building, can help teachers develop creative confidence, critical thinking, and emotional literacy. He further hopes to share insights from his own work and experience in India, where theater has been used to empower teachers and youth in multilingual, multicultural environments. 

Follow Abhishek GOSWAMI: Instagram 

 

Saori HALA | Dance | Japan → United States Photo by Nanako Kobayashi 
ACC / Saison Foundation Fellow 

Grant Summary: To investigate the history of bodily performance in New York, the relationship between art and entertainment, and their impact on postwar Japan. Through archival research at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Kitchen, and MoMA, Hala will trace a lineage from 1960s postmodern dance to interdisciplinary practices since the 2000s. She will examine how bodily performance is valued within the contexts of art and entertainment, and reconsider the history of the American entertainment industry and its influence on postwar Asia in relation to current U.S.–Japan dynamics. She will also explore artist-led initiatives and platforms and models of cross-disciplinary cultural transmission, applying these insights to her platform for performing artists in Japan. 

Follow Saori HALA: Website | Instagram 

 

 

LIU Tian | Curation | China (Mainland) → United States 
Désirée & Hans Michael Jebsen Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research curatorial education practices as a form of social imagination and cultural mediation to rethink and reform current contemporary art curricula. Through site visits, archival study, and structured conversations with curators, educators, program directors, and artist-organizers, Liu will examine diverse approaches to curatorial education. He hopes to gain a better understanding of how curatorial studies programs in the U.S. structure their curricula, select faculty, and articulate their methodological frameworks. He also aims to expand his understanding of New York’s broader art ecology and thereby grasp the contexts in which curatorial and educational work take place. Liu hopes the fellowship will yield opportunities for future academic collaborations and continued cultural dialogue with counterparts in the U.S. after returning to China. 

Follow LIU Tian: Website 

 

 

Rafa LUBIGAN | Arts Administration | Philippines → United States Photo by JL Javier 

Grant Summary: To gain firsthand insight into current stage management practices through workshops, rehearsals, mentorships, and exchanges. Lubigan will explore innovative approaches to stage management, blending traditional management practices with emerging methodologies in operational design, technology integration, and sustainable production systems. He aims to deepen his professional practice, engage in meaningful knowledge exchange, and adapt and localize the methods he observes to the Philippine context, translating them into sustainable, collaborative frameworks that strengthen local stage management communities. 

Follow Rafa LUBIGAN: Website | Instagram 

  

 

 

Nakrob MOONMANAS| Visual Art | Thailand → United States 

Grant Summary: To explore international constructions of Thai identity and the lived experiences of Thai diasporic communities through researching Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins brought to the U.S. from Siam in the 18th century. Moonmanas believes the Bunker brothers reflect an early history of displacement and Siam-U.S. cross-cultural encounters and raise deep questions about memory, migration, and the formation of identity. Through archival research and interviews with the twins’ descendants, he hopes to understand how their story has been remembered, interpreted, and connected to broader narratives of Thai diasporic experiences. Meeting members of New York’s Thai community, especially arts and culture professionals, as well as scholars and artists who work on Southeast Asian history and contemporary art will further enhance his research and international networks. 

Follow Nakrob MOONMANAS: Website | Instagram 

 

Riza A ROMERO | Conservation | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To benchmark art conservation degree programs in New York and the U.S. through observation, events, and dialogues. Over the course of her six-month fellowship, Romero will observe training and service delivery at the Metropolitan Museum, attend MoMA conservation events, and build ties with conservation experts, gaining and exchanging knowledge and ideas related to conservation curriculum design, pedagogy, and facilities. Her primary objective is to help develop a robust, internationally competitive art conservation program in the Philippines, addressing the critical lack of formal training in the field. 

Follow Riza A ROMERO: Website 

 

 

 

Luis Antonio SANTOS | Visual Art | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To explore traditional printmaking and emerging image-making technologies while engaging with museums, artist-run spaces, and small organizations. Santos will visit print studios, archives, libraries, and institutions that support printmaking practices, such as the International Center of Photography and Printed Matter, as well as attend exhibitions, open studios, talks, and public programs that reflect New York’s diverse and evolving approaches to art-making. He aims to understand how artists sustain their practice across contexts and evolving communities and Santos hopes to return to the Philippines with clearer direction and insights to share with his community. 

Follow Luis Antonio SANTOS: Website | Instagram 

 

 

 

TAKIDO Dorita | Visual Art | Japan → United States 

Grant Summary: To research interconnected environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, and practices of environmental care and coexistence in New York. Takido will conduct research through dialogues, interviews, and visits with communities that connect nature and art, including museums, community gardens, urban agriculture, bio-labs, and environmentally oriented art projects, while participating in citizen-led initiatives that pursue holistic approaches to ecology and sustainability. Through conversations with artists, researchers, local residents, and participants in educational programs, she will examine the structures of these practices and modes of access, and reflect on them in relation to the situation in Japan. 

Follow TAKIDO Dorita: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Otniel TASMAN | Dance | Indonesia → United States 

Grant Summary: To deepen his artistic and intellectual understanding through direct encounters with various practices, performances, and archives related to the body, gender, and spirituality. Tasman will explore the historicity of the body and aesthetic difference through archival research, interviews, and performance observations, focusing on the Lengger traditional dance and queer performance. Through these experiences, Tasman aims to expand his understanding of how the body carries both history and possibility and how performance can act as a site of transformation for spirituality, queerness, and aesthetics. The fellowship will provide contemplative space and critical distance necessary for Tasman to reflect on his ongoing research and to reframe his practice within a broader cross-cultural and philosophical context. 

Follow Otniel TASMAN: Website | Instagram 

 

 

TSAI Jia-Hong | Crafts | Taiwan → United States 

Grant Summary: To conduct research on prehistoric figurines, mother-goddess imagery, and feminist symbolism within historical and contemporary art contexts, whilst exploring the relationship between ceramic practice and experiences of personal trauma. Tsai plans to visit institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History, gathering and organizing materials through observation, sketching, and photographic documentation, in order to examine how artifacts embody both sacred and secular meanings. She will also visit art therapy-related organizations to observe how craft practices may serve as a connection between the body and emotional responses. Tsai aims to integrate these cultural exchange learnings into her future ceramic practice. 

