ARTIST TALK WITH JULIA CHON

Join The Nicholson Project for an artist talk with Artist-in-Residence Julia Chon, where she’ll share insights into her residency experience and creative practice. Julia’s work honors her Korean heritage by blending traditional aesthetics with contemporary themes. Her Korean earthenware sculptures, inspired by kimchi pots, explore the intricate relationship between cultural traditions and how Asian Americans shape their identities across generations.

ABOUT JULIA CHON

Julia Chon, better known by her artist name Kimchi Juice, is a Washington DC-based artist and muralist. Chon’s work focuses on honoring her Korean heritage. Most recently, she creates Korean Earthenware sculptures representative of traditional kimchi pots. One of her first kimchi pots was acquired into the Smithsonian permanent art collection in 2022. Chon’s work explores the relationship between cultural tradition and its effects on generational identity and the decisions Asian Americans make to form their identities. With a prominent Korean aesthetic in each piece, Chon merges her ancestry and traditions with the contemporary to convey the nuances of the Korean diaspora. As Chon’s work makes its way from canvas to large-scale murals, these intimate portraits take center stage in an urban environment. Her murals can be found internationally and her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Washington DC, Los Angeles, CA and Miami, FL. Chon’s clients and collaborations include NASA, Apple, the Korean Cultural Center, and the Phillips Collection, among others. Chon was featured in the HBO docuseries “Take Out with Lisa Ling.” Learn more about Julia’s work at www.instagram.com/kimchi.juice

About The Nicholson Project

The Nicholson Project is a paid artist residency program and neighborhood garden in Ward 7’s Fairlawn neighborhood. Our mission is to support, provide opportunities, engage, and amplify artists and creatives from our community and the local artist community—particularly artists of color and those from Ward 7 and 8—while engaging our neighbors through community-based programming. Our vision is to serve as a cultural hub and community anchor celebrating Ward 7’s authentic identity, while infusing new vibrancy into Southeast DC. We hope to inspire others to use similar non-traditional arts and community-centered projects as a pathway toward stronger, more vibrant communities. Learn more at www.thenicholsonproject.org.