Stories of Asian America: Performances and Conversation

Asian Americans

Stories of Asian America: Performances and Conversation

Friday, June 12th
7 PM

Location:
Twin Cities PBS (online event)
172 4th Street East
Saint Paul, MN 55101

Five artists/artist groups bring their Asian Minnesotan perspectives to themes in Asian Americans through performance, visual arts, photography, puppetry, spoken word. Community leaders from CAPI/USA, Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP), Indigenous Roots Cultural Center (IRCC), Pangea World Theater will discuss the importance of voice and self-representation in the shaping of Asian American history.

Presenting artists:

Alicia Thao will sing an original composition “We are the Same,” sending a message of solidarity with all Asian American groups while asserting her Hmong identity through family portraits.

Chamindika Wanduragala (Monkeybear’s Harmolodic Workshop) presents “Mathakaya,” a shadow puppet study in response to the overall themes found in the documentary episodes.

Lue Thao (aka BBoy Finisher) and the Cypher Side will convey the importance of youth in our Asian American communities through a Zoom interactive hip hop dance entitled “Shape Your Future.”

Meena Natarajan (Pangea World Theater) will read “Forest of Fear,” an excerpt from her memoir-in-progress about her grandfather who healed war casualties during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia.

Saymoukda Vongsay reads her poem “Mother’s Voices” in memory of her mother who faced racism as a St. Paul storefront owner following the family’s refugee experience.

Charissa Uemura’s archival photographs of the arts and cultural scene in the Twin Cities presents a small Tribute to Asian American Renaissance, a community-based cultural organization in the 90’s that sparked the emergence of many Twin-Cities Asian American organizations like Theater MU, Pangea World Theater, Center for Hmong Arts and TalentMizna, Katha Dance Theater, to name a few.

And behind the scenes, Angel Trazo will sketch a visual summary of the event.

Asian Americans premiered on TPT and PBS nationwide on May 11 & 12, 2020. You can still watch and respond on-line and on Passport.

Major funding for Asian Americans is provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); Wallace H. Coulter Foundation; Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); Ford Foundation/JustFilms; National Endowment for the Humanities; The Freeman Foundation; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Kay Family Foundation; Long Family Foundation; Spring Wang; and California Humanities.

Asian American Organizing Project
CAPI
Indigneous Roots
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