Dan Kwong

Dan Kwong is an performance artist, writer, teacher and visual artist. He has been presenting his since 1989, often drawing upon his own life experiences to explore personal, historical and social issues. He is of mixed Asian American heritage . His works intertwine storytelling, multimedia, dynamic physical movement, poetry, martial arts and music. Kwong is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is an Artist with the performing arts organization, Great Leap, and a Resident Artist at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, California.

Performance works

Solo Performance

* ''Secrets of the Samurai Centerfielder''
* ''Tales From the Fractured Tao''
* ''Monkhood in 3 Easy Lessons''
* ''Correspondence of a Dangerous Enemy Alien''
* ''The Dodo Vaccine''
* ''The Night the Moon Landed on 39th Street''
* ''It's Great 2B American''

These works explore subjects such as cultural confusion and discovery in a mixed heritage family; allergic reactions to “Model Minority Syndrome”; dysfunctional family “Asian American-style”; Asian male identity; Japanese American internment during WWII; the impact of HIV/AIDS on Asian Americans. Kwong has performed in venues across the United States and in England, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and Canada.

Plays

Kwong's first play, ''Be Like Water'', was developed with , and received its world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles, in September 2008, as part of the EWP mainstage season.

Published works

Kwong's essays and performances have been published in The Journal of American Drama and Theatre, Getting Your Solo Act Together, High Performance Magazine, and various anthologies including On A Bed of Rice - A Feast of Asian American Erotica; Yellow Light - The Flowering of Asian American Art and Living in America - A Pop Culture Reader. His visual artwork is included in Let’s Get It On - The Politics of Black Performance published by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
His first book, "FROM INNER WORLDS TO OUTER SPACE - The Multimedia Performances of Dan Kwong," was published by University of Michigan Press in 2004.

Teaching and curating

As a teacher Kwong has led numerous workshops in autobiographical writing and performing throughout the U.S. and in Hong Kong, London, Indonesia, Thailand and Canada. He is founder and curator of “Treasure In The House,” L.A.’s first and visual art festival, presented at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, California since 1991.

Fellowships

Kwong is recipient of numerous fellowships, from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Asian Cultural Council, Art Matters Inc., Brody Arts Fund, Franklin Furnace, N.Y., , California Community Foundation and has been nominated twice for the Alpert Award in the Arts.