Densho’s Artist-in-Residence program supports emerging artists to create artwork about WWII Japanese American incarceration history. The aim of the residency is to help educate general audiences about Japanese American WWII incarceration; connect this history to current instances of racial injustice and inequity; and to foster healing and dialogue around historical memory and intergenerational trauma. Densho is proud to partner with the BelRed Arts District to support the 2026 Artist-in-Residence program.
This year’s Artist-in-Residence is Seraphim Hong.
2026
Seraphim Hong, 2026 Artist-in-Residence
Seraphim Hong is a Japanese Korean Asian American multiracial artist raised and residing on Coast Salish and Duwamish lands. At the University of Washington School of Art, she majored in Painting and Drawing and discovered her passion for American Ethnic Studies and Environmental Justice, which influences her work today. Hong’s work draws from her experiences as a multiracial individual with ancestry of refuge and incarceration on stolen lands. In her work, she expresses wonderings on emotions, socioeconomic concepts, and relationships through flora and fauna. Hong has engaged with the greater Seattle art community through public art projects, art walks, and community aid efforts.
For her residency project, Hong’s work contains literal and metaphoric weaving with themes of possibility, hardship, and hope. The exhibit features a traditional garment, reimagined and transformed with motifs inspired by the geography of Bellevue and the people who grew extraordinary strawberries. The artist’s residency has been informed by research on local history, including conversations with Bellevue community members, and exploration of documents and images in the Densho Digital Archive.
