Jin-Ya Huang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and moved to the United States when she was 13. At the time, Jin-Ya knew no English beyond the alphabet. However, she’d been making art since she was three years old, and “found art to be a universal language.” Because of her personal struggles with cultural identity and displacement, this notion has colored the way and the reason Jin-Ya creates. “I am a mixed media artist making artwork that explores the complex struggle and beauty of the immigrant diaspora,” she says. “My work particularly focuses on women and their families in the United States. My mission is to make art that speaks this universal language to different races and gives each subject a unique voice.” In addition to utilizing her artistic voice to ignite positive cultural exchanges, Jin-Ya is also deeply committed to and involved in local non-profit organizations. She works with the Human Rights Initiative, which offers 100 percent free legal services to immigrants in DFW who are seeking political asylum or shelter from abuse. She has also collaborated with Make Art With Purpose (MAP), which is an organization that “advances models for producing art that are rooted in consciousness and include ideas for positive environmental and social change.” [MAP also happens to be Art Con’s 2016 beneficiary.] Jin-ya has been aware of Art Conspiracy since its inception in 2005, but this will be her first time participating as an artist. “I finally had the good fortune to meet and work side by side with Erica [Felicella – Art Con’s executive director] through the Dallas Festival of Ideas on The Cultural City team in 2015,” she says. “I am very grateful for her friendship and enlightenment.” Jin-Ya’s passion for contemporary social issues and making change through art perfectly aligns with the mission of Art Conspiracy, and she has great respect for what the organization seeks to accomplish. “Art Con is a beacon of hope in the world of lifetime community service,” she says. And on the subject of this year’s ANONYMOUS theme, Jin-Ya says, “Every concept germinates from an idea. Every community starts on common ground. There is no restriction – only an open invitation to a garden of endless possibilities.”

To see Jin-Ya’s work in person and perhaps bid on her piece, get your ticket now for ANONYMOUS.