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Riverside Chats

With Kaneko Installation, Artist Charles Kay Jr. Wants to be Seen

Charles Kay Jr. is a Thai man standing with his arms crossed in front of a dark backdrop with images of ocean waves projected onto it.
Charles Kay Jr.
Charles Kay Jr. is an Omaha native whose parents immigrated from Thailand in the 1970s. His Kaneko exhibit "Unseen – Emerging from the Currents of Assimilation" is on display through Feb. 5, 2023.

Charles Kay Jr. is a first-generation Thai-American visual artist whose work explores assimilation, identity and the American Dream. His exhibition “Unseen: Emerging from the Currents of Assimilation” is on display at Kaneko through Feb. 5, 2023.

In this conversation with Maria Corpuz, he shares his experience growing up in Omaha with immigrant parents, the racism he and his family have endured, and his changing relationship with his Asian-American identity.

Courtney is back in her hometown after graduating from the University of Kansas in 2019 with degrees in journalism and film. While at KU, she was the arts and culture editor of the University Daily Kansan and had a summer internship at KCUR, Kansas City's NPR member station. She has three pet rats and has seen almost every Audrey Hepburn movie.
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