2026 Art Show

On February 1, 2026, just days before the Lunar New Year, the Chinese community in the Stony Brook area gathered at the Brookhaven Town Hall, despite temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius, heavy snowfall, and stinging winds. The town hall was brightly decorated and bustling with activity, with nearly two hundred guests attending the awards and closing ceremony of the Year of the Horse Art Exhibition. The event was a collaboration between the Asian American Association of Greater Stony Brook (AAAGSB), the Town of Brookhaven, its Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Advisory Board (AANHPI), and Brookhaven Town Councilman Jonathan Kornreich. 

The exhibition welcomed the surrounding communities of Brookhaven and Suffolk County. and received an unparalleled 182 entries. Submissions included numerous horse-related paintings, exquisite calligraphy, and 3D creative works, including wool sculptures and paper crafts, from participants of all ages and backgrounds. Due to limited space, only 50 pieces were selected to be displayed at the Brookhaven Town Hall. This year marked the AAAGSB’s sixth annual Lunar New Year celebration with an art exhibition, and the fourth time a month-long exhibition was held in the Brookhaven Town Hall. The event established a new tradition in the over 200-year-old town of Brookhaven. 

Brookhaven District 1 Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich attended the event, delivering speeches and presenting the awards to the winners.

The participants in this art exhibition ranged from elderly individuals in their sixties to elementary schoolers. Through creating horse-related works, they revisited the meaning of Lunar New Year. All entries were divided into four age groups for judging, and the judging committee was led by Professor Han Qin of the Stony Brook University Art Department.

Theme

Lunar New Year, Year of the Horse

Jury

Chair

Han Qin

Interdisciplinary Artist, Curator, Adjunct Professor at Stony Brook University‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Judges

Gay Gatta, an award winning artist, Gay has exhibited in many venues throughout Long Island. She is a realist but loves all forms of art in all mediums. Originally from Tennessee, where she studied Commercial Art, she utilized her artistic skills in her work until retirement. She has managed several art galleries over the years and has judged many Long Island art shows.

Nathan Malak, the Education Programs Manager at the Parrish Art Museum, is responsible for all the education programs and gains accessible to all people. Aside from working in the museum, Nathan is a Thai-American artist based in Southampton, NY. She is a proud Stony Brook University alumna. 

(From left to right: Malak, Gatta, Han)

Elementary School Division

(Grades K-5)

First Place

Justin Sun

A Night of Joy

My drawing shows ancient buildings with fireworks celebrating the Lunar New Year. The fireworks represent joy and good luck, while the year of the Horse symbolizes energy, strength and new beginnings for the year ahead. 

Second Place

Joy Liu 

Lantern Night Horse

People send lanterns into the sky on the night of a big event. The Lantern Night Horse wakes at that moment. Each lantern is caught before it drifts too far away, gathered with one sweep of her cloudlike hair. She reads the wish that was hidden inside. Wishes that are only about themselves fade away like smoke. Hopes that are kind and brave shine the brightest. She gallops across the stars with those good wishes in her tail. They are pressed into the night like seeds by dawn. In the evening, there will be a new sparkle in the sky when you look up. She planted those dreams, and they are now growing into constellations.

Andrea Wang

Golden Steed of Auspicious Tides

The enchanted horse galloped across the ocean waves, racing to the shore. As her long wavy mane reached down her body, many beautiful colorful lines and curves appeared. Each one gives the horse more and more courage. Each coin the horse is carrying has a special wish held tightly to it. Little by little each coin begins to fall in the ocean, and the ocean will shine bright as ever! 

This year we have the year of the horse, and the horse symbolizes power, freedom, and beauty, but it also symbolizes movement and spiritual journeys. This artwork shows the horse's freedom as it runs and explores the ocean.

Sophia Wang

The Peony's Gallop

This year we have the year of the horse, and the horse symbolizes power, freedom, and beauty, but it also symbolizes movement and spiritual journeys. This artwork shows the horse's freedom as it runs and explores the oceanThis print captures the spirit of Lunar New Year in full bloom. Here, the noble horse—symbol of energy and success—becomes one with the lush peony, an emblem of prosperity and honor. Together, they gallop into the spring, merging strength with beauty, and motion with renewal. Through the layered art of printmaking, we celebrate a year destined to be both vibrant and fortunate.

Third Place

Harry Zhao 

Chubby Horse on the New Year Bridge

There is one big, chubby white horse with tiny legs standing on a bridge. Behind it are houses and fireworks to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The horse is happy and silly, bringing laughs and good luck to everyone.

Irene He 

Gallop into the New Year

The drawing is inspired by the good fortune and traditions cherished by Chinese people, celebrating the culture, symbols, and joyful wishes. The white horse in the middle stands for a new beginning of the year. It is like an empty canvas, ready for us to draw our dreams, hopes, and stories.

Elina Yu

Pattern Horses Celebrate New Year

There are three horses with special patterns: one has hearts, one has flowers, and one has round spots. The mountains and Chinese lanterns mean good luck and happy Lunar New Year. The horses run together to bring love, joy, and fun to everyone.

Ziyang Chen 

Bathed in Light

A white horse rests beneath green shade, bathed in sunlight. In the Year of the Horse, it symbolizes purity, quiet strength, and steady renewal—an image of clarity, balance, and forward movement.

