Creativity is an inherent and powerful force within Asian and Pacific Islander communities. This May, in celebration of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we invite you to explore classes taught by API creatives and revel in new artwork from five artists representing different Asian backgrounds.

Learn from, create with, and honor Asian and Pacific Islander creators during APIH Month and onward.

Five Artists, Five Powerful Stories

It's been an incredibly difficult year for Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Tragedy after tragedy has been fueled by anti-Asian sentiment. We are exhausted, to say the least.

In an effort to help heal and shine a light on the rich history of API contributions to our creative community, Skillshare has commissioned artwork from five of our teachers representing different Asian backgrounds. Each piece of art centers around a word from the artist's native language that is of personal significance to them —inviting us into their brightly illuminated worlds.

We hope you enjoy getting to know each of our teachers' stories just as much as we did.

Kaho Yoshida on Showing Appreciation in Japanese Culture

"In Japan, people are often not so vocal about their feelings and emotions. We show love by simply being there for someone, listening, or doing a simple act of service for loved ones."

Food, Family, and Tradition with Smitesh Mistry

"Coming from an Indian background, colour has always been an important part of my style — incorporating many colours into my illustrations and animations. I take heavy inspiration from Indian clothing like the Sari and Indian sweets."

Embracing Your Heritage as a Hyphenated-Identity with Jennet Liaw

"Even the simplest Chinese words have inherent depth, because not only is each word compounded —but also, every character itself is made of meaningful symbols that interact with one other."

Ohn Mar Win on Resiliency and Uniting for Justice in Myanmar

"Art has always been an integral part of the culture of Myanmar and historically important. Mediums like blacksmithing, lacquerware, painting, and woodcarving have survived war, insurrection, revolution, and the long passage of time to persevere."

Coming Soon: Victo Ngai on the honor of being Asian

Embracing API Creativity

Can you imagine a world without the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander communities? Neither can we. This APIH Month, we're spotlighting Asian and Pacific Islander creators with a curated list of classes.

About the author

Evan Neuhoff (he/they) is a non-binary Filipino-American writer living in Houston, Texas. Evan writes at the intersection of gender and racial identity, generational trauma, and the queer experience.

Header artwork by illustrator and Skillshare teacher Victo Ngai.