Arts & Storytelling

The Storytellers group, formerly known as BABY (the Bay Area Bhutanese Youths), started in 2015. Since then, the group has been guided by renowned artist Dohee Lee, ARU's Art Director and a multidisciplinary artist whose work integrates drumming, dance, singing, and ritualized theatrical creation. Born on Jeju Island, Korea, Dohee Lee is trained at the master's level in traditional music and dance rooted in Korean shamanic practices.

The Storytellers cohort explores the complex identities of being refugees, immigrants, and the experience of growing up in America. Through collective storytelling practice, participants deepen their understanding of how creative expression rooted in body and land can support healing, strengthen community, and inspire advocacy around issues impacting their immediate community, homelands, neighborhoods, and the local environments that shape their daily lives.

The Storytellers have performed in a range of spaces, including the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in July 2023, where they presented Mero Geet, Mero Yatra, sharing stories centered on identity, family, displacement, community, and the journey toward belonging. In September 2025, Storytellers performed at the South Asian Impact Foundation Summit, Desis Persist: Our Stories, Our Strength, a national gathering of South Asian American change makers in Washington, D.C. There, the cohort presented the piece Where Do We Belong?, honoring the story of Mohan Karki, an impacted community member who was deported to Bhutan.

Over the past several years, the cohort has organized public gatherings, performances, and community events that bring people together through the arts. Their work creates spaces for reflection, connection, and collective healing.

Click here to learn more about Artist Residency → The artist residency serves as a catalyst for the Storytellers— an opportunity to immerse themselves in community, creative practice, and the transformative power of storytelling— led by Dohee Lee, ARU's Art Director.