Follow TSAI Jia-Hong: Website | Instagram 

 

 

WANG Qizheng | Dance | China (Mainland) → United States 
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To conduct targeted research in choreography with the aim of building a framework for stage arts that responds to contemporary societal issues. Wang, who is a deputy director of the renowned Shanghai Dance Theater, will immerse himself in New York’s diverse cultural environment and expand his artistic vocabulary through visits to theaters, museums, archives, and cultural institutions, as well as by attending workshops and interdisciplinary discussions. He will connect with artists, scholars, and curators from various fields to exchange perspectives on choreography, performance, and cross-disciplinary creation, to better understand how artistic languages merge in practice. Wang hopes this experience will build an open, cross-disciplinary mindset that strengthens his creative practice and theoretical research, and that the fellowship will foster cross-cultural dialogue that contributes to the broader development of contemporary dance and stage arts. 

 

 

Karen YU | Music | Hong Kong SAR → United States 
Altius Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To explore New York’s ecosystem of independent artists and entities, cross-disciplinary communities, and institutions, examining how support structures and audience engagement shape creative practices in performance and sound. Yu’s research will focus on how organizations of different scales collaborate, sustain artistic production, and cultivate audiences open to experimental or unfamiliar listening. Performances, exhibitions, public programs, and informal gatherings will serve as key sites of study, while conversations with artists, curators, and programmers will offer insight into support systems and community-building approaches shaped within the dense environment of New York. Insights into these curatorial strategies and listening-focused experiences will inform her curatorial practice and efforts to develop inclusive, accessible listening spaces and approaches. 

Follow Karen YU: Website | Instagram 

 

Individual Fellowship 
 
With a flexible, often shorter timeframe, artists, scholars, and arts professionals from Asia and the U.S. will pursue self-directed exploration and cultural exchange experiences in a new or less familiar environment, fostering peer-to-peer dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing. 

 
Yuuki AOKI | Dance | Japan → Malaysia Photo by Chihiro Okamoto 
ACC / Saison Foundation Fellow 

Grant Summary: To immerse himself in Malaysia’s Penan community, experiencing their hunter-gatherer practices firsthand. With the support of a cultural anthropologist closely connected to the Penan community, Aoki will participate in daily activities such as gathering, moving, and preparing meals, exploring cultural exchange through nonverbal collaboration in which shared values and bodily awareness can emerge. By experiencing the Penan community’s hunter-gatherer practices firsthand, he will explore new forms of expression that connect urban and hunter-gatherer embodiment and develop his understanding of Penan’s communal and cyclical worldview, which offers important insights for contemporary society. Respecting the community’s perspectives, he aims to gain embodied knowledge of humans in connection with nature, which he will integrate into his creative practice and workshops. 

Follow Yuuki AOKI: Website | Instagram 

 

CHAN Ching Wei Trevor | Music | Hong Kong SAR → United States 
Lady Fung Music Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To travel to Colorado to attend workshops at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Summer 2026. Chan was selected for the Lady Fung Music Fellowship to attend workshops at the internationally acclaimed Aspen Music Festival and School. Chan is a final-year student and principal cellist of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ Symphony Orchestra. He also performs with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Opera Hong Kong. Chan’s participation in the Aspen program offers opportunities to learn from fellow cellists, develop his international network, and further improve his performance practice, as well as expand his ability to collaborate with other talents. 

Follow Ching Wei Trevor CHAN: Instagram 

 

 

 

Josephine CHAN | Crafts | Hong Kong SAR → Taiwan 
Altius Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To deepen and sharpen craftsmanship through apprenticeships with masters of conservation, framing, and mounting for traditional Chinese paintings. Through observation, interviews, and visits to museums and collections, Chan seeks to advance her practice in Chinese-style mounting for hanging scrolls and hand scrolls. Parallel to this, she will develop an approach that is personally sustainable and critically informed in balancing traditional aesthetic principles with contemporary artwork conservation thinking. Building on over 10 years of experience in Western archival framing and mount-making, and established proficiency in Chinese lining, Chan seeks to deepen both the technical and conceptual dimensions of her work and broaden her understanding of how historical models, regional variations, and conservation ethics converge in the contemporary presentation and care of Chinese works on paper. 

Follow Josephine CHAN: Instagram 

 

 

Kaichun CHIANG | Visual Art | Taiwan → Korea 

Grant Summary: To explore how prehistoric ritual landscapes can inspire contemporary art through comparative research of Taiwan’s Bei-nan site with South Korea’s Dolmen heritage. Through on-site visits, archival study, and interviews with local scholars and cultural practitioners, Chiang will explore how these prehistoric religious and ceremonial structures can inform contemporary artistic revitalization. Chiang seeks to understand how prehistoric people in both places built their worldviews, honored their ancestors, and shaped their communities. By reinterpreting these ancient stone monuments through a creative practice, Chiang’s fellowship will foster cultural exchange while generating new perspectives on Taiwan’s prehistoric and Austronesian heritage within a broader Asia-Pacific context. 

Follow Kaichun CHIANG: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Khwanchir (Nual) CHINDAMANEE | Visual Art | United States → Thailand 

Grant Summary: To research and contribute to the preservation of hup taem murals in Isan, Thailand. Over a six-month period, Chindamanee will interview and collaborate with scholars and artisans with expertise in mural preservation, survey murals at local temples to understand and document the historical and methodological aspects of hup taem, and engage with local communities to understand and document the cultural significance of these artworks. 

Chindamanee hopes to synthesize her findings to develop a community workshop that can raise awareness of the significance of these murals and help preserve the community's cultural heritage. 

