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Laura Kina

@laura.kina

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laurakina.com
Queer, disabled, mixed race, Uchinanchu artist, author, curator, and professor

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by @laura.kina

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2 days ago

Thank you @nadya.baron for doing a photoshoot with me in my art studio at Mana Contemporary in April 2026.

This is a sneak peek of the portraits she did of me 6 months into cancer treatment. She's going to be documenting me as I go through this final cancer battle. Nadya is interested in photographing elder queers in the Chicagoland area.

Nadya Baron is a queer, immigrant emerging art therapist and artist based in Chicagoland, IL. Originally from Lithuania, she spent years working as an artist and photographer across Eastern Europe. Her professional experience in art education and social work further shaped a practice attentive to complexity and care. Nadya graduated from SAIC's Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program in spring 2026.

Check out her work at:
https://nadyabaron.com

#chicagoartist #chicagoart #uchinanchu #queerart taken in Mana Contemporary by @laura.kina

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16 days ago

Big News 📣📚️ "UchinaAmerican: Anthology of Okinawan American Art & Literature" is forthcoming Nov/Dec 2026 from Bess Press! In this epic multi-genre collection, over 70 artists and writers explore the question, "What does it mean to be Okinawan American?"⁠
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A companion to "Chiburu: Anthology of Hawaiʻi Okinawan Literature," this collection expands the showcase of Okinawan American voices to the U.S. continent. Editors Lee A. Tonouchi @pidginguerrilla, Laura Kina @laura.kina, and Wesley Iwao Ueunten curate a compilation of pivotal historical works alongside fresh new voices weaving a shared discourse of determination, joy and dissent. ⁠
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Addressing the historical absence of diasporic Okinawan narratives in the U.S. Asian American literary canon, this collection gathers a vital cohort of Okinawan American creatives. Through a vibrant array of expressions—including short stories, poetry, spoken word, essays, comics, stand-up comedy, drama, film, song, dance, music, art, craft, graphic design, fashion, and more—these creators engage with critical socio-political themes, examining the intersections of assimilation, militarism, and war trauma while championing cultural resilience, decolonization, and Indigenous futurity as pathways to peace.⁠
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Preorder your copy now and learn more at BessPress.com (link in bio!)⁠
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Cover Artist: Scarlett Yuki @syukistudio⁠
Designer: Coby Shimabukuro-Sanchez @shikarabu⁠ by @laura.kina

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a month ago

Chemo Round 21 - What a difference care makes!

Thank you to my stellar care team:

@tomomster for setting up the care team system and coordinating getting volunteers the past two rounds

@arguevarra2018 and Gayatri Reddy for the yummy home cooked meal care package - dinner (masoor daal, Kerala sable curry, persimmons, and puto calasiao) and breakfast (corned beef and cabbage with fried egg over rice).

@alex.yu.98499 for taking me to chemo on Monday

@nadya.baron for visiting me on Monday night to help with the transition to the overnight nurse

@matthewgirson for the morning visit and beach walk on Tuesday

@sukarenky @jeeyeun for helping me rest over tea on Tuesday afternoon. Karen brought curry croquettes and tiramisu tarts from Paris Baguette and JeeYeun spiritually blessed my home.

Laila for bringing me delicious Palestinian food for lunch on Wednesday

@ronnie_chat for helping me celebrate after my chemo disconnect on Wednesday night

@mitcharonson for taking me grocery shopping and to my art studio to water the plants on Thursday. Mitch has volunteered to take me grocery shopping once a week.

Thank you also to my family - my parents George Kina and Diane Kina for hiring the CNA, Sam for picking up and delivering my medicine, Joe for your daily wellness check phone calls, and Midori and @aaatrip_ for your calls and texts to keep my spirits up.

And Midori is home from college for fall break! by @laura.kina

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5 days ago

Sept 18-20, 2026 Brooklyn adventures with @tara.asgarbk @alexachang2000 @shellybahl @chanelmatsunami and Samantha Torpey. I needed to get away and it felt so good to be surrounded by friends old and new and feel love and joy even in the midst of navigating very challenging personal and health issues.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Prospect Park
Green-Wood Cemetery for the Mortal Matters symposium
Fort Green Farmers
NY gallery hopping off of Canal St
Dumbo
Brooklyn Park Bridge
Papi Juice dance party
Petit Rouge at Théâtre XIV
Brooklyn Museum to see the Iris Van Herpin: Sculpting the Senses exhibition
Greyz Bistro in Crown Heights taken in Brooklyn, New York by @laura.kina

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24 days ago

Pitbull! With Ariel, Midori, and Jaslim. taken in Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre by @laura.kina

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a month ago

Dis Okinawan American anthology edited by me, @laura.kina and Wesley Ueunten stay coming soon! We get ova 70 contributors. Stay tune for da announcement of who stay inside! by @laura.kina

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a month ago

August 8-16, 2026 family reunion in Poulsbo.

