Beyond the Stage: Creating New Possibilities for Asian Communities
Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night, which began as an initiative to connect Asian artists working in New Zealand, has entered a new stage this year after being invited to become part of the official Auckland Asia Festival programme. However, for organiser Han Lee, the longer-term vision goes far beyond creating a larger music event.
Beginning with arts and culture as a way of bringing people together, Han hopes to connect research, education, workshops, community development and social services. The longer-term goal is to build new solutions by recognising and mobilising the strengths, knowledge and resources that already exist within New Zealand’s Asian communities.
As part of this direction, Han recently established the Asia Equity and Development Trust (AEDT). Rather than simply identifying gaps within existing social and community services, AEDT aims to develop and test new programmes and service models that reflect the cultural backgrounds, experiences and strengths of Asian communities.
A Project That Began by Creating Opportunities for Asian Musicians
Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night began with the aim of creating more performance and development opportunities for NZ On Air-supported artists and independent musicians working in New Zealand.
There are many talented Asian musicians producing and releasing music in New Zealand. However, opportunities to connect with new audiences, collaborate with other artists, gain wider exposure, and build relationships with communities and businesses can still be limited.
Han saw a need for something beyond a one-off performance. The idea was to create a platform where artists could meet one another, share their stories, build relationships and potentially turn those connections into future opportunities.
The first Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night was held at The Tuning Fork at Spark Arena in 2025. The inaugural event focused on bringing artists from different Asian cultural backgrounds onto the same stage and creating opportunities for them to connect.
In 2026, the project has taken another step forward. Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night 2026 has been invited to join the official Auckland Asia Festival programme, giving participating artists the opportunity to reach a broader audience and engage with the wider community.
This year’s theme is “From Many Cultures, One Harmony.”
It reflects the idea that people can maintain their own cultural identities, languages and artistic backgrounds while working together to create something new.
Supporting Artists Through Business and Community Collaboration
Another important feature of this year’s project is the involvement of businesses as collaborative partners in supporting Asian artists.
Through collaborations with BMW MINI and local businesses including Love Asia and Ongi Restaurant, the project has created additional opportunities for artists to present their music and performances beyond the main stage.
Artist Performance MVs have also been produced in collaboration with participating restaurants. These collaborations provide artists with new promotional content and exposure, while giving businesses an opportunity to engage with artists and the wider community through arts and culture.
Rather than viewing businesses simply as sponsors, the project explores a more collaborative model in which businesses, artists and communities can contribute their different strengths and resources to support one another.
Different Asian Cultures and Stories on One Stage
The event will begin with an Artist Panel Discussion from 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm. Participating artists will share their music, creative processes, cultural backgrounds and experiences of working as artists in New Zealand.
The main showcase will begin at 1:00 pm, featuring Bharatanatyam alongside performances by Angela, Kevin Kim, One Square, XPLSV, Han Lee & Julia, and K-pop Dance performers.
The event will conclude with the participating artists coming together to perform “Where Is the Love?” The finale represents the theme From Many Cultures, One Harmony: artists with different cultural backgrounds, musical styles and creative disciplines coming together on one stage.
Kevin Kim — A Singer-Songwriter with Decades of Musical Experience
Kevin Kim (Kim Ki-hwan) is a Korean singer-songwriter whose musical career stretches back to the 1990s.
In 1996, he received recognition at the MBC Rock Music Festival as part of the band Freebird. He went on to release his own music in 1997 and continued his creative work through Freebird’s releases and his solo projects, contributing to songwriting and arrangement.
During the 2000s, he also participated in music production for television programmes and has continued releasing music in more recent years.
His participation highlights another aspect of Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night: bringing together artists from different generations and stages of their careers.
Angela — Growing Between Korea and New Zealand
Angela is a New Zealand-based singer-songwriter and performer whose music combines elements of Pop, R&B and Hip-hop with storytelling drawn from her own experiences.
She has developed her vocal and performance experience across both Korea and New Zealand. In Korea, she participated in solo artist development and worked with producers on music projects. She also undertook intensive artist training at Joy Dance Academy and performed at an event attended by representatives from more than 80 entertainment companies.
In 2026, she performed as a Lead Vocalist for the K-POP LIVE New Zealand and Australia Tours under the direction of Rina Chae.
Her music explores themes including resilience, self-discovery and human connection, while her skills across singing, rap and dance reflect her versatility as a performer.
XPLSV — Representing a New Generation of Asian Artists
XPLSV (“Explosive”) is a 15-year-old Japanese-Kiwi musician based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
He began rapping at the age of 12 and uses music as a way of expressing his ideas and communicating his perspective to others.
While Hip-hop remains his primary musical interest, his influences range from Boom Bap to contemporary Melodic Rap, and he does not want to limit himself to a single genre.
XPLSV’s involvement reflects an important part of the project’s purpose: creating opportunities not only for established performers, but also for a new generation of Asian artists who are beginning to develop their own voices and identities.
