AAPI Muralists

Murals in Ithaca by Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Artists

“Creativity is the key to human liberation.” — Grace Lee Boggs

Artwork below by Bhavya Bhushan, Cici Liu, Ehwah Moo, Efren Rebugio, Hsin Huei Chen, Ishan Ethridge, Jane Kim, Margalo Guo, May Yuasa, Qi Amy Li, Rupal Khaitan, Sam Somostrada, Shani Shih, Sophie Strang, Steav Kim, Wingchow, Yerke Abuova, and Knyaw teens!

This page celebrates AAPI artists who have helped shape Ithaca's public landscape through murals and street art.
❤️ It's a growing archive. If we're missing an artist, story, or detail, we'd love to hear from you. ❤️

Bhavya Bhushan
✨ Indian ✨
Bhavya Bhushan was born in London, raised in Trumbull, Connecticut, and earned her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell. She is currently based in Chicago, pursuing an MD/PhD at the University of Illinois Chicago. While in Ithaca, Bhavya co-created a “Rangoli” mural in Collegetown with friends, celebrating her Indian heritage and cultural traditions.
@bbhushan_

Efren Rebugio
✨ Filipino ✨
Efren Rebugio Jr. (a.k.a. ER and “Everyday Research”) is a first-generation Filipino-American artist based in Austin, Texas. He creates dynamic murals that weave together vibrant color, abstract energy, and cultural storytelling. Influenced by coastal life in Florida and Hawai‘i and inspired by graffiti, his work celebrates individuality and collective humanity, grounded in a self-taught practice and background in graphic design.
@everydayresearch

Ehwah Moo
✨ Knyaw (Kayin) ✨
Ehwah Moo is a Knyaw artist based in Ithaca, originally born in Tham Hin Refugee Camp in Thailand before immigrating to the United States in 2016. A rising young artist, he has assisted on multiple Ithaca Murals projects and painted his own electrical box mural on Cayuga St. His work is rooted in sharing Knyaw culture, honoring his community’s history, and ensuring younger generations carry forward the stories of their people.
@ewa___17

Hsin Huei Chen
✨ Taiwanese ✨
Hsin Huei Chen is a Taiwanese American mechanical engineering researcher, scientist, and artist. Drawn to interesting textures and materials, she especially loves creating art that makes people smile. In her free time, Hsin Huei enjoys playing cello, dragon boating, and practicing Chinese yo-yo.
@friendbear70

Ishan Ethridge
✨ Sri Lankan ✨
Ishan Ethridge is an Ithaca-raised artist and landscape designer who graduated from Cornell University in 2024. In 2020, Ishan painted two playful murals, “Mechanical Doodles” and “Snail,” in the Collegetown Garage - right near where he grew up. Today, Ishan works as a landscape designer at Sasaki, continuing to explore how creativity can transform the spaces around us.
@ishan.m.e

Jane Kim
✨ Korean ✨
Jane Kim is a Korean American artist and science illustrator whose colorful work celebrates nature and biodiversity. In 2014–15, Jane and her Ink Dwell team painted the spectacular 70-by-40-foot Wall of Birds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, depicting every living bird family and 375 million years of evolution. The mural was envisioned and organized by Dr. John Fitzpatrick and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
@inkdwell

Jiāléi Cici Liu 镭
✨ Chinese ✨
Cici was named after the eighty-eighth element, radium (镭 léi), whose luminous glow brought the invisible into view. This metaphor parallels her work’s desire to illuminate the ephemeral—encompassing both wonder and peril—and reflects her exploration of life: creation and destruction, beauty, desire, and sacrifice. Cici painted three electrical boxes in Collegetown and East Hill in Ithaca before leaving to pursue her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
@elementeightyeight

Margalo
✨ Chinese ✨
Margalo Guo is a local muralist and painter, born in Beijing in 2005 and raised in Ithaca since age 7. Margalo's murals can be found at Modern Ohana Restaurant, SouthWorks, Belle Sherman Elementary School, the Sciencenter, and HH Cayuga across from Cinemapolis, as well as in Miami, Florida and State College, Pennsylvania. Margalo approaches public art with a practice rooted in listening, care, and creative inspiration. When not painting, Margalo's likely making origami, skiing, petting cats or snakes (not at the same time), watching Jurassic Park, or eating pizza.
@margalomurals

