The Sun Represents Your Heart (at dawn)
太陽代表妳的心(黎明)
Art Show
Time: Sunday, November 9, 2025, 2pm – 4:30pm
Location:
San Francisco Public Library, Richmond Branch
Meeting Room
351 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118
The Sun Represents Your Heart (at dawn), a short graphic novel memoir by artist MK Wong, invites you to experience a visually engaging journey that celebrates the profound bond between an elderly mother and her adult child. Told in a fantastical way, the story explores the multiple roles of an elder—as a mother, wife, friend, patient, and volunteer—and ultimately, as an individual navigating her own mortality. Born from the rising racial discrimination faced by the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, especially since the pandemic, the project also offers a poignant look at healthcare inequities for elders with limited English proficiency. In doing so, it not only celebrates Wong’s mother but also honors countless AAPI elders and others who face similar challenges. Commissioned by San Francisco Arts Commission, the event will include an artist’s talk and storytelling, and a special edition gift will be available for each attendee.
Breaking the Silence: Art & Mental Health
打破禁忌：藝術與心理健康
According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), compared to those of other racial backgrounds, Asian Americans, especially immigrants, are the racial group least likely to receive mental health treatment – only 20.8% of Asian adults with a mental illness received treatment in 2020. The proposal, “Breaking the Silence: Art and Mental Health (打破禁忌：藝術與心理健康),” composed of seven sequential, autobiographical illustrative paintings highlighting critical moments often experienced by families of loved ones diagnosed with a severe mental illness, intends to raise mental health awareness within the AAPI community as well as other minority communities. Mental illness affects not only the patient, but the entire family as well. The paintings chronicle a younger brother’s witness of his teenage sister’s mental deterioration over time. In the paintings, colors, fantastical elements, and real-life objects intermingle and come together to break down the heaviness of the topics and reconstruct them into a visually engaging story accessible to a wide range of audiences.
Related Events:
- Artist Talk at San Francisco Public Library (Winter 2025)
- 6th Annual National Alliance on Mental Illness Contra Costa AAPI Mental Health Awareness, UC Berkeley (Spring 2025)
About Me
My art is a confluence of lived experience and cultural synthesis. Rooted in my journey as a Chinese American immigrant, I weave autobiographical narratives that illuminate the nuanced realities of issues that I care about deelpy, such as mental healthcare equities, elder rights, and LGBTQ+ issues, within the AAPI community. Drawing upon memories of Hong Kong and my life in the United States, I reimagine visual storytelling as a space where personal narrative intersects with social commentary. My work seeks to amplify often-overlooked voices, fostering empathy and understanding, and creating a platform for dialogue that challenges societal perceptions and advocates for greater support.
