Past Events

Spring 2009

Friday & Saturday, February 6-7, Friday, February 13
Cooking Con Karimi

Calling all food lovers, dreamers, and community builders! Join us for an interactive theatrical journey with revolutionary “chef” Mero Cocinero Karimi, who blends family stories, humor, and a critique of the current political environment as he prepares recipes live on stage and serves up 
a menu of appetizers for your tasting pleasure.

Sunday, February 8 – Saturday, February 14
Cooking Con Community: Storytelling Workshop

A week-long workshop with Robert Karimi exploring the process of storytelling through recipe-sharing, theatrical improvisation, and character development. Culminating with your chance to star on stage in the Community Potluck Performance. Open to all ages and backgrounds. No prior performance experience necessary.   

Saturday, February 14
Cooking Con Community: A Community Potluck Performance

Be our Valentine. Celebrate the date with an enticing menu of stories and food shared with performers from the Cooking Con Community workshop!   

Presented with kaotic good productions.

Cooking Con Karimi is a National Performance Network Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by the Asian Arts Initiative in partnership with Pangea World Theater and the National Performance Network. Additional residency activities are supported in part by the National Performance Network’s Community Fund and Performance Residency Program. Major contributers of the National Performance Network include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), Altria, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. For more information: www.npnweb.org.

Sponsored by Whole Foods Market. 

Friday & Saturday, February 27 - 28
Neal Dandade in Mango Chutney on Mesa Street

An Indian grandmother and the elephant-headed god Ganesh join forces in the West Texas town of El Paso. With a dash of spice, a spoonful of chutney, and lots of homemade samosas, they create a West-meets-East adventure about her favorite grandson and his journey through two cultures.  Created and performed by Neal Dandade and directed by Maria Möller. 

Friday, March 6, 2009
Asian Arts Initiative and Kyo Daiko present
TAIKOPROJECT
in concert

Zellerbach Theatre
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia 

 “This ain’t your mama’s taiko, but it may be your hip, younger cousin’s” says L.A. Weekly of TAIKOPROJECT, the premiere group of drummers who blend storytelling, video, hip hop, and world rhythms to create a uniquely American take on the Japanese art of taiko. Filled with contemporized tradition, striking music, and energetic movement, this high-action ensemble incorporates unconventional and innovative concepts to deliver an entertaining, power-packed performance. Think of it as the taiko version of Stomp!
 
Founded in 2000 by Bryan Yamami with the concept of bringing together the best young generation of taiko players in North America, TAIKOPROJECT has appeared on films and TV, has toured with wide acclaim nationally and internationally, and has the distinction of being the only American taiko group to win First Place in the prestigious Tokyo International Taiko Contest.

Sunday, March 15
Identity Papers a dramatic poem for two voices
Written and performed by Jeffrey Ethan Lee (with Lori-Nan Engler)

Who do we become when brought face to face with violence? Who is the changed one that cries from its depths, "See my naked self and call me back to who I truly am"? Is the beauty of word (guiding thighs) and image (sweet as the smell of the rain polished peach) capable of reeling us in? In this current world where we question our own identities in the aftermath of violence, Jeffrey Ethan Lee’s identity papers offers a testament to the value and power of love and language to help us remember who we are.
—Linda Tomol Pennisi, author of Suddenly, Fruit and Seamless

Fall 2008

Friday, November 14
Open Mic featuring 2008 Artists Exchange performers

Step into the spotlight on the Asian Arts Initiative’s brand new stage! Or come to enjoy the poetry, music, dance, and other performances shared by the creative souls in our 2008 Artists Exchange and anyone who signs up to take a turn at the mic! 

Friday, December 5
Re:location: 2008 Artist Exchange Performance Showcase

What keeps communities rooted? Who stands to benefit from economic development and who is exploited? How will gentrification and economic development affect reconstruction of areas where Asian Americans and other communities of color live? How can we make a different in the process? Artists from around the country share creative responses to these questions and more in a showcase of work generated through our 2008 Artists Exchange.

Friday, April 3 & Saturday, April 4, 2009
GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION
Opening Reception (Friday, April 3, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.)

Join us for a gallery reception featuring our Chinatown Live(s) portrait series created by photographer Rodney Atienza; and the launch of our Chinatown In/flux: Future Landscapes exhibition, designed to catalyze imagination and action toward a positive future for Chinatown North where the Asian Arts Initiative is now located.
 
The reception includes a performance by the Philadelphia Suns Liondancers to bring good luck to our new home! Chinatown In/flux includes artist installations by Rebecca Hackemann, Nadia Hironaka, Kikuchi + Liu, and Jonathan and Kimberly Stemler at the Asian Arts Initiative and nearby neighborhood sites.

Open House (Saturday, April 4, 3 – 7 p.m.)

Come one, come all for an easy-going afternoon opportunity to wander through our new gallery and performance space, witness a live on-line radio broadcast by Youth Arts Workshop alum Mike Trinh, and watch a decade’s worth of community videos created through our programs!

Performance Showcase (Saturday, April 4, 7:30 p.m.)

Whether you are a regular or first-timer, you won’t want to miss this fantastic diversity of dancers, musicians, poets, and spoken word artists blessing our new home with a live performance showcase—on what promises to be one of the most memorable nights of the Asian Arts Initiative’s 15 year history!

Hosted by Edward Garcia with artists including: Sham-e-ali al Jamil, Asians Misbehavin’, Pallabi Chakravorty and the Courtyard Dancers, Las Gallas, Mytili Jagannathan, Juliette Lee, Taiyo Na, Hanalei Ramos, Alex Shaw, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Yellow Rage, YaliniDream and special guest musicians.

Summer 2008

October 9 - 12, 2008
1st Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
www.phillyasianfilmfest.org
Joining the ranks of Asian American film festivals nationwide, the
brand new PAAFF plans to entertain a new audience in one of the
largest cities nationwide. This is a celebration of films that range
from distinctively independent to mainstream-whether introspective,
hilarious, action packed, spine tingling, romantic, and always defying categorization and expectations!

August 15, 2008
Chinatown Youth Radio Philadelphia CD release party!
Chinatown Youth Radio Philadelphia (ChYRP) is an intensive, 3-week summer experience for high school students to create a blog and podcast featuring radio stories of Philadelphia Chinatown.  During the course of this summer pilot program, youth learned the skills involved in creating a radio story, engaging community members, and the new media technology involved in radio podcasting.

September 16, 2008
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Preview Party
Joining the ranks of Asian American film festivals nationwide, the brand new PAAFF plans to entertain a new audience in one of the largest cities nationwide. This is a celebration of films that range from distinctively independent to mainstream—whether introspective, hilarious, action packed, spine tingling, romantic, and always defying categorization and expectations!

Spring 2008

Volunteer for the Asian Arts Initiative
Oral History Project!