Follow Khwanchir (Nual) CHINDAMANEE: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Clara CHOW | Literature | Singapore → Japan 

Grant Summary: To participate in Japan’s traditional fire festivals, expanding her understanding of this tradition and its relation to similar practices in Singapore and China. Chow’s fellowship will take her to fire festivals across Japan, offering opportunities to interview festival organizers, participants, artisans of Japanese paper and fire festival goods, and fellow artists and writers whose practices center on fire. Engaging with locals will also offer an opportunity to share paper-burning traditions from her Singaporean-Chinese heritage. Through conversations and observing and participating in these events, Chow hopes to better understand the psychology behind the use of fire, how related beliefs and practices change and in some cases conflict with one another, and how fire festivals and related burning practices have been sustained across cultures and over time. 

Follow Clara CHOW: Website | Instagram 

  

 

Daniel Louis DOÑA | Music | United States → Philippines 
Robert DeGaetano Foundation – ACC Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research music written by Filipinx composers for the viola and how their music is presented in the Philippines. Doña’s research will focus on Filipinx composers’ music written for the viola in both solo and chamber music settings. He aims to study scores and manuscripts archived at University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, and St. Scholastica College. He also seeks insights from local historical musicologists and ethnomusicologists, as well as living composers and members of the string-playing community. Doña hopes that his research and engagement with fellow composers, scholars, and musicians will support his efforts to amplify the voices and contributions of Filipinx composers in the classrooms and concert halls in the Philippines and back home. 

Follow Daniel Louis DOÑA: Website | Instagram 

  

 

Mai ENDO | Visual Art | Japan → Indonesia 
Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller (BHR) Memorial Fellow 

Grant Summary: To study the embodied history and practice of Japanese American dancer Teiko Ito (1913–1958), investigating how “Oriental Dance” was transmitted and transformed across Indonesia, Japan, and the United States in the 1930s. Centered in Yogyakarta and Denpasar, Endo’s research will combine archival and oral history collections with dialogue and embodied practice involving local dancers and scholars, exploring how marginalized bodily knowledge and somatic techniques are translated and reconfigured across cultures. In particular, she seeks to reposition the practices of Japanese-American women dancers historically marginalized in wartime Japanese dance studies, examining how Asian diasporic bodies negotiated expressive possibilities under colonial cultural policies and global imaginaries. She aims to make overlooked practices visible and to offer new models and perspectives for intercultural knowledge exchange mediated through the body.  

Follow Mai ENDO: Website | Instagram 

 

Haruna FURUKAWA | Ethnomusicology | Japan → Cambodia 

Grant Summary: To investigate the transmission of Khmer traditional music and embodied knowledge through participatory observation, including performance-based learning. Centering on the bamboo flute, Furukawa will work closely with and interview local musicians and instrument makers, seeking to internalize their tacit knowledge and embodied techniques through her own playing. She will also record performances and experiment with session-based music-making to document musical practices tied to annual rituals and life-cycle ceremonies, as well as narratives of musical experience rooted in personal and collective memory. Furukawa aims to contribute to sustained international networks, promote understanding and research of traditional music, deepen her own performance practice, and establish a foundation for future collaborative research and cross-cultural artistic initiatives. 

Follow Haruna FURUKAWA: Website | Instagram 

 

Alec GOLDFARB | Music | United States → India Photo by Juliet Cangelosi 
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group – ACC Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To pursue an immersive study of Hindustani classical music and expand his understanding of related South Indian approaches. Through a period of focused musical study and cultural immersion, Goldfarb will refine his approach to Indian ragas as a guitarist by learning from artists in Kolkata, Chennai, and other regions and comparing the evolution of traditions across geography, language, and performance practice. He aims to meet performers, scholars, instrument-makers, and archivists whose work intersects with his questions about intonation, tuning, and adapting classical forms to new instruments. In addition to his own growth, Goldfarb hopes that exchanges with these music communities will also advance opportunities to demonstrate how their traditions and ideas resonate on a different instrument and in a different cultural context. 

Follow Alec GOLDFARB: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Jau-lan GUO | Art History | Taiwan → United States 

Grant Summary: To explore the intersection of the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) and the history of Taiwanese art. Guo aims to examine the influence of ACC and its predecessor, the JDR 3rd Fund, on the development of modern art in Taiwan during the 1960s and 70s, through archival research and interviews. She will conduct research at the Rockefeller Archive Center, consulting relevant archival materials related to ACC Taiwan grantees, including Liu Kuo-Sung (ACC 1964, 1966), Chuang Che (ACC 1966, 1968), and Fong Ray (ACC 1971). Guo seeks to reexamine the relationships between grantmaking, international exchange, and the development of modern art in Taiwan within the context of the Cold War, and to contribute further historical materials and perspectives to the study of Taiwanese art history. 

Follow Jau-lan GUO: Website 

 

 

Absari HANIFAH | Conservation | Indonesia → United States 

Grant Summary: To explore recent advancements in textile and organic material conservation through research, interviews, and visits to leading conservation institutions in the United States. Hanifah hopes to develop her conservation skills and gain insights into conservation methods not yet practiced in Indonesia through museum visits, mentorship, and conversations with conservation experts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. Hanifah will commence her fellowship with a two-week engagement with a conservator colleague at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She also plans to visit the Getty Conservation Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the de Young Museum, and the Asian Art Museum. Upon her return, Hanifah hopes to hold seminars and workshops to pass on the knowledge and skills she gains, empowering fellow new conservators. 

Follow Absari HANIFA: Instagram 

 

 

Seiko HIHARA | Visual Art | Japan → Vietnam Photo by Naotatsu Kaku 
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group – ACC Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To conduct research across Vietnam on the history of ethnic embroidery, the social role of handicrafts and handwork, and labor in the garment industry. Hihara’s research has a particular focus on tailoring traditions and individual craftsmanship developed during the French colonial period, which have become obscured within contemporary industrial systems. She will also carry out interviews with workers who have experience working in Japan, examining the structures embedded in textile production and handwork in relation to historical and social contexts. She will further examine the transformation of minority embroidery practices into the souvenir economy in the north and, through engagement with local communities, reflect on the structures embedded in textiles, seeking to make visible what remains unseen in Japanese society. 

