Crista McCandless and Joan Klein, residents of the Bismarck/Mandan area in North Dakota, wanted to showcase Asian art and culture in their community. In 2022, the duo—originally from the Philippines—co-founded the North Dakota Asian-American Arts and Culture Initiative (NDAAACI) to meet their vision. In a short span of time, their organizing efforts through this nonprofit initiative has paid off in big ways.
Humble Beginnings
The organization holds numerous events throughout the year from family game nights to community conversations. Without a brick-and-mortar for their nonprofit, McCandless and Klein meet in coffee shops, restaurants or in each other’s homes to organize NDAAACI’s cultural programs and other gatherings to welcome new Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the community.
Every May, during Asian American Pacific Islander Cultural Heritage month, they hold an expo highlighting Asian and Pacific Island culture. The event grows larger every year and presents culture, art and dance from countries such as India, Indonesia, Philippines and Pacific Islands to name a few. Recently, at the request of the Mandan Morton County Library, the nonprofit started a series of ‘Know My Culture’ talks featuring different Asian and Pacific Island populations living in the Bismarck area.
The first ‘Know My Culture’ event in November 2023 featured the islands of the Philippines. It included an art showcase, along with handmade crafts, food and fellowship with the help of volunteers and sponsors. A panel discussion was held with co-founder Crista McCandless as the moderator, followed by questions from the audience. Co-founder Joan Klein’s art pieces were on display, along with other artwork from members of the Filipino community. Klein has a background in art and a career in architecture, using her talent and abilities to sketch and draw blueprints. She also uses oil paints, watercolors, multimedia and photography in her artwork.
A Growing Population
North Dakota has one of the fastest growing populations of Asians in the country, with close to 12,000 residents according to the last census. Klein says that they know of a few thousand Filipinos in the area, many of whom are nurses and teachers. “We send our money back home and support our families,” Klein says. “We don’t care where we are, as long as we are in the US working and helping our community, family and friends in the Philippines.”
She says if there was just one thing she could share with the community about her culture, it would be their passion. “We are passionate about everything. We love people, art, food, music, and we love to share. That’s who we are. Our love language is giving. We welcome everybody. We are proud of our heritage, and we love to celebrate us, as Filipino people. We want to share that with everyone.”
JOAN KLEIN, CO-FOUNDER, NORTH DAKOTA ASIAN-AMERICAN ARTS AND CULTURE INITIATIVE“We are passionate about everything. We love people, art, food, music, and we love to share. That’s who we are. Our love language is giving.”
During the panel discussion at the library, when asked about the one thing they could keep about their culture, the panelists’ response was language. The main language spoken in the Philippines is English, but Bisaya and Tagalog/Filipino are also widely spoken in the three regions and 7,000 islands that make up the country.
“Even though we live in America, we want to be able to speak our language from back home. Knowing our language and passing that on to the next generations will help them to understand culture and artistic expression,” says Klein.
A Growing Vision
As the Asian-American population grows in the state, the NDAAACI will continue to grow their work and vision. “I could see where we (NDAAACI) could act as a resource center, where new Asian Americans can get oriented about the Bismarck/Mandan community, but also to be seen as a place for AAPI artists to sell their artwork or have a gallery space,” says Klein.
The nonprofit was recently named as a 2024 GIG Fund recipient. It is a grant through Arts Midwest that prioritizes organizations that are led by or engage artists from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities, rural communities, and under-funded areas.
“We are very excited to use this grant to highlight these artists and their creativity, their ethnic backgrounds, and how their artworks define their identities,” she adds.
The GIG Fund will be used to organize the annual Asian-American Cultural Expo in Bismarck that will invite professional artists from the Chicago, Illinois, area to showcase their art pieces and offer demonstrations of their techniques to the local artist community. The cultural expo this spring will also showcase many Asian and Pacific Island cultures and artists from the area. The organization plans to continue the ‘Know My Culture’ events at the Mandan Morton County Library and feature China, India, and Indonesia in early 2024.
“Asia is the biggest continent in the world. A really big vision is to represent every Asian community that lives here in North Dakota and to showcase them—here we are, this is what we can do. Learn from us. Have that experience with us.”