This spring, the Asian Arts Initiative is looking for volunteers and nominees to serve on the Curatorial Advisory Committee for an exciting organizational Oral History Project willstory Project is one intended to document and celebrate the Initiative’s 15-year-long engagement with social justice and change through the arts.  Coordinated by performer and educator Michelle Myers, the project will gather the testimonies of 15 interviewees recounting their experiences as artists, community activists, staff members, or program participants, and reflecting on the various organizational, social justice, and performance milestones they have witnessed or participated in at the Initiative.  Committee members will receive training in collecting oral histories, and will help shape and conduct the interviews (see our website for a full description).  

      
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Flashpoints: Unbreakable Objects
A bowl, a broom, a cup, and a piece of paper unleash a theatrical experience where family obligation, regret, and loss are examined. Created and performed by participants in Regie Cabico's "Flashpoints" writing and performance workshop, the ensemble comes together on stage in a culmination of their 10-week collective journey using poetry, puppetry, and everyday objects to present a collaged play honoring the resiliency of the human heart.  Featuring performers: Lovella Calica, Misia Denea, Jo Louie, J. Mason, Charles Ramirez, Manny Son, Omar Telan, Hannah Utain-Evans, and Tyrell White.

The night also includes a screening of the "Re:location" Video Collage Project led by filmmaker Anula Shetty of Termite TV Collective. How do we capture the details and nuances of a transfer, a repositioning, a rearrangement, a replacement, a removal, a move? Aspiring filmmakers share intimate and humorous video portraits of their lives and surroundings to explore what makes a place special and what it means to relocate.  Featuring video work by: Dina Dashiell, Robert Hill, Hakeem Jefferson, Elizabeth Powers, Danny Seng, Amarjeet Singh, Larry Staton, and Arif Zahir.

Fall 2007

Wednesday, October 24
Summer PSA Final Cut Screening and Reception @  ActionAIDS
The Asian Arts Initiative and AIDS Services in Asian Communities (ASIAC) are proud to present Public Service Announcements by our Summer intensive PSA-Making Project. This partnership, led by Big Picture Alliance, examines the effects of HIV/AIDS in the Asian American communities.
ay

Fall Session: October 9 - December 16
Big Picture Mural Arts Program Workshop for Teens
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Big Picture mural-making workshop offers free sessions at the Asian Arts Initiative again!  Open to all teens, 13 – 18 years old, who are interested in learning about the visual arts and creating a mural.  Students will develop basic drawing and painting skills, create a mural design, and complete a group mural by the end of the semester.

January 26-27, 2008
BACK FROM THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
a weekend intensive workshop led by F. Omar Telan    

In this two-day workshop, participants will explore playwriting and performing with a Neo-Futurism inspired aesthetic. The plays will be completely true. There are no characters or fictitious scenarios. You will use your everyday lives and experiences, and simple props and staging, to create compelling artistic work that serves as a snapshot and commentary of the world around us. The plays will all be short, as in two-minutes short.

The workshop is intended as a two-way introduction, to share the aesthetics of Neo-Futurism with the Philadelphia community, and for workshop leader F. Omar Telan to meet potential members of a new ensemble that he is forming.  Workshop participants will be considered as candidates for the new theater ensemble.

ABOUT F. OMAR TELAN
Born in Philadelphia and raised in its outlying suburbs, F. Omar Telan attended Emerson College and the Radcliffe Publishing course. He made his directorial debut at La Mama ETC with The Edge of the World. His poetry has been published in journals such as a Gathering of the Tribes and Our Own Voice. He has performed at Performance Space 122, the Dodge Poetry Festival, and the Philippine Embassy. He often works with the New York Neo-Futurists and Asians Misbehavin'.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE WORKSHOP
* You will be expected to prepare a number of pieces to bring to the workshop and share with your fellow workshoppers. (We'll send you the assignments once you are fully registered for the workshop.)
* You will also be asked to collaborate with others in the execution of on-the-spot assignments, and compose a bit of solo work using some rudimentary tools.
* Show up ready to move, and bring something upon which/with which to write.
*     *     *     *     *
This project is made possible in part by a grant from the National Performance Network's Community Fund. Major contributors of the National Performance Network include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), Altria and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. For more information: www.npnweb.org.

Summer 2007

Friday, June 8 - Sunday, June 10
3 Nights of Philadelphia Previews of
Asian American artists taking their work to the
National Asian American Theater Festival

Friday, June 8, 7 p.m.
       Mero Cocinero Karimi and Comrade Cocinero Castro in
       Cooking Con Karimi (Con Castro)
Saturday, June 9, 7 p.m.
       Hanalei Ramos in
       Guns and Tampons: A History of Violence Against Women I Know
Sunday, June 10, 6 p.m.
      F. Omar Telan and a cast from around the country in
      Edge of the World
*       *       *       *       *
Friday, June 8th

Cooking Con Karimi (Con Castro)
A live cooking show for your heart, mind, stomach & funny bone
Using recipes as points of departure to talk about cultural collisions and complex political events occurring around the world, Cooking Con Karimi Con Castro is a humorous, audience interactive, LIVE cooking show that challenges conventional notions of how we approach food, culture, and politics. 

Saturday, June 9th
Hanalei Ramos in Guns and Tampons: A History of Violence Against Women I Know
Guns and Tampons: A History of Violence Against Women I Know is the first full-length show by spoken word artist and writer Hanalei Ramos. Inspired by her own experiences and interviews with multiple women who are victims and survivors of domestic violence, Guns and Tampons challenges our working definition of womanhood and examines how we are warped by cultural expectations, societal conditioning, and other subtle forms of violence. Hanalei stages portraits of some of the most intimate moments and difficult choices that women face. Ultimately, the patchwork testimony of several individuals becomes the story of all women, and a compelling glimpse into a world of survival and strength.

Thursday, August 9th
Summer YouthArtWorks Open House
Join us to celebrate the artistic work created by youth in our Summer YouthArtWorks Program and Big Picture collaboration with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. With special guests from our Summer PSA-Making Project in partnership with AIDS Services in Asian Communities. Light refreshments provided.

July 10-August 14
Summer PSA Video-Making Workshop
This exciting collaboration with AIDS Services in Asian Communities (ASIAC) brings together a video-making workshop to examine the effects of AIDS in the Asian American Community.

Led by Big Picture Alliance, this 6-week course will teach you the basic technical skills of digital video making, including how to work a camera and edit video footage.

You’ll finish with your own 60 second Public Service Announcement, and be able to share it with you friends and family in a public screening on August 9.

Summer Session: July 2 - Aug 10
Big Picture Mural Arts Workshop
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Big Picture mural-making workshop offers free sessions at the Asian Arts Initiative again!  Open to all teens, 13 -18 years old, who are interested in learning about the visual arts and creating a mural.  Students will develop basic drawing and painting skills, create a mural design, and complete a group mural by the end of the semester.

