PATINAPATINA Magazine is a print publication and cultural arts organization founded by Dan and Maham Momin in 2023. Curious about the confusion of mixed cultural identities, the magazine works with diasporic artists whose work reinterprets tradition through contemporary lenses/contexts.
Dan's work has been recognized by organizations such as USM Modular Furniture, DesignMiami, and the Royal Ontario Museum. He is a graduate of OCAD University’s Industrial program [2023]. PATINAPATINA Issue 01 can be found in shops around the world.
to inquire about purchasing a piece or collaborating on a project, please reach out to: DANIEL.Y.CUI@GMAIL.COM
let’s connect
[11-2025]
24 Mercer St, Unit 300, Toronto ON
Curation, spatial design, installation and programming for Echoes of the Silk Drum. Over three days, PATINAPATINA collaborated with six selectors in the city - DJs, curators, music nerds - to create a sonic experience traversing the various cultures that make up our diverse city.
Shen, Michael Nyarkoh, Jess Kasiama (kimya), aji, Abdul Kauchali, and Orkid (Erhua) curated sounds for a dance party, listening sessions, and sonic/literary library throughout the weekend. CAPSUL Studio became a space for restorative listening and meaningful conversation around music and cultural exchange. We worked with Abdul Kauchali’s H.A.R.P sound system to deliver an experiential sound like no other.
Contributors: Maher Shenouda, Michael Nyarkoh, Jess Kasiama, Ajith Thangavelautham, Ren Tang, Abdul Kauchali, Mina Wang Zhou, Rafae Jatoi, Vikram Sra, Seden Lai, Rhys Cropper
Developed in partnership with H.A.R.P and CAPSUL Studio.
[10-2025]
300 Campbell St, Unit 114, Toronto ON
In collaboration with SHEEEP School, PATINAPATINA facilitated a workshop for artist Kristi Chen. A contributor in our inaugural issue, Kristi’s work explores traditional methods of incense-making and ancestral weaving techniques. This workshop welcomed participants to share a personal artifact, and get involved in some hands-on incense crafting.
Co-organized with Kristi Chen and Lily Jeon. Facilitation by Lily Jeon.
[08-2025]
300 Campbell St, Unit 114, Toronto ON
Community conversation with local arts organizers building impactful collective-driven projects. Speakers Reza Nik (SHEEEP Studio), Shanik Tanna (Recess Community), Amanda Boulos (Toronto Palestine Film Festival /The Plumb), Kahiye Warsame and Hajer Mustafa (With Love Toronto), Adrian Layne (Book Club Toronto /We Like Krump), and Ade Abegunde (Local Global) discuss art systems, working with Institutions, and collaborative practice.
Co-curated with Maham Momin, with support from the PATINAPATINA team and Reza Nik. Part of Book Club Toronto’s Open House program.
[2025]
cherry, concrete
Commissioned by artist/curator Jess Kasiama for her residency (@kimya_sound) at Whippersnapper Gallery.
The cherry tabletop takes its shape from double bells used by spiritual practitioners of historic Congo (kunda) . Two cast concrete forms uplift the wood surface, brutalist masses serving as delicate perches for the display of reading and listening materials.
curator: Jess Kasiama (@flisspo)
gallery: Whippersnapper Gallery (@whippersnappergallery)
studio: SHEEEP (@sheeep.studio)
woodwork assist: Em Tang (@emalllaa)
[08-2024]
1650 Dupont St, Toronto ON
Curation, exhibition design, and installation for PATINAPATINA Mag’s Issue 01 launch exhibit. For a week-long exhibit, we took over Cafeteria at 1650 Dupont, a site with a history tied to some of the city’s oldest cultural enclaves. Welcoming into the space a collection of works from artists of Toronto’s various diaspora, this exhibit brings together past and present in one place, for one moment.
Co-curated with Maham Momin, with support from the PATINAPATINA team (Ishmam Sarker + Asma Ansari).
[2024]
hardcover, exposed kettle stitch
PATINAPATINA Magazine’s inaugural issue brings together a roster of 14 local creatives, whose work engages with elements of tradition from their respective cultural backgrounds. Ranging from sculpture to photography to architecture, film, and dance -- these artists look to preserve and recontextualize the methods, stories, and customs of their ancestors. In a celebration of the past, we question the present, and consider our roles in crafting the future.
Co-curated with Maham Momin, edited by Dan Cui, designed by Maham Momin.
[2023]
steel rod, acrylic, rubber
Industrial materials come together with playful color and shapes to create an object that finds balance between serious and whimsical. The suspension of a cloudy acrylic tabletop gives a sense of weightlessness, subverting the mass of its solid steel construction. An experiment in equilibrium brought to life through unique form.
[10-2022]
25 Liberty St, Toronto ON
A curated space for the gathering of like-minded creative individuals. Unique furniture pieces, artwork from Toronto artists, and live performances tied together a relaxing and engaging environment for the community. Curated in collaboration with CAPSUL’s own Spooky Allyn.
[2022]
aluminum plate, red oak
An unconventional furniture piece intended to encourage a more purposeful relationship between owner and object. The aluminum plate acts like a ‘second skin’, creating new ways to engage with the table - framing objects below and casting delicate shadows (hence the name komorebi 木漏れ日, meaning ‘sunlight filtering through leaves).
[08-2021]
30 Wellington W, Toronto ON
The first iteration in a series of activations looking to provide guilt-free spaces for young creatives in Toronto to gather and participate in cultural exchange. A collaboration between SHEEEP Studio and New Currency, this takeover of Collision Gallery looked to bring a spark of creativity and community to the heart of Toronto’s Financial District.
[2021]
aluminum, corrugated PVC, bricks, moss, salt, algae
A sculptural work exploring the impact of human intervention on nature, as well as nature's resilience, through materiality and form. The piece is composed of man-made materials which are broken down by 'natural mediators' (moss, rust, algae). Over different scales of time — days, years, millennia, these materials are slowly degraded, their matter returned to the land.
[2019]
acrylic, hard maple
Recalling the glaciers of Northern Canada, this stationery holder is a reminder of nature’s beauty and the importance of its preservation. Modular and multifunctional, the fins emulate the melting of our glacial landscapes. ATHABASCA was recently displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum as part of their ‘Canadian Modern’ exhibit.