USC Pacific Asia Museum (USC PAM) has announced "Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry," a major exhibition conceived by Los Angeles–based Korean American artist Dave Young Kim. Opening February 14, 2026, the 12-room immersive installation blends approximately 100 objects from the museum's collection—spanning 5,000 years of Asian and Pacific art—with new media technology and contemporary works by over 20 artists, including Dinh Q. Lê, Lily Honglei, Wendy Park, Momoko Schafer, Kyungmi Shin, Sanjay Vora, and Lauren YS. The exhibition uses mythology as a visual language to explore the immigrant experience, featuring environments like a shadowy night crossing, a recreated first apartment, and a gilded room with a gold Jin Chan frog. A limited public preview runs December 20, 2025–January 4, 2026.
This exhibition matters because it represents a bold shift in how USC PAM activates its historical collections to tell emotionally resonant, present-day stories. By blending ancient objects with contemporary art and AI-powered interactive technology—including a wraparound video installation in a reconstructed airplane cabin and an AI video interaction allowing visitors to assume the role of an immigrant—the museum is dismantling orientalist frameworks and centering artists' voices. The show positions the museum as a site for emotional connection and intergenerational dialogue, potentially serving as a model for other institutions seeking to make historical collections relevant to contemporary audiences.