Spring 2007

Friday and Saturday, January 26 & 27
Artist and Performance in Action (APIA) Resident
Alison Roh Park
A Magpie Sang on the 7-Train
A Magpie Sang on the 7-Train is a debut of new and existing work by Alison Roh Park, dismantling the fourth wall with a distinct combination of spoken word, song, and other artistic disciplines.  Magpie captures the poignant experiences we share in our family lives, intimate relationships, and day-to-day life, and is a reminder of how gender, race, and class play a role in these experiences.  Roh Park's work celebrates the stories of those who came before her, and pays tribute to the struggle of negotiating different identities and feeling far from home.  Directed by Julia Lopez.  With guest performances by Sookyung Oh and Han-Earl Guhm of SorieMori Korean Cultural Troupe

Friday, February 9th
Hanalei Ramos
Guns and Tampons: A History of Violence Against
Women I Know
Come out for a powerful night of performance and installation by spoken word artist and writer, Hanalei Ramos!  In her first multi-media solo show, Hanalei uses various vignettes to examine the definition of womanhood and the ways in which societal and personal violence shape each person's perception of herself.  Ultimately, the patchwork testimony of several women becomes the story of all women, and a compelling glimpse into a world of survival and strength.

Thursday, February 15th
Precious Places Community History Project Screening
International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Scribe Video Center's Precious Places Community History Project reveals bypassed neighborhood sites as bright landmarks that surprise and inspire residents and visitors alike.  Join us for a celebration of these 12 new works, co-produced by Scribe and neighborhood groups woven through Philadelphia and Camden, including the Asian Arts Initiative's chronicle of our legacy as our home for the past decade is demolished to make way for the Pennsylvania Convention Center's expansion.

Monday, March 12th
GenerAsian Next Theater
Class Performance
You're invited to see these in-class performances of intergenerational artists interpreting the works of playwrights of color.  Workshop participants will be showing off what they've learned about improvisation and monologues during the March session, and share the next level through advanced scene study at the May night of sharing.

Friday & Saturday, March 23 & 24
Kristina Wong
Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia
Incisive writer and performer Kristina Wong mixes sharp humor and psychology in Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next, a semi-autobiographical, serio-comic portrayal of anxiety, depression and incidence of mental illness among Asian American women.  The show asks the evolutionary questions: Which came first?  The chicken or the egg?  The suicides of Asian American women or the maddening world?  Wong's irreverent and provocative work has given her a national cult following for "politically charged art with unapologetic humor."  Knitters-cuckoo and not-are invited to knit in the audience during the shows.

March 24th
Kristina Wong, Finding Your Language Workshop
Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia
Finding Your Language: Playing with Different Performance Tongues
You don't have to be the best actor, singer, or dancer to tell an amazing story.  Finding the honest place and dabbling between different disciplines might be where you find your strongest voice.   Sometimes your award-worthy performance may work best for an unsuspecting audience.  This workshop is focused on process rather than product.  We start with some warm-ups, movement and theater games--the rest is playing!

Be dressed to move!  In a non-judgmental space, participants will play with movement, text, visuals and working in site-specific contexts to forge a new performance language all their own.

Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31
Chinatown In/flux 2009: Future Landscape
Project Planning Retreat
With invited artists:
Ken Chu, Rebecca Hackemann, Nadia Hironaka, Jeremy Liu & Hiroko Kikuchi, Jesse Olanday, Eliseo Art Silva & Johanna Poethig & Anne Perez, Karina Aguilera Skvirsky & Teri Chan, Jonathan & Kimberly Stemler

Presentations by Artists about their Project Proposals for Site-Specific Installations in Chinatown, with time for Community feedback

Panel discussion with Chinatown community members from 
10-11:15 a.m.,
Speed round of Artist project proposal feedback sessions between 11:30a.m-1p.m.

Amidst an influx of new immigrants, the constant encroachment by public projects and private developers, a rich tradition of resiliency and growth, what are the greatest assets and hopes for Philadelphia's Chinatown?  Join us as artist invited from around the country present their ideas for an exhibition of site-specific art installations that will take place in 2008-2009 to catalyze community-wide participation in imagining Chinatown's future.

Winter Session: January 29 - March 12
GenerAsian Next Performance Workshop
Through these innovative workshops, young people and any adults who dare will get the chance to hone performance skills, improvisation, and monologues while studying the works of Asian American and other playwrights of color.  The Spring session, open to new and past participants, focuses on scene study.  Led by performance artist and director Gary San Angel, the workshops will share selected scenes on stage at in-class performances open to the public on March 12 and May 14.

Monday, April 9th
EDGE OF THE WORLD
a work-in-progress performance experiment
Featuring Regie Cabico, John Castro, Royd Hatta, Robert Karimi, Traci Kiriyama, Dan Kim, Michelle Myers, Gary San Angel, Anula Shetty, Ryan Suda, F. Omar Telan, Kristina Wong. Conceived and directed by F. Omar Telan.

Part cabaret, part objet d'art, part truth or dare. In a night of all new 5-minute-or-shorter "speed plays" asking and addressing the question of what Asian America wants, a rotating cast from around the country throw their lives onto stage full tilt and take you on a roller coaster ride of comedy, drama, serious reflection, and pure theatrical entertainment.

The Edge of the World is a great big art experiment. We invited a dozen of the decade's most inventive artists and dared them to go beyond the traditional identity piece while creating a show that's grounded in personal experience. No pretense. No characters. No lies.

From the diverse and intersecting worlds of spoken word, comedy, writing and performance we've found unique ways to ponder: Are you what Asian America is looking for? So, what don't you want people to know about you? What meaning do you find in a piece of bread? And, are you going to bother to vote?

Through a process involving chance meetings, telecommunications, and good old-fashioned time in a room together, the artists in the Edge of the World collaborate for an evening of performance art that will make you laugh, should make you mad, might make you proud, and no matter what will challenge your expectations of Asian American theater.

Thursday, May 17th
The Arts Rescue Project @ Denim Private Club
Benefit Art Auction for Gilbert Arts Project
Please support the Gilbert Arts Project (Asian Arts Initiative, Highwire Gallery, and many individual artists) by Submitting your Artwork and Attending this Exciting Event!

Denim Private Club, Philadelphia’s most exclusive members only club, has come together with the support of Philadelphia’s arts community to put on this event that will benefit The Gilbert Arts Project (GAP), a new home for several tenants that currently occupy the Gilbert Building, at 1315 Cherry Street.

The soon-to-be demolished 10-story building, built in 1910, is now home to five arts organizations and studios of 35 additional artists. The tenants will be forced to vacate their space this spring as the demolition makes way for the $700 million expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. As the artists seek new spaces throughout the city, they will rely on government grants and charitable support from the community.  

January 26, March 14, June 14
Youth Arts Workshop Open Houses
Come chill with other teens, make art, eat snacks, play games, and find out more about our Youth Arts Workshop!  With a sneak peek of the spring workshops at the January event; a special presentation by students in our Big Picture Mural Arts Program partnership in March; and the public premiere of PSA videos created in collaboration with AIDS Services in Asian Communities in June.

Winter Session: January 9 - March 15
Spring Session: April 9 - June 14
Big Picture Mural Arts Workshop
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Big Picture mural-making workshop offers free sessions at the Asian Arts Initiative again!  Open to all teens, 13 -18 years old, who are interested in learning about the visual arts and creating a mural.  Students will develop basic drawing and painting skills, create a mural design, and complete a group mural by the end of the semester.

