Greetings, my name is Koua Mai Yang and I am an emerging artist working in drawing, painting, and mixed media collage. I am interested in exploring Hmong identity, history and cultures through art, and community involvement. 

In 2007 I began to pursue an arts degree because I truly enjoyed art. It was a calling and a curse that I had to answer and fulfill to be content with myself. I was highly inspired by animation, video games, and comics. Film makers such as Hayao Miyazaki, and artist Yoshitaka Amano stole my heart and soul, and I wanted to explore, create, and present to the world what I could do as an artist. However I was also falling deeper and deeper into the world known as fine arts. 

In 2010 I declared a fine arts major with a concentration in drawing and painting. What lead me to fine arts? My identity as a female Hmong American. Growing up in a small town influenced me to think about what really matters to me as a person. I fell in love with the connection people have with art, expression, and process. 

-Koua Yang