About Erin
Erin Kong at "korean mourning rituals" Book Launch (Palabras Bilingual Bookstore)
Fetus Erin, oil on canvas (2000)
Erin Kong is a second-generation Korean American interdisciplinary artist fascinated with the footprints and intersection of memory, identity, and creation. Raised in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, Kong found her favorite form of childhood escapism to be storytelling.
Originally introduced to singing by her musician mother at a very young age, Kong eventually pursued (and later obtained) a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Music Theatre) at Arizona State University. During her time training in singing, acting, and dancing, Kong decided to add a minor in Asian Pacific American Studies, and joined Dr. Brandon Yoo’s research lab, where she became invested in how critical race theory and art can, and responsibly should, interact.
During her time at university, Kong participated in dozens of musicals, operas, short films, and plays. She is noted for her performance as Mary in Stray Cat Theatre’s production of Two Mile Hollow, where she was declared by reviewers, “the show’s queen of comedy,” and a “comical standout.”
She published her debut poetry collection, korean mourning rituals, in 2019 under Seejung Publishing Company, which she co-founded with fellow poet and actress Anna Flores. Her book launch at Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix, AZ, garnered over 70 attendees, and featured interdisciplinary artists Sean Avery, Osiris Cuen, and Anna Flores. korean mourning rituals is now distributed online through Barnes & Noble and Lulu Publishing, and available at Palabras Bilingual Bookstore. Her poem, offerings to white america (After Mitski’s “Your Best American Girl”) was published in azcentral’s Poetry Spot.
In 2019, at The Phoenix Theatre Company’s 24-Hour Theatre Festival, Kong wrote an improv-based short play in an hour and a half, which received a staged reading in front of hundreds of audience members. In 2018, her debut stage play, War Brides, received a staged reading through Binary Theatre Company.
Kong co-founded Desert Diwata, an organization dedicated to honoring Asian and Pacific Islander creation in Arizona with colleague Danielle Ganon. She actively collaborates with radical POC-led arts organization, New Carpa Collective.
She currently works as a teaching artist, and in her spare time can be found guessing strangers’ sun signs, dancing at sticky clubs, or brooding in the dark.
Originally introduced to singing by her musician mother at a very young age, Kong eventually pursued (and later obtained) a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Music Theatre) at Arizona State University. During her time training in singing, acting, and dancing, Kong decided to add a minor in Asian Pacific American Studies, and joined Dr. Brandon Yoo’s research lab, where she became invested in how critical race theory and art can, and responsibly should, interact.
During her time at university, Kong participated in dozens of musicals, operas, short films, and plays. She is noted for her performance as Mary in Stray Cat Theatre’s production of Two Mile Hollow, where she was declared by reviewers, “the show’s queen of comedy,” and a “comical standout.”
She published her debut poetry collection, korean mourning rituals, in 2019 under Seejung Publishing Company, which she co-founded with fellow poet and actress Anna Flores. Her book launch at Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix, AZ, garnered over 70 attendees, and featured interdisciplinary artists Sean Avery, Osiris Cuen, and Anna Flores. korean mourning rituals is now distributed online through Barnes & Noble and Lulu Publishing, and available at Palabras Bilingual Bookstore. Her poem, offerings to white america (After Mitski’s “Your Best American Girl”) was published in azcentral’s Poetry Spot.
In 2019, at The Phoenix Theatre Company’s 24-Hour Theatre Festival, Kong wrote an improv-based short play in an hour and a half, which received a staged reading in front of hundreds of audience members. In 2018, her debut stage play, War Brides, received a staged reading through Binary Theatre Company.
Kong co-founded Desert Diwata, an organization dedicated to honoring Asian and Pacific Islander creation in Arizona with colleague Danielle Ganon. She actively collaborates with radical POC-led arts organization, New Carpa Collective.
She currently works as a teaching artist, and in her spare time can be found guessing strangers’ sun signs, dancing at sticky clubs, or brooding in the dark.
Candid Erin! Look how candid!
Reading Erin.
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Drafts for Erin Kong's "About Erin" Page:
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Duality.
PC: Jake Capriotti Photography
Erin Kong and her fans (the wonderful ladies of APhiG)