Follow Seiko HIHARA: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Michelle Phương HỒ | Literature | United States → Vietnam 

Grant Summary: To build relationships with local writers, study poetry, and research contemporary literary trends in Vietnam. Hồ hopes to learn about how the poetics of contemporary Vietnamese writers are being formed in an increasingly globalized literary world dominated by English and Western ideologies. By connecting with established and emerging writers and literature professors, she will examine how histories of colonialism, imperialism, and war have shaped the literary landscape, and how various generations in Vietnam have navigated literary production, publishing, and community-building under these conditions. Hồ also plans to attend and host workshops and informal gatherings through which she can cultivate meaningful relationships and opportunities for collaboration with members of Saigon’s literary scene. 

Follow Michelle Phương HỒ: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Szu-Han HO | Music | United States → Taiwan 
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group – ACC Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To deepen her understanding of Taiwanese sound art and build bridges between sound artists in Taiwan and her home state of New Mexico.Ho will immerse herself in Taiwan’s contemporary sound art and experimental music scenes, meeting sound artists, curators, and scholars; practicing deep listening; visiting venues, galleries, and museums; attending workshops; and making field recordings of local soundscapes. She will meet artists and curators across Taiwan’s west coast and spend time meeting indigenous artists on the east coast, with the hope of developing collaborative links between practitioners in Taiwan and New Mexico. 

Follow Szu-Han HO: Website | Instagram 

  

 

 

Phu HOANG | Architecture | United States → Vietnam 

Grant Summary: To examine architectural and cultural links between urban tube houses and rural communal houses in Vietnam. Hoang’s fellowship investigates relationships between these two foundational building types that link domestic and civic life and embody centuries of cultural adaptation, social hierarchy, and climatic response. Through site visits, archival research, and interviews with architects, researchers, homeowners, and community members, Hoang will explore how spatial practices express climate adaptation and shape social and familial life. Hoang’s research aims to deepen cross-cultural dialogue around climate-responsive design and trace how these enduring forms continue to shape architectural thought. 

Follow Phu HOANG: Website | Instagram 

 

 

 

HUANG Wanshan & LI Zhiyong | Visual Art | China (Mainland) → Indonesia, Malaysia, & Singapore 
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To continue research on “Overseas Chinese farms” that the Chinese government established in the 1950s for ethnic Chinese who were forcibly relocated from Southeast Asia to Mainland China. Huang and Li will examine the layered histories of Chinese diaspora communities in Southeast Asia, forced to relocate to farms in China between the 1950s-1970s. They will document how these specific migration patterns have shaped cultural preservation and identity formation. Their fellowship will focus on archival research at museums and Chinese clan associations, interviewing local Chinese community members, participation in events, and exchanging knowledge with Southeast Asia-based scholars and artists. Their research aims to address both the preservation and evolution of Chinese culture across global contexts. 

 

 

 

Atiqa KAWAKAMI & Kimi IDONUMA | Film/Video/Photography | Japan → Indonesia & Thailand  

Grant Summary: To study alternative film networks in Asia, focusing on collectives that, under challenging political and social conditions, create spaces for screening, production, and education independent of commercial cinema. In Indonesia, they will learn about community management and engagement with local residents, while exploring collaborative workshops and screenings addressing colonial histories between Japan and Indonesia. In Thailand, they will visit Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa and examine how he has developed screenings, a short film festival, and publishing activities in collaboration with organizations of various scales through the Bangkok Experimental Film Festival and the Filmvirus group. They intend to share their insights in ways that contribute to the development of a sustainable network of film collectives across Asia. 

Follow Atiqa KAWAKAMI & Kimi IDONUMA: Instagram | Website 

 

 

Jessica KWOK | Curation | United States → Indonesia & Vietnam 

Grant Summary: To research feminist historiography, performance, and time-based practices in Indonesia and Vietnam. Kwok will investigate feminist and feminized performance practices in the two countries, drawing on methodologies articulated by Indonesian art historian Wulan Dirgantoro. By engaging artists and scholars in Indonesia whose practices exemplify the feminist strategies Dirgantoro identifies, Kwok aims to learn how feminist performance emerged historically within Indonesian art discourse and how practitioners continue to navigate intersections of religion, politics, and agency. In Vietnam, she will meet artists and collectives whose works traverse ritual, domestic labor, and the politics of visibility to understand how feminized gestures and embodied practices articulate critical perspectives on gender, sovereignty, and social constraint. Kwok hopes to learn how feminist performance in both countries circulates through transnational exchanges and shared vocabularies of intimacy and desire. 

Follow Jessica KWOK: Instagram 

 

LÊ Thuận Uyên | Curation | Vietnam → Hong Kong SAR 
ACC Hong Kong Special Anniversary Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research the networks, exchanges, and activities of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian contemporary artists in Hong Kong in the 1980s-1990s. Lê will conduct archival research that maps the historic activities, exhibitions, and artistic exchanges of Southeast Asian artists in Hong Kong, focusing on how they articulated their practices within a broader regional context. She also aims to visit and meet peers from Hong Kong art institutions to learn about their respective approaches to archiving, exhibition-making, and presenting key artistic figures and moments, and to share her own insights on the current art landscape in Vietnam. Lê hopes to deepen her understanding of regional artistic networks and histories, contributing to a more inclusive, critical, and dynamic engagement with art history. 

Follow LÊ Thuận Uyên: Instagram 

 

 

King-chi LEE & Kong CHAN | Music | Hong Kong SAR → Korea 
Altius Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research the teaching of traditional music in Korea, focusing on pedagogical fundamentals. In line with their long-term goal of developing training methods for contemporary learners of traditional Chinese theater music, Lee and Chan aim to experience the fundamentals of learning classic Korean music. The duo will undergo individualized instruction on various traditional Korean instruments with a focus on technical skills, ear-training, and music theory, interviewing musicians across generations about their own learning journeys, observing classes, and attending performances. For Lee and Chan, going “back to the basics” is essential to advancing their skills and creativity for future works and developing their own way of passing down and explaining traditional music to local and international audiences. 