Elin Sze

Lunar New Year: Ride to the Ancestors 

Today feels wonderful because I dreamed I was an anime girl traveling through China. On horseback, I visited ancestral places—the Great Wall, and wooden temples from the Tang dynasty. As the buildings rose high over me, the New Year began in joy and celebration.

Middle School Division

（Grades 6-9)

First Place

Esly Peraza

The Year of the Horse

My inspiration for this art work was to include a horse because it is the year of the horse and to do it in Chinese colors. 

High School Division

（Grades 10-12)

First Place

Steven Chen

Downtown Surprise for the New Year

Lunar New Year is the time when we are able to enjoy cheer, laughter, and most importantly, love within our families. This important holiday becomes one of the only times of the year where many of my family members are able to gather together and celebrate their journey to the U.S and bring a part of their culture with them here. It stems from the idea that horses, meant to race the fields, could suddenly be transported inside such an urban environment, yet carrying accents of their traditions with them. That’s what they represent. Hundreds of families just like mine, sharing our festivities with the world spreading warmth, comfort, and joy no matter where we go!

Second Place

Kurushiga Sathiyaseelan 

Harmonizing with Firehorse

In my Year of the Horse piece I included the Firehorse, lanterns, the Chinese Taoism symbol that represents harmonizing with the natural flow of the universe.  I used the color yellow which represents good fortune for the 2026 Chinese New Year.  The Firehorse represents good fortune and beauty in the new year.

Third Place

Jordyn Gandolfo

The Firehorse and Hope

The horse represents freedom, strength, power and nobility. The horse is surrounded by cherry blossoms, representing its gracefulness and hope. The soft pastel contrasts the bright colors, emulating the fire for fierceness and strength, yet looks non-threatening.

Mei Fung Elizabeth Chan 

Lady Mei Fung’s Spring Outing

I want to copy one of my favorite horse silk paintings by Zhang Xuan from the Tang Dynasty. There are 8 horses and 9 characters in this painting. I added a pair of glasses for the gentlemen at the front so he is representing me to lead the horse run. Having lived in America for a long time, I am tired of driving to go anywhere. Hence I imagine myself having a crew of people to go out without using cars in order to celebrate the Horse year.

Second Place

Yijia Song

Qinghua-Inspired Wool Felt Horse

This piece celebrates the Lunar New Year by merging traditional Qinghua aesthetics with the contemporary craft of needle felting. The horse, a symbol of vitality and new momentum, carries blue-and-white porcelain patterns that embody cultural roots and blessings. Together, these elements express renewal, cultural connection, and optimism for the year ahead.

Third Place

Echo Song 

马踏祥云 A Horse Striding Through Auspicious Clouds

I used clay and resin to emulate the aesthetic of Chinese porcelain, and employed the imagery of a horse and auspicious clouds to express my hopes for the New Year.

Community Contribution Award 

To recognize their contributions to the promotion and expansion of Asian culture in their local communities, this year's Asian Community Contribution Award recipients are Jennifer Mullen, a librarian at the Emma Clark Library, and Jennifer Grasso-Moise, a teacher at Brentwood East Middle School. For many years, they have organized students to participate in the Lunar New Year art exhibition and assisted AAAGSB in organizing the annual Lunar New Year cultural exhibition at the library. Brookhaven Town Councilman Johnathan Kornreich presented them with certificates.

People’s Choice Awards

Audience Favorites

To encourage audience participation in the art exhibition judging process, the audience voted separately from the judges, resulting in different choices than those of the professionals. After the audience voted on-site and the votes were counted, the two art pieces with the most votes received the Audience Choice Award. 

First Place

Mei Fung Elizabeth Chan 

Adult

Lady Mei Fung’s Spring Outing

I want to copy one of my favorite horse silk paintings by Zhang Xuan from the Tang Dynasty. There are 8 horses and 9 characters in this painting. I added a pair of glasses for the gentlemen at the front so he is representing me to lead the horse run. Having lived in America for a long time, I am tired of driving to go anywhere. Hence, I imagine myself having a crew of people to go out without using cars in order to celebrate the Horse year.

Cultural Performances

As part of the closing ceremony of the art exhibition, in addition to the excitement of the awards ceremony, local art enthusiasts from the Greater Stony Brook area enacted wonderful cultural performances.

Although Asian Americans make up less than 10% of the total population in the Long Island region, we are a rapidly growing ethnic group. Through this exhibition, art enthusiasts of all ethnicities and ages—not just limited to those of Chinese descent—were encouraged to use their talents to create Lunar New Year-themed masterpieces. This promoted not only traditional Chinese culture, but also allowed for people of all backgrounds to celebrate the New Year in their unique way. After all, art transcends ethnic and national boundaries, and can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. The AAAGSB’s intention in organizing this event was to use art as a bridge to foster understanding among residents of all ethnicities in the local community and promote cultural diversity—a core principle of the association.

This event also received strong support and sponsorship from some local residents and businesses!

Thank you to all the participants, young and old, and the organizers of the art exhibition! We look forward to seeing even more wonderful works for the Year of the Sheep next year! 

The Asian-American Association of Greater Stony Brook wishes everyone good fortune and success in the Year of the Horse!