Often written, directed, and acted by one performer, solo performance has provided many Asian-American artists with the opportunity to voice their experiences.

And commissioned pieces by eight smart, buzzy Asian and Asian-American artists will be installed throughout the building, including the new courtyard garden cafe.

Asian-American artists often use the Western avant-garde tradition to express conflicts and feelings repressed in the process of assimilation.

In 1993, the Whitney Biennial included several Asian-American artists.

Under the direction of Robert Lee, this nonprofit space has given many Asian-American artists, young and old, exposure impossible to find elsewhere.

He's an Asian-American hip-hop artist from Queens (by way of Florida).

Securing more financial backing is one way to guarantee a future, but it is also vital that young Asian-American artists believe in the importance of the company.

"Something very regular or concrete," though, would allow for more flexibility and offer opportunities to create partnerships with other Asian-American artists and companies, Ms. Chang said.

"In the early 1990's, the thought was that if we presented Asian-American artists, the local Asian-American community would turn out," he said.