Follow King-chi LEE & Kong CHAN: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Ying Chiun LEE | Crafts | Taiwan → Japan 

Grant Summary: To conduct research in Okinawa, Japan, focusing on the impact of postwar U.S. military presence on local Ryukyu glass culture and urban development. Lee aims to explore Ryukyu glass and urban development of “American Village” in Chatan and Okinawa City. They will conduct archival research and interviews with glass artisans, local historians, and community members to examine how Okinawan society has engaged with, adapted, and reinterpreted foreign influences post-World War II from a material culture perspective. 

Follow Ying Chiun LEE: Website | Instagram 

 

 

 

 

Li-chin LI | Music | Taiwan → China (Mainland), Indonesia, & Thailand 

Grant Summary: To conduct field research on the cultural roots, traditions, and historical creative practices of the sheng in China (Mainland), Indonesia, and Thailand. Li will trace and examine the historical development and cultural trajectories of Chinese ethnic sheng, Thai bamboo sheng, and the preservation of sheng craftsmanship in Indonesia. She will study instrument-making techniques with local sheng artisans, and shadow master craftsmen in sourcing raw materials in order to understand the cultural and ritual significance behind the instrument-making process. She aims to map a trans–Southeast Asian “cultural geography of the sheng,” whilst establishing connections with local art institutions to further deepen her understanding of sheng culture through cultural immersion. 

Follow Li-chin LI: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Chikako MORISHITA | Music| Japan → United States Photo by Koto Hirai 

Grant Summary: To examine the ideas and networks of postwar experimental music in New York, with a focus on the activities of Michiko Toyama. Taking the Japanese composer Michiko Toyama, who was active in 1950s New York, as a point of departure, Morishita will investigate how experimental music emerging around John Cage was formed, received, preserved, and transmitted. During her stay, she will engage in dialogue with composers, performers, researchers, and archivists to consider connections between historical and contemporary practices. These insights will be applied to her own compositional work and may lead to future collaborations and new productions. By reconstructing Toyama’s practice, she will also re-examine the cultural and institutional inclusivity of the time, and explore possibilities for future cultural dialogues and community formation. 

Follow Chikako MORISHITA:  Website 

 

 

Britt MOSELEY | Visual Art | United States → Indonesia 

Grant Summary: To explore shared models of making and collective learning and to study how creative systems form deeper attunement with one’s environment. Moseley’s audio-oriented, multidisciplinary research will engage Indonesian sound artists, artist collectives, and traditional performers to explore new models of creative exchange and collective learning. Through conversations, studio visits, attending performances, museum visits, and workshops, he hopes to learn how Indonesian communities treat making— pottery, puppetry, instrument building, or collective performance—as a form of shared perception and cultural continuity. Moseley’s fellowship will inform the next phase of his own practice, which is shifting toward collaborative, systems-based art grounded in ecology and community. 

Follow Britt MOSELEY: Website | Instagram 

 

 

Shoko Nagai| Music | United States → Korea 

Grant Summary: To study traditional Korean music and explore the differences and shared sensibilities between Korean and Japanese musical aesthetics. Nagai will engage deeply with the practice, history, and philosophy of Korean traditional music by meeting and studying with musicians across various disciplines in Seoul and other cities and rural communities. Through lessons, interviews, and collaborative observation, she aims to understand not only technical mastery, but also the cultural contexts and lived experiences that shape these musical forms and the intersections and divergenaesthetics. Nagai hopes this fellowship will deepen her capacities as a musician, composer, and cultural interlocutor and inform future works that resonate beyond academic and artistic spheres. 

Follow Shoko Nagai: Website 

 

 

Nut Brother | Visual Art | China (Mainland) → Bangladesh 

Grant Summary: To visit climate-conflict zones, examine the impact of climate-related disasters, and advance connections and knowledge sharing, focused on environmental challenges. Nut Brother will visit displaced residents, artists, and NGOs in Dhaka and other climate-conflict zones in Bangladesh, a country facing some of the most severe effects from the global climate crisis. He hopes to learn responsive aid initiatives and artistic practices through these communities’ stories and discuss the concrete manifestations and impact of the climate crisis. Building genuine connections and exchanging practical knowledge and gaining insights on these environmental challenges will inform Nut Brother’s eventual goal of launching a “Climate Creativity Alliance” – a cross-disciplinary platform connecting artists, NGOs, and experts to conduct climate research, organize workshops, explore creative approaches, and mobilize public participation. 

Follow Nut Brother: Instagram 

 

QIU Yang | Film/Video/Photography | China (Mainland) → Japan 
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research and collect stories of mixed-culture families and communities in Okinawa and explore how the human condition is tested in subtle, intimate spaces between families. Qiu will explore how the lives of Okinawa’s residents, especially those of Chinese descent, are challenged under the shadow of the region’s complex history and geopolitics. He will also investigate how memory, culture, and tradition transform across generations Qiu will follow stories across Okinawa, including neighborhoods near U.S. military bases, areas where centuries of exchange with Fujianese communities remain visible, and sites that speak to earlier Chinese presence and regional movement. Archival research and meeting scholars and community groups will further inform his understanding. 

Follow QIU Yang: Website | Instagram 

  

 

 

Amrithasruthi RADHAKRISHNAN | Curation | India → United States 

Grant Summary: To study how early Cold War diplomacy shaped India’s performing-arts institutions. Radhakrishnan aims to investigate how philanthropic foundations, diplomatic agencies, cultural intermediaries, and early artistic exchanges contributed to the institutional, pedagogical, and aesthetic frameworks that continue to influence India’s contemporary performance landscape. Her fellowship will center around archival research, interviews with artists, scholars, curators, and arts administrators, and attending performances by Indian artists in the U.S. Through these activities, Radhakrishnan will explore how diplomatic and institutional frameworks of the past maintain an influence over the circulation and visibility of diverse performing arts practices, as well as collaboration between arts communities in the U.S. and India. Her research seeks to offer new possibilities for cross-cultural artistic exchange. 

