A friend once told me, Joy is resistance. I want to feel each breath the earth makes. I want to hold each day as a newborn.
Kristy Moua
Joy of Being Featured Storyteller
Kristy Moua is a Hmong spoken word poet and multimedia artist born and raised in Minnesota. Her creative interests span poetry, videography, painting, sewing, and mixed media, reflecting a lifelong curiosity about art, identity, and self-expression. Grounded in her cultural heritage and personal experiences as a queer woman, Kristy uses creativity to explore themes of belonging, love, resilience, and the complexities of being human.
As a participant in In Progress's Joy of Being project, Kristy shares her journey of self-discovery, navigating family and cultural expectations, and finding acceptance through chosen family and meaningful relationships. Her poetry reflects a deeply personal understanding of the relationship between joy and grief, celebrating the possibility of healing, growth, and connection even during life's most challenging moments. Through her words and creative practice, Kristy reminds us that joy is both an act of resilience and an essential part of being ourselves.
Podcasts
My Joy Is in Being
Finding belonging, embracing change, and discovering the resilience of joy
Saint Paul spoken word poet and multimedia artist Kristy Moua reflects on her journey of self-discovery as a queer Hmong woman, exploring the intersections of cultural identity, family expectations, and personal acceptance. In conversation with Xee Reiter, Kristy shares how chosen family, creativity, and open conversations with loved ones have helped her reconnect with herself and embrace change. Through poetry and personal reflection, she explores the relationship between joy, grief, love, and resilience, reminding us that even in life's most difficult moments, joy remains possible.
Portraits
You are so beautiful and so capable. You are so loved and you do belong. You will get to experience so many joys in this lifetime and it's okay to be sad and grieve. And at the same time, joy still exists and will continue to exist. A message to myself.
Joy will be here infinitely. My joy is in being. My joy is made for me.
I still choose to love, still love, will love, still believe in love. My joy is found in my love. Grief is the receipt to my love.
I have something I need to tell you, but I don't know if you'll love me. A messsage to my family.
I give credits to my first chosen family, my college friends, for allowing me to, like, feel different and begin to feel like a return back to myself.
I think life is always gonna throw us challenges and hardships and moments where we're gonna feel absolutely lonely and exiled and faced with violence
This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, MN State Arts Board GEneral Operating Program, and the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council. Additional thanks to the McKnight Foundation who has continually supported arts learning and professional development opportunities for artists in Saint Paul and Crookston Minnesota.