Thursday, May 3rd
Chinatown In/flux 2009:
Future Landscape Project Proposal Presentations
With invited artists:
Rebecca Hackemann, Nadia Hironaka, Jeremy Liu & Hiroko Kikuchi, Jesse Olanday, Eliseo Art Silva & Johanna Poethig & Anne Perez, Karina Aguilera Skvirsky & Teri Chan, Jonathan & Kimberly Stemler

Thursday, May 31

Presentations by Artists about their Project Proposals for Site-Specific Installations in Chinatown

Amidst an influx of new immigrants, the constant encroachment by public projects and private developers, a rich tradition of resiliency and growth, what are the greatest assets and hopes for Philadelphia's Chinatown? Join us as artists invited from around the country present their past work and current ideas for an exhibition of site-specific art installations that will take place in 2008-2009 to catalyze community-wide participation in imagining Chinatown's future.

Thursday, June 14th
Spring Mural Unveiling
Come chill with other teens, make art, eat snacks, play games, and find out more about our Youth Arts Workshop!   Special mural unveiling by students in our Big Picture Mural Arts Program partnership.

Until the demolition of our home in the Gilbert Building, the Asian Arts Initiative invites you to view two ongoing exhibitions in our Gallery:

*****

Winter 2007

Friday, October 20th
Gilbert Building Celebration
The Gilbert Building Celebration commemorates the arts organizations and individual artists that have transformed the Gilbert Building into an thriving arts center and an anchor within Philadelphia’s arts and culture scene. This building-wide celebration highlights the work of Asian Arts Initiative, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Highwire Gallery, the Institute for Arts in Education, Vox Populi, and over two dozen individual artists before all the tenants are relocated as a result of the pending Convention Center expansion.  

Gallery Night Reception and Exhibitions: 5-10 p.m.
Gilbert Builiding Presentation: 7 p.m.
Asian Arts Initiative Performance Cabaret: 8 p.m.

The evening’s activities will feature a variety of open studios and gallery exhibitions as part of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s Gallery Night; music and food; and a cabaret organized by the performance ensemble Asians Misbehavin’. There will also be a brief presentation to acknowledge the organizations and individuals who have contributed to the Gilbert Building throughout its history; as well as a preview of the vision for the shared arts facility being developed by the Asian Arts Initiative and additional artists and organizations as a future home. All proceeds go to the Gilbert Building Project.

Thursday, November 9th
APIA Residency Writing Workshop by Alison Roh Park
"Mirror and Movement: Identity in Interpersonal Relationships"
Using freewrites and other writing exercises, participants of this 3 hour workshop will explore identity by gender, ethnicity, class, nationality and race and how these identities affect our interpersonal relationships, familial and/or intimate, and interactions with people. The group will break up into smaller groups and develop collaborative pieces as well as receive feedback from the instructor and other participants on individual pieces.  Work will possibly be integrated into APIA performances on January 26, 27, 2007.  

Saturday, November 11th
APIA Residency Writing Workshop by Alison Roh Park
"This bridge: Womyn of Color and the every day"
Using free writes and other writing exercises, participants of this 3-hour workshop will identity and share the ways in which women of color are constantly under surveillance in our day to day lives, and how being a woman affects virtually every aspect of our lives, from job interviews, receiving services, walking to the corner store, being an artist and deciding what to wear or not to wear.  The group will break up into smaller groups and develop collaborative pieces as well as receive feedback from the instructor and other participants on individual pieces.  Work will possibly be integrated into APIA performances on January 26, 27, 2007.  The workshop will be open only to women of color, with a maximum of 12 participants.  The workshop will cost $12, on a sliding scale for youth.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Light refreshments will be served.  

Friday, November 17th
MANTRA Season III: Episode II

Not just any other open mic. It's the Mantra. A journey through poetics and consciousness, the third season hopes to bring together Philly's local artists, activists, and overall good people to share their powerful voices and cultivate a collective vision for justice. Hosted by MANTRA's creator, Rodney Camarce, artist, poet, and community activist. Please show up early to sign up for the open mic!

Thursday, December 14th
A Night of Scenes

6 p.m. Reception, 7 p.m. Presentation
Join us for a holiday reception to celebrate visual artwork that shows off some of the essential painting and drawing skills developed through our partnership with the City of Philadelphia Big Picture Mural Arts Program. And stay for a presentation by participants in our GenerAsian Next theater workshop, who spent the season reading and interpreting Asian American plays that interrogate media roles, racial stereotypes, interracial relationships, and family relationships-and turning these dynamics on their head!

Friday, January 26, 8 p.m. with Q & A
Saturday, January 27,  8 p.m. followed by Reception

APIA Resident: Alison Roh Park
A Magpie Sang on the 7-Train

A Magpie Sang on the 7-Train is a debut of new and existing work by Alison Roh-Park, using a distinct combination of spoken word, song, and other artistic disciplines.  Magpie captures the poignant experiences we share in our family lives, intimate relationships, and day-to-day life, and is an honest reminder of how gender, race, and class play a role in these experiences. Dismantling the fourth wall through this performance, Roh-Park celebrates the stories of those who came before her, and pays tribute to the struggle of negotiating different identities and feeling far from home.  Magpie incorporates work developed as part of two APIA residency-based workshops exploring these issues.

The Asian Arts Initiative's APIA (Artists and Performance in Action) Residency program supports artists in the development of new performance and interdisciplinary work exploring community issues and concerns.

Fall 2006

Saturday, September 9th

No Time to Waste: Confronting War
The 48-Hour PSA-Making Project
This is a call out to local artists, activists, filmmakers, musicians, poets, carpenters, office workers, janitors - anyone! - frustrated with any of the wars we are engaged in, at home or abroad, and wanting to send a message to the world about it. No Time to Waste invites people from the Philadelphia area to create 30 or 60-second video public service announcements (PSA's) within a 48-hour period. At the end of the 48 hours the PSA's will be posted on the internet and available for viewing by millions of people worldwide. Join us for a mobilization where instead of posters and signs, our digital media conveys our messages against war!

Friday, September 22nd

Strange Rain
with Clenched Fists, Open Hands: the waters of our ancestors

Through a unique blend of movement, music, spoken word, and storytelling, artist Marian Yalini Thambynayagam invites us on a journey exploring the legacy of community violence and conflict and its impact in individuals' lives. Strange Rain uses the lenses of sexuality and gender to examine issues facing Sri Lankan Tamil communities displaced by war. Clenched Fists, Open Hands draws upon the experiences, writing, and performance of over 30 youth and adult artists in the Asian Arts Initiative's summer YouthArtWorks program. The evening evokes the themes of dislocation, relocation, and hope - what that means to our local community and in a world context.

Friday, September 29th

MANTRA Open Mic Season III: Episode I
Not just any other open mic. It's the Mantra. A journey through poetics and consciousness, the third season hopes to bring together Philly's local artists, activists, and overall good people to share their powerful voices and cultivate a collective vision for justice. Hosted by MANTRA's creator, Rodney Camarce, artist, poet, and community activist. Please show up early to sign up for the open mic!

