One sunny afternoon, I arrived at the home of artist Nicole Kang Anh. We walked through her living room and up the stairs to her home studio. Surrounded by her paintings and works in progress, this is where Anh gets into her flow.
Anh was born in California and moved frequently in her youth, but has lived in Atlanta for around 20 years and now considers the city her home. “I really love Atlanta, I think it is so special,” she told me, citing the diversity of the community here and the city’s rich history as a home for the Civil Rights Movement.
“I think that the influence of the Black people here has made it easier for other communities of color to thrive here, too,” Anh continued. “There’s a huge Korean community in Gwinnett County, so I feel very much at home here.”
Anh went to two high schools in Georgia, moved away, and then came back after a gap year to attend Oglethorpe University. She had to take a year off because her mother fell ill with Leukemia, and as the eldest daughter she felt obligated to stay home and care for her family.
She filled in the gaps with her younger siblings while her father kept up the bills and overhead for their household. During this time, Anh felt lost and discouraged. “I felt like I was way behind, I was in my early twenties and feeling like I had missed out on a lot of great experiences.”
When it was finally time to apply for college, she first wanted to go to a “big, fancy art school,” but the proximity of Oglethorpe to her family made it possible for her to continue transporting her mother to treatments and caring for her siblings on the weekends. She spent every weekend with her family until they moved out of state, and she stuck around. “Georgia felt like home, and college is when I became a full person,” she explained.
During this period, Anh explored the arts by way of an internship at the Chastain Arts Center and attended art events across the city….
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