My brother Sam and his family traveled with me back to our hometown. We visited with friends and family, hung out in my parents’ backyard and did day trips to the Olympic Peninsula, played on the beach in Hansville at Foulweather Bluff and Point No Point, and walked through Port Gamble, and made frequent trips to Sluys Bakery in Poulsbo.

We ate lots of yummy Pacific Northwest food - grilled wild caught salmon from my cousin Leighton, oysters at Hama Hama Oyster Saloon, homemade blackberry cobbler by my mom. Sam did all the cooking for the whole family for a week. It was a much needed week of rest, spending time with loved ones, and outdoor adventures. taken in Poulsbo, Washington by @laura.kina

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2 months ago

Uchinanchu ARMY! Thank you @tatiakamine for making one of my bucket list items a reality. Tatiana treated me to a BTS concert in Chicago. I love my Chicago Choodee! This was my first BTS concert.

I got into BTS before the pandemic and had tickets to see them last time they were in Chicago but then I got breast cancer and their show was cancelled due to the shut down. Their music kept me going through some very tough time. I saw a VIP fan with a sign last night that said “5 years cancer free” and I thought that should have been me. But here I am again with cancer but this time stage 4 and I started to tear up. Then I remembered why we were there and shook it off and stayed in the present moment. The show was everything I dreamed of and more. Everything lit, it’s🔥

What’s your favorite song from ARIRANG? Mine are Hooligan and FYA.
#btschicago #bts taken in Soldier Field by @laura.kina

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2 months ago

July 2026 - It’s a shame I have to be dying to feel so free. My stage 4 cancer is stable right now and I had a month of minimal health complications so I was able to enjoy quality time with friends and family.

Highlights:
@chanelmatsunami visited from Brooklyn
@cmmiura visited from San Francisco
Beach hangs, dancing, gay chaos with @wyldheartscantbebroken
Art openings and dinner with @lardamang and crew
Walking with @ksing.tha.joint
Argyle Night Market with @nicole.sumida @alex.yu.98499
Reading Torn by @stortiii
Vietnamese food, karaoke, beach days with @aaatrip_
Time with Midori
Dancing with Helen McElroy
Art studio days with friends
My nephew Ryo performing in a rock band at the Square Roots Festival

Thank you to all the friends and family who have cooked for me, taken care of me through chemo treatments, and sent me gifts this month. by @laura.kina

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2 months ago

June 2026 - Pride month shenanigans, beach birthday party with friends and family, Thai festival, visit to the ER/hospitalization, and visits from out of town friends Margo Machida, Alissa Paris, Amanda Adams, and Boaz Adler. by @laura.kina

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4 months ago

May 19-25, 2026 Midori, Sam, Abby I traveled to Basque Country with a focus on exploring the food scene. Our Basque ancestors on my mom’s side were from Urapel, France and Navarro, Spain in Basque Country.

May 19-21 We stayed in San Sebastián and explored Getaria, Zumaia, and Hondarribia

May 20 We celebrated my 53rd and Midori’s 21st birthday at a Michelin star restaurant Elkano in Getaria. They are famous for their grilled turbot. The seasonal teardrop peas blew us away.

May 21 We went to an Italian Omakase dinner at Amelia - a two-Michelin starred restaurant in San Sebastián run by Chef Paulo Airaudo. This was one of our main destinations for our birthday celebration week. A huge thank you to Sam and Abby for treating us to this extravagant dinner!

May 22 Medieval town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, wine tasting at La Rioja Alta, S.A. winery in Barrio de la Estación of Haro, and more Medieval adventures in Briones and LaGuardia.

May 23 Our final Basque Country Michelin star restaurant visit was to Txispa by Chef Tetsuro Maeda. It’s located in the village of Axpe, at the foot of Mount Anboto. The restaurant has an organic farm in back where they grow Basque and Japanese vegetables that make up the main focus of their seasonal menu.

On our way to Bilbao, we stopped by Guernica to see the Tree of Gernika, symbolising Basque freedom.

May 24 - Bilbao. We went to the Guggenheim and saw the Ruth Asawa retrospective and explored Old Town for pintxos. My sister-in-law Abby took some great portraits of us on the trip.

#basque #basquecountry #elkano #amelia #txispa taken in San Sebastián, Spain by @laura.kina

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4 months ago