The Futures We Carry Closing Reception
photo by Cole Lata
The 2026 AVA Lab exhibition, Futures We Carry, imagines futures carried forward through memory and collective imagination, foregrounding counter-narratives. Participating artists challenge dominant histories and propose alternative ways of being.
Join us for the closing reception to experience the work one last time, with artist talks and walkthroughs sharing the stories behind the pieces.
June 13th, 2026, 12–3pm
Artist talks begin at 1:30pm
KSW at Arc Gallery & Studios — 1246 Folsom St, SF
Free & all are welcome! RSVP at the link in bio!
Participating Artists
Brittani Wei-Ling Chew, Cole Lata , Cynthia PhươngAnh Lê, Julie Kim, Jy Jimmie Flora Gabiola, Lark Chang-Yeh, Theresa Panyawai, VC Tang, Will Liang
About the Exhibition
The 2026 AVA Lab exhibition presents works that imagine futures carried forward through memory, resistance, and collective imagination. Grounded in ancestral and cultural knowledge, the exhibition foregrounds counter-narratives that challenge dominant histories and propose alternative ways of being, belonging, and organizing life together.
Rather than presenting the future as speculative or detached, the exhibition positions it as already in motion—embedded in inherited practices, community rituals, survival strategies, and acts of care. The works reflect how artists navigate tension, difference, and transformation, offering visions shaped by accountability, cultural continuity, and community wisdom.
Together, the exhibition becomes a space of convergence: where personal histories meet collective futures, where grief and imagination coexist, and where art functions as a tool for remembering, re-visioning, and building power beyond the individual.
About AVA Lab
AVA Lab is a 7+ week mentorship and community arts fellowship intended to guide Asian American and Pacific Islander visual artists looking to deepen their praxis in community. This program is intended to move beyond the traditional modes of learning in the arts and focus on not only our artistic practice, but how we as artists work with and within our communities.