Hong Hong was born in Hefei City in Anhui, China in 1989. She immigrated with her mother to North Dakota when she was 10 years old. Hong earned her MFA from University of Georgia in 2014 and her BFA from the State University of New York in 2011. Since then, Hong has traveled across the United States to make site-responsive monumental paper works. In her nomadic and interdisciplinary practice, traditional processes of Tibetan and Japanese papermaking coalesce with feminist rituals and performances, which sit at the intersection of craft, painting, and earthwork. Her artwork has been exhibited at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Georgia Museum of Art, Real Art Ways, Penland School of Crafts, Madison Museum of Fine Art, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Jewett Arts Center, and New Mexico History Museum. Hong is the recipient of fellowships and grants from MacDowell, Yaddo, National Endowment for the Arts, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Center for the Arts at Wesleyan University, and Connecticut Office for the Arts. Her work has been reviewed by Art21, Artnet News, Hyperallergic, Art New England, Hand Papermaking, and Two Coats of Paint. In this oral history interview, Hong talked about her childhood memories surrounding her hometown, her family and extended family, and the food they had; and also how her life trajectory as an artist came to be. She dived into her art practices in papermaking, her vision, and her perspectives on artist’s role in the society and beyond.
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