August 17 - October 6
Clenched Fists, Open Hands: the waters of my ancestors exhibit
First Friday Receptions: September 1 & October 6, 5 - 8 p.m.
A multi-media exhibition created by over 30 youth and teaching artists from our summer YouthArtsWorks program. Incorporating a painted mural, collage, photography, and 3-D installation, the exhibition evokes the themes of dislocation, relocation, and hope - what that means to our local community and in a world context.

Friday, October 6th
Youth Open House
 Come to chill with other teens, make art, eat snacks, play games, and find out more about our Youth Arts Workshop! With special screenings of the video PSA's created in last summer's YouthArtWorks program, and the premiere of two youth-designed DVD's featuring Asian Arts Initiative artists and performances!

October 9 - December 19
GenerAsian Next Performance Workshop
Explore your voice and build your acting skills with theater games and creative writing led by performance artist and director Gary San Angel! You'll meet guest artists and create and share your own piece on stage with other teens in the workshop for the culminating performance on Friday, Dec 15.

October 10 - Friday, December 15
Big Picture Mural Arts Workshop
Come join us for our annual mural arts course, where YOU decide what to put on the walls! Learn basic drawing and art techniques, develop your own portfolio, and work with other teens to design an exhibition for the Friday, December 15 opening. Offered in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program.

Summer 2006

August 17th
Summer Youth Art Works Exhibition & Performance
"Clenched Fists, Open Hands: The Waters of my Ancestors"
Come join the Asian Arts Initiative for the final presentation that will be the culmination of our Youth Art Works Summer Program! The presentation will include a multi-media exhibit featuring the work of the youth who have participated in our summer program.  Projects will include a Multi-media Installation, Group Performance, and Screenings of Videos and DVD’s that have been created.  Please join us in enjoying the masterpieces created by our local youth. 

August 7th
CLENCHED FISTS, OPEN HANDS:
The Waters of My Ancestors
Youth Exhibition and Performance
Clenched Fists, Open Hands is the culmination of our Summer Youth Art Works program, featuring a multi-media exhibition and performance created by over 20 youth, 6 instructors, and 4 teaching assistants. The night will open with a reception for the exhibition consisting of a painted mural, collage, photography, 3-D installation, and sound. The performance follows and joins the exhibition to look at relocation at what it means to us as an organization, as individuals, and in a world context.

July 10-August 18
Youth Art Works Summer Program
WRITING/PERFORMANCE
Mon – Thurs, 9am-12pm
With NY-based artist, Marian Thambynayagam. Write and perform your own story!
VISUAL ARTS
Mon – Fri, 1-4pm
Create a visual installation using painting, photography, and 3-D materials with artist Tomie Arai and the City of Philadelphia's Big Picture Mural Arts Program.
VIDEO-MAKING
Mon and Wed, 4-7pm
Create your own Public Service Announcement/short video with the Asian Arts Initiative and the Big Picture Alliance! Learn how to use digital technology!
DVD AUTHORING
Tues and Thurs, 4-7pm
Learn the fine skills necessary to build your own DVD menus and movies with artist Gary San Angel! Includes basic video editing.

Spring 2006

April 3-June 2
Closing Reception on Friday, June 2
A Different Lens Exhibition
This exhibition, a collaboration with the Philadelphia chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), will focus on the unique perspectives of Asian American photographers and challenge the distinction between photography as an art form and photojournalism. We are interested in how Asian American photographers depict and portray Asian and Asian American culture and experience, particularly in terms of people, locations, and objects/artifacts.

Friday, May 19th & Saturday, May 20th
Artists & Performance in Action (APIA) Residency Program
Featuring Yellow Rage: Michelle Myers and Catzie Vilayphonh
Performances and CD Release Parties: These shows will feature work from Yellow Rage's new second CD, plus previews from their third CD, Volume 3*, set for release in Fall 2006. Also performing will be special guests artists DJ Phillee Blunt of Ill Vibe Collective and Dan Kim of Asians Misbehavin'.

The Asian Arts Initiative is pleased to launch the second record of Philadelphia-based artists Yellow Rage, entitled, Yellow Rage, Volume 2, written and performed by founding members Michelle Myers and Catzie Vilayphonh.  A dynamic duo of Philly-based Asian American female spoken word poets, Yellow Rage gained national attention when they performed on the first season of the critically acclaimed HBO television series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, which first aired in December 2001.

Through poetry, Catzie and Michelle hope to provide an awareness that is not often heard.  Exploring topics from fetishes to cultural appropriation to ethic pride, Yellow Rage challenges mainstream misconceptions of Asianness.

Thursday, May 18th
Yellow Rage Open Rehearsal
Watch Yellow Rage as they rehearse for their shows that weekend.  This is an opportunity for anyone interested to catch a glimpse of Catzie and Michelle's performance process and preparation.

Friday, April 28th
Annual Banquet and Silent Auction
Silent Auction 6 p.m., Dinner and Performances 6:30 p.m.
Join the Asian Arts Initiative for an evening of food and fun to celebrate and support its youth and Community Programs. The event will consist of an 8-course meal accompanied by a silent auction with exciting gifts and performances showcasing local artists and area youth groups.  Please contact the Asian Arts Initiative at info@asianartsinitiative.org and 215-557-0455 to reserve a spot!

Friday, April 21st
Gallery Night featuring A Different Lens Exhibition
Spend an evening exploring Center City’s galleries, including the Asian Arts Initiative’s Gallery and our A Different Lens exhibition, during Arts & Culture Week Gallery Night. Please stick around to attend MANTRA, the Initiative’s open mic series.  Check out www.phillyfunguide.com for more details about Art & Culture Week!

Friday, April 21st
MANTRA: Spoken Word and Open Mic
What do you think of life, love, community, politics, and poetry? Share your musings at this open mic dedicated to exploring the cultural productions of love, its manifestations and meanings in our everyday lives. Hosted by MANTRA’s creator Rodney Camarce, artist, poet, and community activist. Please show up early to sign up for the open mic!

Winter 2006

Sunday, March 19th
Community Movement Workshop facilitated by Mango Tribe
Please join Asian Arts Initiative as we welcome Mango Tribe to lead a community movement workshop for anyone and everyone interested in expressing themselves through movement.  Mango Tribe will help you develop individual movement and improvisation skills, and use these skills to express your thoughts about critical issues that impact our community such as violence, war, gentrification, and displacement.

Friday, March 17th
Re:location
2006 Artist Exchange Performance Event
Over a dozen artists from throughout the country share their new work in a multi-disciplinary showcase, and reveal through spoken word, dance, theater, and poetry, their multi-faceted explorations of the hot topics of gentrification and displacement—and the role of the arts in fighting or furthering these complex dynamics!

