Low Tide / High Root: APIDA Diasporic Perspectives

Low Tide / High Root brings together seven Tampa Bay artists of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) backgrounds for a layered, immersive exploration of identity, place, and belonging. Moving between personal narrative and collective memory, the works in this exhibition reflect the blending of cultures, traditions, and technologies—ranging from reimagined traditional forms to AI-driven animation and pop-culture–inspired storytelling.

Set against Florida’s familiar image as a tropical paradise, the exhibition looks beneath the surface. Like a low tide revealing what is usually unseen, these artists examine Florida as both a site of beauty and a space of cultural negotiation, tension, and transformation. Their work speaks to the emotional, geographic, and cultural distances that shape diasporic life, while also celebrating creativity born at the intersections of many influences.

Together, the artists present a powerful portrait of APIDA identity in Tampa Bay—rooted in heritage, shaped by place, and continually evolving. Low Tide / High Root invites viewers to consider how identity is formed, challenged, and reinvented over time, revealing what emerges when cultures collide, adapt, and take root.

Participating Artists:

• Saumitra Chandratreya

• Akiko Kotani

• Samo Davis + Petra Gurin

• Joo Woo

• Kirk Ke Wang

• Shengwei Zhou