Follow Amrithasruthi RADHAKRISHNAN: Instagram 

 

 

Toni SHAPIRO-PHIM | Curation | United States → Thailand 

 Grant Summary: To research the experiences of women artists displaced from Myanmar and residing in Thailand. Shapiro-Phim will explore the lives of these displaced artists—how they express their reality, confront challenges, imagine alternative realities, and experience joy. She will visit centers, schools, and organizations established by and for people from Myanmar, especially those relevant to women artists, and seek opportunities to conduct interviews and observe classes, workshops, discussions, and artistic production. Shapiro also hopes to share her own works that relate to artists from Liberian and Cambodian refugee communities and stimulate conversations on creativity amidst great adversity. 

  

 

 

Fang-Yi SHEU | Dance | Taiwan → Korea 

Grant Summary: To explore how, within a similar Asian physique, South Korea transforms its quiet traditional roots and innovative energy into a breathtaking vitality on stage and on camera. For this fellowship, "Seeing the Light of the Body," Sheu will be based in Seoul, closely observing how local performing arts practitioners develop highly energized forms of bodily expressions. She will engage with dance companies, theater productions, academic institutions, and film productions, immersing herself within their rehearsals and creative processes. Upon her return to Taiwan, Sheu plans to transform her cultural exchange experience into nutrients for her future creative methods and will share these insights through talks and workshops. 

Follow Fang-Yi SHEU: Instagram 

 

 

Paola SINISTERRA | Crafts | Hong Kong SAR → India 
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research mud-resist dyeing traditions and its industrial applications, and to refine expertise in natural dye techniques and sustainable textile processes. Sinisterra will visit and document traditional craft communities in India, focusing on mud dyeing techniques on textiles. Through participatory research, interviews, hands-on learning, and teaching, she seeks to understand local knowledge systems rooted in mud dyeing techniques for textiles. Sinisterra hopes that the fellowship will support the preservation of these textile practices and advance her goal of building an inter-Asian network of artisans and practitioners that facilitates knowledge-sharing and will explore applications of these crafts beyond consumer products. 

Follow Paola SINISTERRA: Instagram 

 

 

SU Meng-Hung | Visual Art | Taiwan → United States 

Grant Summary: To revisit and further examine the relationships between high and low culture, craftsmanship, and the translation of East Asian imagery within the context of contemporary art. Through in-depth dialogue with art critic Barbara Pollack (ACC 2006, 2015) and intensive visits to major museums, Su aims to further develop the conceptual and theoretical framework of his artistic practice. Concurrently in his capacity as Director of the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (KdMoFA), Su will study the university and institutional art museum systems in North America, observing approaches to collection management, curatorial practice, public programming, and fundraising structures. Through this cultural exchange experience, Su hopes to deepen his artistic research while also refining the institutional vision and management strategies of KdMoFA. 

Follow SU Meng-Hung: Website | Instagram 

   

 

TAN Yubing | Theater | China (Mainland) → Indonesia & Malaysia 
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research the evolution of Chinese puppetry over time and across various cities in Indonesia and in Penang, Malaysia. Over the course of her fellowship, Tan will visit key institutions, collections, and temples that offer valuable perspectives on the preservation and evolution of Chinese puppetry in Indonesia and Malaysia. Tan will explore how tradition and modernity intersect with this art form. In addition to these visits, she will meet with puppet masters, troupes, and artists collectives in the two countries. Tan hopes to understand how puppetry migrates and transforms under different cultural and political contexts and aims to find new ways to tell stories. 

Follow TAN Yubing: Website | Instagram 

  

 

 

Yuske TANINAKA | Visual Art | Japan → Hong Kong SAR 
ACC Hong Kong Special Anniversary Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To study how traditional Chinese medicine is practiced as treatment in everyday life in Hong Kong, focusing on how the body and its conditions are articulated in clinical language and how these practices coexist with contemporary medicine. Building on his research in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, Taninaka will immerse himself in local clinical settings to strengthen the foundation of his ongoing project Time to Heal. Through lectures on pulse diagnosis and acupuncture, as well as weekly sessions with practitioners, he will learn case reasoning and maintain field notes attentive to language, touch, bodily technique, and temporality, informing his sculptural and choreographic practice. He aims to develop deeply embodied research methods and cultural understanding, enhancing future works while offering the public a perspective on East Asia through bodily technique and healing. 

 

 

 

Sara TSE & Shirley TSE | Visual Art | Hong Kong SAR → Malaysia 
Altius Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To engage with second- and third-generation members of the Hakka diaspora in Malaysia. Sara and Shirley Tse will learn Hakka histories through personal storytelling by residents in Perak Malaysia, where the Hakka Chinese community is concentrated, and retell these narratives in contemporary art forms. They plan to visit locations related to artifacts and stories passed down by their late mother, as starting points for their experience. This immersion will deepen their research with lived experience and expand diasporic histories. 

Follow Sara TSE & Shirley TSE: Website | Instagram 

  

 

 

 

Oliver WANG | Arts Criticism | United States → Japan 

Grant Summary: To explore how American car culture has shaped Japanese aesthetics of design, craft, and self-expression, tracing trans-Pacific exchanges that connect material culture, visual style, and everyday forms of creativity. Wang will conduct fieldwork and interviews with car customizers and event organizers and participants influenced by American automotive culture. He will also visit lowrider hangouts with close connections to counterparts in Southern California, tracing how a visual language of creativity inspired by L.A.’s Chicano community becomes articulated through Japanese cultural contexts. Wang hopes to interpret these practices not only as social phenomena but as acts of aesthetic invention that reveal trans-Pacific artistic exchange and, in parallel, challenge narrow definitions of artistic practice, showing how creativity flourishes beyond galleries and museums – in garages, on city streets, and within grassroots communities. 

   

 

WANG Yisheng | Theater | Taiwan → United States Photo by KU, CHIA-LI, 註明攝影古佳立 

Grant Summary: To immerse himself in New York City’s vibrant theatre and museum culture and deepen his understanding of current trends in projection design for the performing arts. Wang proposes a fellowship that will expose him to local practices and trends in performing arts projection design. He aims to attend performances on Broadway and find opportunities to closely observe theater productions from behind the scenes. Wang hopes that the immersive experience is one from which he will learn new techniques, be taken out of his comfort zone, and return to Taiwan inspired. 