Featured Artists:
Mango Tribe: Jen Cendana Armas (Queens, NY), Kay Barrett (Chicago, IL), Sarwat Rumi (Chicago, IL), Marian Yalini Thambynayagam (Brooklyn, NY), San Tong (New York, NY), Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai (Brooklyn, NY)

Rodney Camarce – Philadelphia, PA
Ching-In Chen – Boston, MA
Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil – Cary, NC
Mytili Jagannathan – Philadelphia, PA
Pradeepa Jeevamanoharan – Minneapolis, MN
Achinta McDaniel – Venice, CA
Michelle Myers – Swedesboro, NJ
Alison Park – Philadelphia, PA
Hanalei Ramos – Jersey City, NJ
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha – Toronoto, ON
Kristina Wong – Los Angeles, CA

March 16-17
Community Arts and Literacy Network (CALN)
Workshops & Conference
Church of the Advocate, 18th and Diamond Streets
Join the Community Arts and Literacy Network (CALN) for Connecting Community, Arts, and Literacy: Sustaining a Network of Partnerships - a conference featuring educator workshops, story-telling activities, breakout sessions, panel discussions and performances focused on the integration of arts and literacy and the challenges and rewards of cross-institutional partnerships

CALN is Art Sanctuary, Asian Arts Initiative, Temple University’s New City Writing and Tyler School of Art’s Cross-Disciplinary Arts in Community Program.

Thursday, March 16th
Mango Tribe Performance
Upper Tarble Auditorium, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave, Swarthmore, PA
Asian Arts Initiative and Swarthmore College Present interdisciplinary performance group, Mango Tribe! Mango Tribe will be showcasing work incorporating video, dance, spoken word, theatre, and song. A mixture of new experimental work and signature pieces, the Tribe will cover the many faces of war: from international battles to the battles we face within our own skin. Visit www.mangotribe.com. Call Anita at 215-557-0455 for info.

Friday, February 17th
Nitin Mukul Exhibition Opening Reception
This mixed-media painting exhibition, highlighting artist Nitin Mukul, investigates and reflects the ways in which science, technology, and globalization affect our identities and reshape our physical and mental environments.

Please join us afterwards for the MANTRA Open Mic Series event!

Friday, February 17th
MANTRA: Spoken Word and Open Mic
Join us for the 2nd installation of MANTRA: Spoken Word and Open Mic! What do you think of life, love, community, politics, and poetry? Share your musings at this open mic dedicated to exploring the cultural productions of love, its manifestations and meanings in our everyday lives. Hosted by MANTRA’s creator Rodney Camarce, artist, poet, and community activist. Please show up early to sign up for the open mic!

Friday, January 27th
Chinatown In/flux Exhibition Catalog Launch & Closing Reception
Panel presentation
5:30 p.m. Chinatown In/flux Reception.
Experience the Chinatown In/flux Anchor show on the final weekend before it closes, and claim your copy of the exhibition catalog hot off the presses! Take a walking tour of the exhibition at 5:30pm (RSVP to Rana, 215-557-0455 / rana@asianartsinitiative.org)

7 p.m. Chinatown In/flux Panel Discussion.
Curators Lydia Yee of the Bronx Museum and Edwin Ramoran of the Longwood Project share their reflections on the Chinatown In/flux installations and the project's significance in the field of community-based arts.

Wear Red to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and gifts will be given to
the first 50 guests. Refreshments will be served!

Chinatown In/flux is a community-wide art exhibition created by seven
of today's leading artists, investigating multiple layers of change
within Philadelphia's Chinatown - the changing demographics of the
community, the expanding geographic borders of the neighborhood, and
the shifting of perspectives among residents and tourists alike.
Chinatown In/flux takes place in sites throughout Chinatown -
storefront installations, woodblock prints in community and
educational institutions, redesigned dinnerware in two local
restaurants, a public sculpture at the 10th & Vine Street Plaza - as
well as in the Asian Arts Initiative's gallery.

With installations by Tomie Arai, Skowmon Hastanan, Mei-ling Hom,
Hirokazu Kosaka, Jihyun Park, Jean Shin, Steve Wong

Friday, January 20th
2006 Asian Arts Initiative Artists Exchange (Artists X Change)
Friday-Sunday, January 20-22 - Retreat*
Please join us as the Asian Arts Initiative opens its 2006 Artist Exchange with a multidisciplinary showcase featuring Mango Tribe and existing work from this year’s accepted artists (Rodney Camarce, Ching-In Chen, Sham-e-Ali al-Jami, Mytili Jagannathan, Pradeepa Jeevamanoharan, Achinta McDaniel, Michelle Myers, Alison Park, Hanalei Ramos, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha, Kristina Wong)

The 2006 Artist Exchange will focus on the impact of gentrification and the displacement of artists and their communities. Artists will participate in a weekend retreat to explore and gain topical knowledge as the basis for creating new work.

Join us again in March, when the artists will return to the Asian Arts Initiative to present new work created in response to themes raised at this year’s retreat!

*Retreat
The Asian Arts Initiative invites Asian Pacific Islander American performance artists to participate in our 2006 ARTISTS EXCHANGE

The Asian Arts Initiative’s Artists Exchange (Artists X Change) is a three-part project that begins with a weekend retreat where artists share some of their existing work with each other; and participate in workshops to explore and gain topical knowledge as the basis for creating new work—this year focusing on the impact of gentrification and displacement on the Asian American community, in the context of larger forces of economic development, and in the face of the immediate relocation being forced upon the Asian Arts Initiative by the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Each artist will be asked to create new work in response to the themes raised at the retreat; then finally, to share their new work with a public audience at the March 17-18 performance.

The Artists Exchange weekend retreat and workshops will be led by Mango Tribe, a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-disciplinary ensemble of Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) women from Chicago, New York, and Minneapolis. Mango Tribe will facilitate explorations of gentrification’s impact on APIA communities.

*The Retreat is only open to those who applied and were accepted to the Artists Exchange Program. For information about how to apply to this Program, please contact Anita Thakkar 215.557.0455. The Artists Showcase is open to the general public.

Winter Semester: January 9 to March 18
Big Picture: A Mural Workshop for Teens
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 4-6pm
Come join us for our annual mural arts course, where YOU decide what to put on the walls! Learn basic drawing and art techniques, and work with other teens o design and paint an outdoor mural in Philly. Led by artist Rodney Camarce, in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program.

 

Fall 2005

Friday, December 16th
Death Defying Acts: GenerAsian Next Theater Performance
You don't have to be old, morbid, or dying to talk about death. Hear the stories of six courageous teens through story, poetry, movement, and animation as the crack open the crypt on this taboo subject.

They spent the fall writing and developing their performance techniques;
now see them perform their live show at the Asian Arts Initiative!

Friday, December 16th
The Big Picture: Youth Arts Workshop Mural Arts Program Exhibition & Reception
Teens from the Big Picture Mural Arts Program show their stuff! In this exhibition showcasing drawings, paintings, collages, and prints from the portfolios of young artists in the mural making workshop led by Rodney Camarce, in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Wednesday, December 7th
Contested Histories of Chinatown Panel Discussion; preceded by Chinatown In/flux walking tour 
Chinatowns throughout the United States have struggled to institute and maintain legitimacy as a neighborhood-culturally and geographically. To deepen the understanding of many issues raised and explored by Chinatown In/flux, people who have experienced Chinatowns throughout the United States will come together to examine Chinatown as a place and as an idea. The panel will include Chinatown In/flux artist and L.A. Chinatown resident Steve Wong, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation founder Cecilia Moy Yep, New York Chinatown scholar Jack Tchen, and Director of Philadelphia's Chinese Christian Church and Center Harry Leong. The panel will be moderated by Lena Sze, editor of the Asian Arts Initiative's oral history book, Chinatown Live(s).

