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Past SPE Annual Conferences

West Chapter

SPE West Chapter includes:
California, Hawaii, Nevada

Chair Yvette Marthell
Vice Chair/Secretary Joaquin Palting
Treasurer Kayla Holdgreve
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Message from the Chair


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Meet the presenters of SPE’s 2027 Annual Conference!

We’re excited to introduce Howard Leu, presenting “The rising voices of the Midwest Asian diaspora”

“This panel surveys a selection of Asian American photo-based artists in the Midwest whose work reflects questions of identity, memory, and place. Featured artists include Amy Yeminne Kim, whose work draws from both her adopted Midwestern home and traditional Korean culture; Kevin Miyazaki, a fourth-generation Japanese American raised in Wisconsin whose projects explore family history and the legacy of Japanese American incarceration; and Howard Leu (moderator), whose work examines bereavement and prosthetic memory through family photographs tied to his immigrant parents’ experiences. Together, these artists offer perspectives on how Asian American identity is shaped through geography, history, and image-making in the Midwest.”

About the Presenter

Howard Leu is a Twin Cities-based interdisciplinary. His work uses old family photos to reinterpret moments from his family’s immigrant history, shifting inherent nostalgia, trauma, and history, to recontextualize and invite contemporary discourse. Photographs are used as object and material, and images as context and content. His recent exhibition and talks include the 2026 Midwest SPE Conference, Wu Museum (Kunming, China), HBUT Design Festival (Wuhan, China), Art Link (Fort Wayne, IN), and Cedarburg Art Museum (Cedarburg, WI). Leu earned an MFA rom UW-Milwaukee, where he also taught for two years.

Join us at the 2027 SPE Annual Conference to hear Howard, alongside fellow artists Amy Yeminne Kim and Kevin Miyazaki, explore Asian American identity, cultural memory, migration, and the ways photography connects personal and collective histories to the Midwestern landscape. 
Image credit: Amy Yeminne Kim, from the Wolfcamp Catalogue Series, 2022

a day ago via Instagram

Meet the presenters of SPE’s 2027 Annual Conference! We’re excited to introduce Howard Leu, presenting “The rising voices of the Midwest Asian diaspora” “This panel surveys a selection of Asian American photo-based artists in the Midwest whose work reflects questions of identity, memory, and place. Featured artists include Amy Yeminne Kim, whose...

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