GAPA Exhibit Showcases QTAPI Artists
GAPA and GAPA Fund, with Sentro Filipino and Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC), present Holding (Queer) Space, a group art exhibition that centers Queer and Trans Asian and Pacific Islander (QTAPI) artists.
Running from May 29 to July 10, 2026, the exhibition features works by Angel Angeles (aka Tito Bong), Pablo Tapay Bautista, Leonila Mims, Ngoc Nguyen, Jethro Patalinghug, Henry Roark, e tanaka, Coy Viana, Jun Yang, and Fiona Yim.
Join us at our OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION on Friday, May 29th at Sentro Filipino, 814 Mission Street in Downtown San Francisco! You’ll get to enjoy fabulous artwork, meet the artists, partake in tasty food, and engage with community.
Holding (Queer) Space is Sentro Filipino’s first Exhibition of 2026, with the Opening Night Reception celebrating both the continuation of Sentro’s Exhibition Grant Program and the ushering of QTAPI Week in San Francisco, the symbolic bridge between May’s API Heritage Month and June’s Pride Month. Holding (Queer) Space is also being presented with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center as part of the 2026 Annual United States of Asian America Festival (USAAF).
****************************************
Through painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture, the exhibition’s theme invites us to reflect on our relationships with each other as QTAPI in the diaspora by exploring what it means to take up space and practice placemaking for others. What does it mean to create and hold space for QTAPI cultural expression in ways that expand reflective spaces within ourselves? How can the arts help us imagine new ways to tell our stories and steward our histories for future generations?
GAPA sees artistic expression as a form of community care. We understand that the arts are not just expressions of identity, but acts of survival and resistance—ways to gather, to heal, and to imagine what liberation can look like. Our values are rooted in the belief that art is both healing and connective. It allows us to speak our truths, process our histories, and envision futures where our communities are visible, celebrated, and free. By sharing our perspectives, we create common ground where people can come together across generations, cultures, and identities. These acts of visibility foster pride, reduce isolation, and affirm that our lives and experiences matter.
What does it mean to create and hold space for QTAPI cultural expression in ways that expand reflective spaces within ourselves? How can the arts help us imagine new ways to tell our stories and steward our histories for future generations? Whether it’s found within, among chosen family, or in the community-at-large, featured works are both a reflection of who we are now and a vision of who we can become together. Ultimately, this exhibition is meant to nurture spaces where QTAPI people can gather, heal, and thrive—and to use art as a way of imagining and building the liberated futures we deserve.
****************************************
GAPA dedicates itself to furthering the interests of Queer and Trans Asians and Pacific Islanders by creating awareness, developing a positive identity and establishing a supportive community.
GAPA Fund further aims to empower and advance QTAPI voices by uplifting them through arts and cultural programs to foster understanding, visibility, and change.
Sentro Filipino develops and promotes appreciation of arts, culture, and heritage through the facilitation of exhibits, performances, special events and community forums.
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) has a mission to support and produce multidisciplinary art reflective of the unique experiences of Asian Pacific Islanders living in the United States.
Additional support generously provided by BAPHR (Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights) and the Horizons Foundation.