  

 

 

 

Christie Hei Yuen WONG | Art History | Hong Kong SAR → China (Mainland) 
Altius Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To investigate the influence of socialist realism on photographic practices and image-making in twentieth-century China. Over the course of her four-month trip to Mainland China, Wong hopes to find primary source materials on Maoist-era Chinese photography that can enrich her research on the affective impact of propaganda photographs and related objects. Meeting with local scholars and curators knowledgeable about Mao-era photography and visual culture will provide expertise for her research. Dialogues with contemporary artists and other practitioners in photography and image-based work will help determine connections between her historical research and contemporary art. Wong aims to bring greater global exposure to this genre of Chinese visual culture in Hong Kong and beyond. 

 

 

 

Cheng-Han WU | Theater | Taiwan → Indonesia, Philippines, & Thailand 

Grant Summary: To research new play development systems and build connections with theatres in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Through interviews, institutional visits, and onsite observations across the three countries, Wu will examine how storytelling practices differ between East and West, and across Asian cultures; what dramaturgical structures define Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines; and how Taiwanese dramaturgy fits within Asia’s wider narrative landscape. Wu will meet playwrights, dramaturgs, directors, and programmers of theater festivals over the course of his fellowship. He hopes the experience will open pathways for future cross-cultural collaborations and creative ventures and directly inform his dramaturgical practice. 

Follow Cheng-Han WU: Website 

  

 

WU Chien-Wei | Dance | Taiwan → Hong Kong SAR 
ACC Hong Kong Special Anniversary Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research the lives and artistic practices of choreographers Lai Hoi Ning and Mui Cheuk-yin (ACC 1989) and related temporal shifts in the ecology of Hong Kong’s performing arts sector. Wu’s research will focus on Lai Hoi Ning and Mui Cheuk-yin (ACC 1989) whose creations and artistic practices are deeply intertwined with Hong Kong’s history, reflect the essence of contemporary Hong Kong, and probe existential conditions faced by individuals and communities in response to their social environments. Through interviews, observations, and research into their works, Wu hopes to gain insights into how these artists perceive Hong Kong through their memories and creations. 

WU Chien-Wei: Facebook | Instagram 

  

 

Tansy XIAO | Ethnomusicology | United States → Taiwan 

Grant Summary: To research and explore possibilities for graphically notating Pasibutbut, a polyphonic singing tradition of Taiwan’s indigenous Bunun community. Through her fellowship, Xiao hopes to immerse herself in a village in the mountainous areas of Nantou and Hualian where there remains a vibrant practice of Pasibutbut, in which Bunun men sing in a slow, rotating movement, their voices rising and merging as they adjust pitch and breath to one another. In addition to listening, observing, and experiencing the practice herself, Xiao aims to collaborate with the Bunun people to document their practice through graphic notation, in a way that centers their voices and agency in presenting their musical tradition. 

Follow Tansy XIAO: Website 

 

 

Sherwin YANG | Music | Taiwan → Japan 

Grant Summary: To study Japanese traditional music in Tokyo, focusing on Noh and supplemented by Kabuki Nagauta. The main focus of Yang’s three-month fellowship to Japan is Noh. He will study individually with Noh masters and integrate himself in groups studying traditional music, such as amateur ensembles like Tesarugaku no Kai and university Noh clubs. Yang will also explore techniques to innovate Noh in other languages with the aim of creating Mandarin-scripted Noh. Through immersive engagement with local communities and intensive fieldwork, Yang aims to build networks within the Japanese music scene and lay the foundation for future cross-cultural music production collaborations and academic research. 

Follow Sherwin YANG: Website | Instagram 

  

 

YAU Kit Sze Jessy | Architecture | Hong Kong SAR → Japan 
ACC Hong Kong - Hsin Chong Foundation Young Architects Fellowship, in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter 

Grant Summary: To observe and learn hands-on processes of architectural regeneration and explore revitalization models that may be applied to villages and abandoned architecture in Hong Kong. Yau is a recipient of the Young Architects Fellowship, awarded by the Hsin Chong Foundation in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter. Through their three-month research fellowship in Kobe, Japan, Yau will participate in diverse on-site activities, including the surveying of abandoned houses; hands-on learning related to regeneration and revitalization models; and interviewing peer professionals and local residents. A graduate of The University of Hong Kong’s Department of Architecture, Yau currently manages heritage conservation outreach initiatives for a Hong Kong nonprofit. 

Follow Kit Sze Jessy YAU: Instagram 

 

 

Alex YIU | Music | Hong Kong SAR → United States Photo by Winston Yeung 
HKETONY － ACC Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To research New York’s underground queer experimental music scene and develop comparative perspectives on experimental club cultures. Yiu will immerse himself in New York’s experimental and queer music communities, attending events at established venues, as well as grassroots and queer spaces. Yiu will also join workshops, reading groups, and community discussions to understand how artists and organizers create safety, access, and collective care in nightlife. He plans to have conversations with musicians, producers, and writers about queer nightlife, grassroots music label ecology, and DJ communities, and especially how the Asian diaspora and New York club culture intersect. An innovator, Yiu anticipates that the experience will influence his future projects in music and contemporary art. 

Follow Alex YIU: Website | Instagram 

 

 

ZHOU Zhengnan | Architecture | China (Mainland) → United States 
Hsin Chong-K.N. Godfrey Yeh Education Fund: Tsinghua-MIT Exchange Fellowship 

Grant Summary: To participate in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a semester in 2026. Zhou was selected for the Tsinghua-MIT Exchange Fellowship to attend the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) for one semester. During the fellowship, Zhou will research sustainable architecture, urbanism, and methodologies for doctoral education. As an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University, Zhou’s research focuses on green architecture and urban design. 

Graduate Fellowship 
 
Supports graduate students from Asia pursuing U.S. study programs unavailable or underrepresented in their home region. As a stipend-based award rather than tuition support, it enables graduate fellows to pursue studies in the U.S. in an unfamiliar environment, exposing them to new ideas beyond the classroom. 
 