Saturday, December 3rd
Gallery Preview & Discussion with Nitin Mukul
Meet Washington D.C.-based artist Nitin Mukul, view his slide presentation, and discuss his upcoming exhibition at the Asian Arts Initiative. This is a great opportunity for you to provide feedback and help shape Nitin Mukul’s exhbition which will run February 13 through March 27 at the Asian Arts Initiative!

Thursday, December 1st
How Can Art Change Communities? Panel Discussion preceded by Chinatown In/flux walking tour 
The arts have played a major role in social change for many communities, as documentation, intervention, and provocation. From teaching young people the power of art, to staging protest, to creating work that comments on societal issues, artists have engaged with communities of their own and not their own. Two Chinatown In/flux artists, Tomie Arai and Mei-ling Hom, share their strategies and speak with other community-based artists including world-renowned Puerto Rican installation artist Pepon Osorio.

Friday & Saturday, November 18-19
"BRANDING": APIA Residency Performance feat. Makoto Hirano
Join us for the first creation from the Initiative's new APIA -Artists and Performance in Action- Residency Program! BRANDING, the second installment of The Order and The Stranger, takes a personal look at mapping and constructing a path of survival. We are pleased to invite Philadelphia-based artist Makoto Hirano to use the languages of movement, theatre, poetry, and song to reflect upon the sociological and personal implications of the World War II internment of Japanese Americans on the direction of his life and a whole community.

GenerAsian Next Intergenerational Theater Workshop
Meets Sundays, 2-6pm, starting October 9 and culminating with a performance on Friday, December 16
Sign up for Death Defying Acts: An Exploration of the Heart and Soul with performance artist Gary San Angel returning to lead his signature writing and performing workshop this time open for Asians teens and oldheads (adults) alike. If you're a closet writer and performer, this is a perfect opportunity to safely embrace your artistic aspirations; and for you veterans out there this workshop will deepen your craft. We'll be exploring the D-word. The what word? Huh? You'll have to come join us to find out! (No prior experience necessary.)

Friday, October 28th
MANTRA: Spoken Word and Open Mic
What do you think of life, love, community, politics, and poetry? Share your musings at this open mic dedicated to exploring the cultural productions of love, its manifestations and meanings in our everyday lives. Hosted by MANTRA's creator Rodney Camarce, artist, poet, and community activist. Please show up early to sign up for the open mic! 

Friday, October 28th
Chinatown In/flux GPCA Gallery Night &  walking tour
Spend an evening exploring Center City's galleries, including the Asian Arts Initiative's Gallery and our Chinatown In/flux exhibition, during Arts & Culture Week Gallery Night. Please stick around and attend MANTRA, the Initiative's open mic series. Check out www.phillyfunguide.com for more details about Art & Culture Week!

Saturday, October 22nd
Chinatown In/flux Block Party
Northwest Corner of 10th and Vine Streets, the future home of the Chinatown Community Center
Come celebrate the opening of Chinatown In/flux by celebrating its inspiration: Philadelphia Chinatown! Enjoy performances from local entertainers, food from local businesses, and activities for youth. Learn more about the Chinatown In/flux project. Artist talks will be held throughout the afternoon, and a guided walking tour of the exhibition will occur at 2:00 p.m.

Friday, October 2nd
Chinatown In/flux Opening Reception
Mingle with In/flux artists and art-loving community members at a reception celebrating the opening of the Chinatown In/flux exhibition.

October 11th
Big Picture Mural Arts Program Workshop for Teens
Meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays, 3:30-6 p.m. starting 
What do you think about the murals in this city? This is your chance to design and paint what YOU think should be on the walls of Philadelphia. Start with general drawing and painting skills, and then work together with other teens to create an outdoor mural. Facilitated by muralist and poet, Rodney Camarce and sponsored by the City of Philadelphia Big Picture Mural Arts Program (No prior experience necessary.)

Friday, October 7th
Youth Arts Workshop Open House & Performance
Come hang out with other Philly Asian American teens, learn more about the Initiative, and sign up for one or all of our exciting youth programs! Enjoy the Amnesiac Traveler, a multi-media spoken word performance created by youth in last summer's YouthArtWorks program!

Friday, September 30th
NAMAC Avenue of the Arts Walking Tour
Broad Street, the longest, straightest urban street in the world, has developed over the past decade into Philadelphia's premiere cultural and entertainment district. Starting at the Media Arts Department at the University of the Arts, the tour takes you on foot through Philadelphia's towering City Hall to the Fabric Workshop & Museum and the Asian Arts Initiative. Join National Association of Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) conference participants as they stop by the Asian Arts Initiative as the final destination of their citywide walking tour, with screenings of youth-produced videos and a sneak peek of the Initiative's Chinatown In/flux exhibition!

Thursday, September 29th
NAMAC Youth Media Jam
FREE; door donations will go to support survivors of Hurricane Katrina
Please join us for an exciting media slam with talented youth from across the country showcasing their own work. Come with a tape or DVD to screen, or just bring yourself to see what's happening in the youth media community! Hosted by participants from the Asian Arts Initiative's Community Bytes video workshop, this event is part of the National Association of Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) conference.

 

Spring 2005

Friday, July 22nd
To Catch Just One Tear
A fundraiser featuring a multidisciplinary performance by:
Mango Tribe's Marian Thambynayagam
with cellist Varuni Tiruchelvam
Marian Yalini Thambynayagam, of the much-lauded Mango Tribe, incorporates theater, spoken word, song, and dance to dynamically explore issues within the Sri Lankan Tamil community -- war, detention, the tsunami, etc. -- using gender and sexuality as a lens. She takes the audience on a powerful journey rife with profound questioning, moments of loss, and a resurgence of hope and love. Accompanied by cellist Varuni Tiruchelvam, Thambynayagam presents a rich performance free from all boundaries. Thambynayagam has performed and directed with the all-female Asian American theater group Mango Tribe in its productions of Sisters in the Smoke and Creation Myth Project. She was the movement director for the NYC run of Descendants of Freedom: A Futuristic Queer Hip Hop Odysssey and co-founded the University of Texas's theater company of color Drive By Players.

Also with performances by spoken word artists Michelle Myers of Yellow Rage and the Mantra Kollective's Rodney Camarce and Alison Park. All proceeds went towards the Asian Pacific Islander American Spoken Word Summit in Boston and sponsoring local Asian American youth to attend the summit.

Friday, July 1st
MANTRA
Open mic/spoken word night. This show is dedicated to understanding the cultural productions of love and its manifestations and meanings in our everyday lives. Hosted by Rodney Camarce, artist, poet and community activist.

