Highlights:
About Us
Fostering Asian activism, community, and pride.
Founded by college students Lina Lin and Amy Liao, The Koi Kollective aims to promote the celebration of the Asian experience and culture through creative outlets and expression. What began as a late-night text conversation between two friends blossomed into a mission to inspire Asian activism, community, and pride.
Our Mission
Founded by Philadelphia college students Lina Lin and Amy Liao, what began as a late-night text conversation between two high school friends in late 2024 blossomed into The Koi Kollective, a project that aims to inspire Asian activism, community, and pride through creative expressions. We welcome all forms of media — including opinion pieces, personal narratives, poetry, art, and photography — that align with our desire to celebrate and explore Asian identities, stories, and perspectives.
Lin and Liao felt propelled to create a supportive space where students have creative control. The two felt that Asian Americans, in particular, were in much need of opportunities to voice their expressions. As Chinese Americans, Lin and Liao both felt there was a lack of safe spaces for Asian youth to share their perspectives and express appreciation for Asian culture. The amount of racism and discrimination towards Asians within the past few years was a major motivating factor that pushed Lin and Liao to initiate The Koi Kollective.
This name is derived from the Asia-originated koi fish. Koi fish are said to swim upstream against strong currents to reach a waterfall, symbolizing the ability to persevere and overcome obstacles to achieve a goal. This resilience and determination serves as a metaphor for our mission to amplify underrepresented voices and celebrate the Asian experience.
Meet The Team
![koikollective icon [transparent] (1).png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bcf12d_91c759fbafd243648740684421ca15f2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_443,h_431,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/koikollective%20icon%20%5Btransparent%5D%20(1).png)
Our Interns
Our Providers
![koikollective icon [transparent] (1).png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bcf12d_91c759fbafd243648740684421ca15f2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_142,h_141,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/koikollective%20icon%20%5Btransparent%5D%20(1).png)