One Square — An Auckland-Born Independent Band
One Square is an independent band formed in Auckland in 2024, consisting of vocalist Kiki, guitarist Jay, bassist Lemon and drummer Jukka.
Their music draws inspiration from Indie Pop, Indie Rock, City Pop and Contemporary R&B. Their sound combines melody-driven songwriting, warm grooves and contemporary musical textures to create music that can feel both nostalgic and fresh.
Their ability to bring different musical influences together into a distinctive band sound also reflects the wider diversity at the heart of Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night.
Han Lee — Connecting Music and Community
The project’s organiser, Han Lee, will also perform at the showcase. Alongside his music, Han has developed projects connecting culture, migration, belonging and community participation.
Through K-pop Culture Night, delivered as part of Auckland Council’s World of Cultures programme, he explored how music and performance could create conversations around cultural identity and belonging. His work subsequently expanded into wider community initiatives, including events bringing Korean political representatives and community members together.
For this year’s showcase, Han is also preparing a collaborative performance with dancer Julia, combining music and movement. Han will communicate the emotion and story through song, while Julia interprets those ideas through dance. The performance is intended to demonstrate how different artistic disciplines can respond to one another and create a single work together.
Beyond Cultural Events: Establishing a New NGO
Through his experience organising cultural and community projects, Han came to believe that one-off events alone have limitations in creating sustainable social change.
He also believes that while existing social and community services play an important role, there remain areas where the cultural backgrounds, migration experiences, family relationships, languages, identities and sense of belonging experienced by Asian communities could be better reflected.
This led to the establishment of the Asia Equity and Development Trust (AEDT).
AEDT is a Pan-Asian organisation working collaboratively with diverse Asian communities. Its long-term direction is to connect innovation, research, education and workshops, community development, cultural events and social services to advance Asian equity in New Zealand.
Moving from a Deficit Model to a Strengths-Based Approach
One of the ideas Han hopes to challenge through AEDT is the reliance on a deficit model — an approach that primarily asks what is lacking or what is wrong with individuals and communities.
Identifying problems and unmet needs remains important. However, Han argues that concentrating only on problems can mean overlooking the strengths and resources that Asian communities already possess, including cultural diversity, professional expertise, creativity, multilingual abilities, international networks and human capital.
Alongside asking, “What does this community lack?”, he believes there should also be questions such as: “What does this community already have?” and “How can those strengths be used to develop new solutions?”
This represents a different way of viewing Asian communities — not simply as populations requiring assistance or social services, but as social partners with the knowledge, resources and capabilities to participate in solving problems and contributing to New Zealand society.
Connecting Research, Workshops and Social Services
For AEDT, innovation does not simply mean introducing new technology.
Instead, the organisation aims to move beyond a fragmented model in which research ends with research, cultural events end with the event, and social services operate separately.
The proposed model is to connect research → education → community engagement → programme development → social services → evaluation and improvement.
Some of this work is already beginning. Han is working with the University of Auckland on workshops and programmes related to Asian equity, while also seeking to collaborate with community-based organisations to develop new social service models that better reflect the experiences and cultural contexts of Asian communities.
Over time, the aim is to expand collaboration with universities, NGOs and community organisations both within New Zealand and internationally, bringing together academic research and expertise, community-based experience and the voices of community members themselves.
From Advocacy That Identifies Problems to Advocacy That Creates Solutions
Han describes this approach as another way of thinking about advocacy.
Raising awareness of the challenges experienced by Asian communities and ensuring their voices are heard remains important. But he believes advocacy can go one step further.
When a gap in the existing system is identified, designing, testing and delivering a new programme or service that provides a practical alternative can itself become a form of advocacy.
Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night can be seen as one starting point for this philosophy. Music connects artists; collaboration brings in businesses and communities; and the relationships created through cultural activities can then potentially develop into education, workshops, leadership development and wider community programmes.
Through AEDT, Han hopes to extend this approach beyond arts and culture by connecting research, education, community development and innovative social services, while drawing on the existing strengths of Asian communities to develop practical solutions.
“I don’t want Asian communities to be seen simply as people who need help. We already have significant cultural knowledge, professional expertise, creativity, experience and networks. Alongside talking about what is missing, I think we should talk much more about how we can connect the strengths we already have and use them to contribute to New Zealand society.”
If Pan-Asian Music Showcase Night connects different cultures through music on one stage, AEDT represents the next step: extending those connections beyond arts and culture into broader social change.
Han also hopes more people will become part of that process. Individuals who share AEDT’s vision, people who would like to contribute their experience or expertise, and organisations and communities interested in collaborating on new programmes and social services are invited to become involved.
From Many Cultures, One Harmony.
When people from different backgrounds bring their strengths together, diversity can become not only something to celebrate, but also a resource for creating new possibilities for New Zealand society.