May Yuasa
✨ Japanese ✨
May Yuasa is a civil engineer and artist who graduated from Cornell University in 2024 with a degree in civil engineering. Prior to Ithaca, she learned the power of murals when she led a community project in Clifton, New Jersey celebrating diversity and unity, which gained media attention after parts of the design—raised fists symbolizing solidarity—were challenged, altered, and partially removed. In 2022, she painted the mural “Empowered Women Empower the World” in Ithaca with funding from the Einhorn Center’s Community Partnership Funding Board in collaboration with Ithaca Murals.
@may.juneart

Qi Amy Li
✨ Chinese ✨
Amy Li (January 31, 2002 – February 19, 2024) was a computer science major at Cornell University and a member of the Ithaca Murals team during her senior year. Born in China, she was an active advocate for climate justice, the Never Again movement, and Black Lives Matter, and believed deeply in using art as a tool for equity and social change. Amy passed away in February of her senior year. If you or someone you know could use support, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline connects you with trained counselors 24/7.

Rupal Khaitan
✨ Indian ✨
Rupal Khaitan is a biomedical engineer, artist, and creative spirit who loves making art of all kinds, being outside, and playing tennis. Rupal was part of the Ithaca Murals organizing team in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting projects including Portals to Peace and the New Roots mural. She later brought her own creativity to the South Hill fence in Ithaca, where she painted a mural of her own.
@mamarups_

Shani Shih
✨ Taiwanese ✨
Shani Shih is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and organizer based in Washington, DC. She works across murals, illustration, and public art, centering community voice and anti-displacement work. A co-founder of the 411 Collective, she also founded Chinatown Art Studio and the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network, supporting Asian Pacific American youth and community resilience through art and organizing.
shanishih.com

Sophie Strang
✨ Vietnamese ✨
Sophie Strang is a multidisciplinary artist who grew up making art across embroidery, carving, sculpture, and drawing. In 2020, she painted two electrical boxes in Ithaca. The first features two snakes—one fierce and one calm—asking viewers, “Which snake are you?” Her second, sponsored by Ithaca Hummus, depicts Fannie Lou Hamer alongside the quote, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” Sophie’s work reflects a deep commitment to history, justice, and voice. As a biracial Vietnamese and English artist, she advocates for a better humanity, encouraging others to speak their truths.
@ricerroneous

Steav Kim
✨ South Korean ✨
Steav Kim is a Korean American artist based in Los Angeles with a BFA from Cornell. His work spans painting, photography, fashion, and ceramics, blending mediums to create pieces that feel both contemporary and timeless. He believes ceramics have a unique power to bring people together and connect us to our past.
@steeav

Wingchow
✨ Chinese ✨
Wingchow is a Chinese-American muralist and fine artist who began her career in Richmond, Virginia. Her work is known for colorful, playful, and amorphous “bubbly” forms that range from pure abstraction to loose symbolic narrative. Inspired by nature, simple joys, and the unknown, her murals invite viewers into dreamlike spaces. Her work can be found on walls and in galleries across the United States and beyond.
@wing.chow

Yerke Abuova
✨ Kazakhstani ✨
Yerkezhan (Yerke) Abuova is a Kazakhstani artist and 2023 Cornell University BFA graduate based in Ithaca, known for her 2D/3D art and mural work. She created a notable memorial mural in the Dryden Road Parking Garage in Collegetown, honoring her grandmothers who passed away from COVID-19 and Alzheimer's.
@y.e.r.k.e

Knyaw Teens with Dan Burgevin
✨ Knyaw ✨
In 2019, Knyaw and Burmese teens painted a mural at Shortstop Deli as part of 4-H Urban Outreach Program at CCE Tompkins, community leader Ramona Cornell, and local muralist Dan Burgevin. Knyaw community members are a beautiful part of Ithaca's refugee population, particularly those who have resettled from Myanmar (formerly Burma). The mural tells the family story of many local Knyaw; persecution and attempted genocide in Myanmar (formerly Burma), living in a Thailand refugee camp, and immigrating to Ithaca NY.
ithacamurals.com/karen-mural

Explore AAPI Community & Culture in Ithaca!

The @ithacaasian Linktree has incredible links to stories about culture and identity!

Click Here: @ithacaasian Linktree

Special shoutout to Ithaca Dragon Boat Club which was a huge collaborator in the recent mural by Margalo. Check out the IDBC here!