Alain DE ASIS | Music | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To pursue a MA in Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, currently in his second and final year, focusing on the technical aspects of playing the violin, studying the piano, music theory, and music history. De Asis is pursuing an MA in Music (Violin Performance) at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. Currently in his second and final year, his dissertation recital will consist of music composed during the romantic and contemporary eras while his final output is a one-hour performance recital consisting of pieces in collaboration with his instrument teachers. De Asis hopes this fellowship will help enrich his musical journey and add to his credibility as a teacher and musician, furthering his intention to contribute to the advancement of violin playing in the Philippines. 

Follow Alain DE ASIS: Instagram | Facebook 

  

 

Brian BERINO | Music | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To commence the Master of Music in Piano Performance program at James Madison University. Immersing himself in the United States’ classical music scene, Berino aims to further develop his artistry and career as a pianist and gain insights and experiences that he can bring back to support the growth of classical music in the Philippines. Berino obtained a Bachelor of Music majoring in Piano at the University of the Philippines's College of Music. Upon graduation, Berino was presented the Dean’s Award for distinguished service for his efforts in representing the Philippines in music competitions abroad. He is currently active as a performer, having been regularly featured on the Double Pentagon concert series in both solo recitals and ensemble performances. 

Follow Brian BERINO: Instagram 

 

 

Eva Paciencia CUENZA | Ethnomusicology | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To pursue the Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a comparative research focus on Javanese culture. Cuenza’s studies seek to bridge musical traditions in the Philippines and Java, generating rigorous comparative and anthropological insights. After the program, she hopes to return to the Philippines and incorporate her U.S. graduate program learnings as an educator. Cuenza finished her Bachelor of Music in Musicology from the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she concentrated on Maguindanao kulintangan performance. Her research interests include Waray (Eastern Visayas) music expressions, social implications of gender regulations in music rendering, and Southeast Asian gong music cultures like that of the Maguindanao kulintang and Javanese gamelan. 

Follow Eva Paciencia CUENZA: Website | Instagram 

  

 

Jose Marie Paraiso ESERJOSE | Music | Philippines → United States 

Grant Summary: To commence the Master of Music in Historical Performance program at the Juilliard School. As a Historical Performance major, Eserjose will have the opportunity to join Juilliard 415, the school’s premier baroque ensemble, receive specialized coaching, and participate in master classes. These experiences will equip him with the essential tools to contribute meaningfully to the field and to promote and establish the first historical performance ensemble in the Philippines. Eserjose completed his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music under a full scholarship from the Original Pilipino Performing Arts Foundation. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Violin Performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. 

Follow Jose Marie Paraiso ESERJOSE: Instagram 

 

 

Qudrat WASEFI | Music | Afghanistan → United States 

Grant Summary: To commence a Master of Arts in Composition, Performance, and Research at Tufts University. Through his graduate studies, Wasefi aims to deepen his artistic practice and further his hopes to preserve Afghanistan’s musical heritage and build bridges with the international community. Wasefi, a composer and trumpeter, graduated from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in 2025 and received the President’s Award for Social Change from Bard College. He is also the founder of the Afghanistan Freeharmonic Orchestra, which promotes Afghan musical heritage and fosters collaboration and solidarity among musicians from Afghanistan and around the world. 

Follow Quadrat WASEFI: Website  | Instagram 

Organization Grants 

Enables arts and culture organizations in Asia and the U.S. to pursue travel and activities that advance their understanding of a topic or area practice, foster meaningful cultural exchange for their staff, communities, and collaborators.  

 

Bond Street Theatre | Theater | United States → Myanmar 

Grant Summary: To research and identify effective theatre-based practices for addressing conflict-related trauma through an exchange of U.S. and Myanmar artistic methods. New York’s Bond Street Theatre (BST), in partnership with Yangon’s Thukhuma Khayeethe Theatre (TKT), will lead a 40-day initiative grounded in an exchange of artistic and therapeutic methods by the two companies and cross-cultural research comparing mental health issues, practices, and available resources. The site of activities is significant and timely, considering the 2021 military coup’s ongoing impact on psychological distress, social fragmentation, and erosion of trust. BST and TKT will convene their respective Artistic Directors and actor-educators to lead the activities and invite participation from U.S. and Burmese mental health practitioners. Their collaboration aims to identify the most effective theater-based practices in addressing conflict-related trauma and support efforts to integrate these practices into community life. 

Follow Bond Street Theatre: Website | Instagram 

  

Gerhub (Mongolia) | Architecture | Mongolia → United States 

Grant Summary: To deepen mutual understanding of Mongolian nomadic worldviews through a scholarly exchange with the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Environmental Building + Design (CEBD). Gerhub proposes an architectural exchange focused on Mongolian ger (nomadic felt dwellings), mobility, seasonal settlement patterns, and the ways by which nomadic practices shape cultural and ecological knowledge. Architectural scholars, students, and professionals from Mongolia and the U.S. will participate in seminars and workshops, engage in dialogues around their respective architectural practices and cultural frameworks and traditions, and visit indigenous communities, design laboratories, and local organizations working on sustainable and climate-responsive built environments. Gerhub hopes the exchange will deepen participants’ understanding of architectural traditions, cultural values, and climate resilience, build cross-border relationships, and enhance their development of future educational programs. 

Follow Gerhub: Instagram 

 

Yayasan Studio Klampisan Banyuwangi | Theater | Indonesia → Thailand 

Grant Summary: To exchange practices in socially engaged art and performances with theater companies and professionals in Thailand. Studio Klampisan will organize a two-month series of exchange activities and dialogues seeking to compare their intermedial dramaturgy and community-oriented work methodologies with counterparts in Thailand, a country that also shares a complex history of democratization and similar pre-colonial cultural roots. They will conduct immersive ecosystem mapping in Bangkok, study the socially engaged art of the late artist-activist Thanom Chapakdee, and execute field visits and interviews from which they hope to learn how independent artists sustain their work and refine their own methodological framework. Studio Klampisan expects that the exchange will strengthen their organizational capacity, expand opportunities for regional dialogue and relationships, and promote others’ understanding of East Javanese perspectives. 

Follow Yayasan Studio Klampisan Banyuwangi: Website | Instagram