Sunday, June 12th
Moving Words, Fluent Body
Leslie Li, a writer and movement teacher, will combine yoga with "The Tao of Writing," a process in which participants are invited to explore thoughts and feelings, play with words and randomness, and invoke memory and imagination.

Monday, June 6th
Chutney & Ketchup: Growing Up Indian in a Mixed Up World
2004 First Person Writing Competition Winner Nimisha Ladva reads her story "Good Girls Don't Stare" and other short works.
"Moving Words, Fluent Body" and "Chutney & Ketchup" are part of Philadelphia's First Person Festival. The First Person Festival is the only festival of its kind dedicated to presenting multi-disciplinary works-of-art based on authentic, real-life experiences. This year's festival features local and nationally-known artists, showcases new work by emerging artists and offers workshops and interactive programs to encourage public participation in the creative process. The Festival is produced by Blue Sky, in collaboration with arts and community organizations from throughout the region.

Friday, May 20th
Philadelphia Palestine Film Festival
From May 15 through May 22, 2005, a diverse group of Philadelphia community members will host the city's first Palestine Film Festival. A free, week-long celebration of Palestinian culture, society, and politics, the Film Festival will include documentary and fiction, short- and feature-length films, performances, lectures, and community dialogues. Filmmakers from many cultures and countries will be represented, but all the films' central focus will be the Palestinian people--whether in Israel, occupied Palestine, or the Diaspora.

Dahna Abourahme has directed a stirring documentary that presents an insightful portrait of Palestinian lives today. Set among the households of the Dhiesheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, families pass on life lessons with humor and passion, articulating the frustrations and hopes of the Palestinian refugee population.

This event was cosponsored by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
For more information on the Philadelphia Palestine Film Festival, visit www.philadelphiapalestinefilmfestival.org.

 Friday, May 6th & Saturday, May 7th
Live Traditions/Contemporary Issues Performance Festival
The Live Traditions/Contemporary Issues Performance Festival brought together practitioners of dance, spoken word, and music to explore issues of tradition versus modernity in a showcase of performances and a series of panel discussions. Taken place at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia, the festival was produced by the Asian Arts Initiative and curated by Swarthmore College professor Pallabi Chakravorty.

Live Traditions/Contemporary Issues Festival was supported by the Chace Foundation, the National Performance Network, and sponsored by the Hampton Inn.

Friday, April 22nd
Fourth Annual Benefit Banquet
Ocean City Restaurant, Chinatown

 

Thursday, April 14th
Asian Americans and Popular Cinema Film Series

 

Wednesday, April 13th
Book reception for Chinatown Live(s)
Independence Branch of the Free Library
Celebrating the publication of Chinatown Live(s), a landmark book that explores Philadelphia's Chinatown through the oral histories of twenty-two diverse workers and residents of Pennsylvania's oldest established Asian neighborhood. Their interviews are enlivened with photo portraits by documentary photographer Rodney Atienza.

The book is one of the first published histories of PhiladelphiaÕs Chinatown. Interviewees, essayists and other participants in the collection of the oral histories will be available for comment. Indonesia Restaurant, featured in the book in a profile of one of its owners, will provide catering.

Friday, February 18th
Mantra
Rodney Camarce hosted the first session of a new open mic/spoken word series this Spring at the Initiative.

 Thursday, February 17th
Ang Lee's "The Wedding Banquet"
Asian Americans and Popular Cinema Film Series
"To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay Taiwanese landlord and a female tenant in New York agree to a marriage of convenience. But when his parents visit, things start to go awry... culture clashes make for great comedy in this early Ang Lee gem."

Saturday, February 12th
Help With Your heART: Tsunami Relief Art Auction
In light of the recent tsunami affecting many parts of Asia, the Asian Arts Initiative and Space 1026 are hosting a benefit art auction to raise proceeds which were donated to organizations working in Asia on the grassroots reconstruction of affected areas.

The auction was called by acclaimed auctioneer Todd Kimmel. Prior to the auction, a presentation of the effects of the tsunami was given by Dr. Paul Benjamin, a native of Sri Lanka who will have returned to Philadelphia from his homeland.

Thursday, February 10th
Sonia Sanchez CD Release Party
A Bread-and-Roses sponsored poetry reading by Sonia Sanchez in honor of the release of her new CD, Full Moon of Sonia, her first album in 25 years.

Sonia Sanchez is a world-renowned poet, playwright, and educator, noted for her black activism. Sanchez writes poetry with revolutionary language, but uses traditional language in discussing war, pain and politics. Sanchez has taught and lectured at universities across the country and is presently at Temple University as poet-in-residence and professor of English. Sanchez won the P.E.N. Writing Award in 1969, the National Academy of Arts and Letters Award, the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1978-79, and the National Education Association Award in 1977-88. For Homegirls and Handgrenades, Sanchez won an American Book Award for Poetry in 1985.

Thursday, January 20th
The Bitter Tea of General Yen
Asian Americans and Popular Cinema Film Series
Directed by Frank Capra,The Bitter Tea of General Yen, the first film to play Radio City Music Hall, presents a truly extraordinary tale of race- and star-crossed lovers. Starring Barbara Stanwyck as an American missionary, and the Swedish silent-film star Nils Asther as the title character, Bitter Tea kicks off our series with a lush and exotic look into fears and fantasies from the Depression Era.

 

Fall 2004

Friday, November 19th
Changing the Face of the Game: Asian Americans in Hip Hop
The Asian Arts Initiative hosted a rousing hip hop extravaganza with hip hop pioneer Chops, the spoken word of Yellow Rage, the sound stylings of DJ Phillee Blunt, and local rhymers Figures of Speech! Also, New Jersey MC Snacky Chan made a surprise appearance that rocked the crowd.

Preceding this night of exciting performances, the artists shared their views on race, the music industry, and the challenges of making it mainstream in a panel moderated by cultural critic Oliver Wang (The Source, Vibe, XXL, LA Weekly).

Wednesday, October 27th
Creative Conversations
Initiated by the Americans for the Arts
A chance for emerging leaders in the arts to talk about issues affecting them.

Friday, October 15th
"A People's Dialogue" with Marty Pottenger
In this era of war and the passing of the Patriot Act, in anticipation of the upcoming election, the Asian Arts Initiative invites Asian Americans of all ages and backgrounds to A People's Dialogue, an arts-based workshop to explore the meaning of citizenship, identity, and patriotism in the U.S. today. Led by Marty Pottenger, artist/ playwright and creator of the Abundance community arts project.

Friday, September 24th
Open Mic featuring Rodney Capistrano Camarce
Filipino artist Rodney Capistrano Camarce hosts an open mic, sharing his spoken word and storybooks. In conjunction with his gallery show, What Do I Look Like, Chop Liver?

Wednesday, September 8th
Performance and Discussion with Kate Rigg
Half-Indonesian Kate Rigg performs excerpts from her CD Slanty-Eyed Mama, followed by a Q-and-A about her reappropriation of Asian stereotypes and her acting work in the media industry.