Friday, June 19, 2026

Pan-Asian Myth Meets Immigrant Story in 12-Room Exhibition at USC Pacific Asia Museum

“Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry,” curated by Korean American artist Dave Young Kim, is on view in Pasadena through September

A museum-wide exhibition that uses dragons, guardian spirits and a gold Jin Chan frog that dispenses coins as a vocabulary for the immigrant experience is on view at USC Pacific Asia Museum through Sept. 6.

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry, a 12-room immersive show conceived and curated by Los Angeles-based Korean American artist and muralist Dave Young Kim, opened Feb. 14 in the museum’s East West Bank Galleries at the historic Grace Nicholson Building at 46 N. Los Robles Ave. According to materials issued by USC Pacific Asia Museum, the exhibition pairs approximately 100 objects from the museum’s permanent collection — which spans more than 5,000 years and includes art from East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and the Pacific Islands and their diasporas — with works by 24 contemporary artists, most commissioned for the show.

Visitors move through environments that include a shadowy night crossing filled with demons, a homey rendition of an immigrant’s first apartment, and a gilded room spotlighting the Jin Chan frog, USC PAM said in its exhibition materials. Dragons, cranes, guardian spirits and shapeshifters appear throughout as metaphors for internal states and intergenerational legacies. The narrative is written in verse on gallery walls, in a voice the museum describes as evocative of a wise uncle addressing a loved one.

“Imagine stepping inside an illustrated book of poetry written by a cherished loved one,” Kim said in a statement issued with the exhibition. “Mythical Creatures is guided by verses on the walls that reflect the wisdom of an imagined, beloved elder — tender, unfolding, and finally given voice.”

The exhibition incorporates new media technology, including a wraparound video installation in a reconstructed airplane cabin and an AI video interaction that allows visitors to assume the role of an immigrant, according to USC PAM. QR codes throughout the galleries link to AI Curator, a custom digital gallery guide developed in collaboration with Clioai Inc., an AI startup co-founded by two USC alumni. The guide is free, accessible on mobile devices, and available in English and Mandarin.

The 24 contemporary artists include Sijia Chen, Luke Dragon, Dominique Fung, Lily Honglei, Greg Ito, Victoria Jang, Hojin Kang, Debbie Lee, Suhn Lee, Dinh Q. Lê (who died in 2024), Jiha Moon, Wendy Park, Gautam Rangan, Momoko Schafer, Kyungmi Shin, Amy Sol, Sung Kee Soon, Lien Truong, Sanjay Vora, Yeesookyung, Ayoung Yu & Nicholas Oh, Julie Yeo and Lauren YS.

Kim earned his BFA from UC Davis and pursued graduate study in studio art at Mills College. He previously created the 2024 mural A Momentous Moment in Time of Passage and Landing, installed outside USC PAM.

Major support is provided by Mei-Lee Ney, with East West Bank as lead exhibition sponsor, according to USC PAM. Additional support comes from the Perenchio Foundation, the McClay Family Trust, Margaret Leong Checca and Zhang Financial.

The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $15; $12 for seniors; $9 for students 15 and older; and free for children 14 and under. Every second Sunday is a free admission day, courtesy of East West Bank. Parking is free in the museum’s lot at the corner of Los Robles Avenue and Union Street. The museum can be reached at (626) 787-2680 or info@pam.usc.edu.

The exhibition closes Sept. 6.

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry (Exhibition) | Through September 6, 2026 | USC Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave. | 🔗 https://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/whats-on-view/