How Muralist Shela Yu Embraced Her Queer, Chinese American Story

Growing up in Mesa, Yu often felt out of step with her peers. Her queer identity, paired with her Chinese heritage, made her feel like an “oddball,” a label that stuck until she embraced both. 

“There is a beauty of freedom of expression that exists within the LGBTQ+ community,” Yu said. That freedom shaped how she creates, allowing her to live and work outside social norms.

Her identities converge in her art: “What I'm doing now is just trying Asian American women in the setting of the orange desert,” Yu said. “It seems so simple to me. It’s like, that is my story because I was born and raised here.” 

Her connection to place and identity came full circle in October 2024, when she painted a mural in Mesa’s Asian District — a surreal experience for someone who grew up in the area before the neighborhood even existed.

Yu works across murals, paintings, and music, reflecting on her identity and what it means to be a person. She is also a founding member of WAV Collection, or WAVCO, an independent Asian American music collective in Arizona. 

She said building community through projects like WAVCO was a “Godsend” for herself, as she had grown up battling stereotypes and expectations of who she was supposed to be. And since WAVCO’s inaugural performance event in August 2024, WAVCO has become a platform for local Asian American artists. 

“Realizing our shared challenges and our shared growth, I find that really invaluable as someone who felt like such an oddball growing up in Mesa being an artsy fartsy Chinese-American kid who had, like, colorful hair,” Yu said.

For years, Yu hesitated to call herself an artist, but a chance encounter with a friend’s daughter helped her see the impact of public art.

“I am adding to this tapestry of what I would consider art that supports human growth and connectivity,” she said.

Before working full-time as an artist, Yu spent a decade in the healing arts — as a caregiver, yoga teacher, and massage therapist — before the pandemic closed her practice. That pause allowed her to return to painting and music, rekindling a creative relationship she had lost touch with over the years.

Her journey is ongoing. “I do believe that creativity has to come from a place of playing,” Yu said, noting that her identity as a queer Asian American woman can feel like a double-edged sword, carrying both responsibility and limitations. 

“I get to choose to call myself an artist because this is what I’m choosing to live my life as,” adding that her personal journey of self-discovery isn’t quite over: “I think I'm still navigating that.”

Read the full series on Arizona's queer Asian culture creators below:

These Arizonans Are Shaping Local Queer Asian Culture

Through art, music, and community projects, these creators are amplifying queer Asian voices and reshaping Arizona’s cultural landscape.

LOOKOUTAnnika Miyata (she/her)