Jasper Wong is the founder and lead director of POW! WOW!, which is a non-profit organization of contemporary artists committed to community enrichment through the creation of art outreach programs, educational programs and engaging the community in the creation and appreciation of art.
Centered around murals and art, POW! WOW! has grown into a global network of artists and organizes art exhibitions, lecture series, schools for art and music, creative community spaces, concerts, and live art installations across the globe. As a home grown and independent art festival, POW! WOW! is now recognized as one of the most premier and well-curated mural festivals in the world. It is also much more than an internationally relevant art festival, what also makes it unique is that POW! WOW! showcases the city that it is in. Whether it be Hawaii, Long Beach, Tokyo or Taipei, POW! WOW! highlights the artists, restaurants, stores and people that make it special.
Watch some of our most recent video documenting the global movement of POW! WOW!
More information: www.powwowhawaii.com
Big Bad Wolf was founded by Amy and Jasper Wong with a quest to create fashion-forward apparel inspired by street wear culture and the arts. They bring together these elements by working with renowned artists and brands from all over the world. This selection of images showcases the designs that Jasper have created for the brand.
More information: www.bigbadwolfkids.com
YouTube is filled with kids and adults opening blind box toys, creating slime, playing videogames, and more. Jasper Wong wanted to created a virtual YouTuber of an animated character doing the same activities. This is how Loony Goony was born. A channel created for his kids and those around him.
Inside Lana Lane Studios, construction materials and industrial equipment are everywhere. A bank of vintage motorcycles and old bike parts are assembled outside Minnow Motor Works, Anthony Vallejo-Sanderson’s moped and motorcycle refurbishment shop. Across the warehouse, massive carved wooden panels rest against the wall outside a recording studio where POW! WOW! School of Music director Nicholas Kaleikini plays the piano.
On both floors, an assortment of private studio spaces line the perimeters, each customized with recycled or donated materials by their residents. Front facades range from painted sheet metal to crafted wood to clear plastic.
It’s any given morning at Lana Lane Studios, the neighborhood workspace for local creatives that hosts illustrators, painters, graffiti artists, graphic designers, photographers, videographers, and musicians. What once was an old warehouse storing concrete and car tires was renovated in 2012 by POW! WOW! directors Jasper Wong and Jeffrey Gress into a collaborative space where artists can rent studios at affordable rates.
More information: www.lanalanestudios.com
Loft in Space gallery was founded by Jasper Wong and Tiffany Tanaka. Located in a warehouse on Queen Street, the large space housed exhibitions from renown artists that included KR of KRINK, Patrick Martinez, Aaron De La Cruz, Samuel Rodriguez, Ryuichi Ogino, Prime and Kamea Hadar.
More information: www.vice.com
Above Second was co-founded by May Wong and Jasper Wong. It is an artist-run gallery and studio space existing as a catalyst for the expanding new contemporary art movement exploding forth from the streets, art schools, and design studios from around the world. Located in Sai Ying Pun, a very local part of Hong Kong Island in the Central and Western District, they exhibit a genre of work influenced by illustration, graphic design, graffiti, comic books, pop culture, and street art. They are aware of the growing interest for diversity and options the Hong Kong community craves for contemporary art. Promoting and nurturing the understanding of an alternative subculture, we have a network of local emerging young talent and international artists whose work is rarely exhibited in Asia.
Above Second’s aim is to challenge and captivate the audience with notions of unconventionality and quality. Our Art Residency programs are designed to provide a space for the visiting artists, without any limitations, as a setting to be progressive and innovate. They are encouraged to bring that raw creative energy (usually found on the streets) indoors, transforming our white walls into ingenious installations and departures from reality. Above Second is proud to have collaborated with artists from Japan, Denmark, Italy, Australia, USA, UK, Mexico, China, and locally. Committed to nurturing young and talented artists, they have created a forum for launching their careers.
