The Asian Women’s Giving Circle, Hiding Divya, MOCA, Elaine Kim, And The 4th Annual Celebration of Activism Through the Arts

Tuesday, September 28, 2010



I got word sent out about the 4th Annual Celebration of Activism Through the Arts Featuring works in progress by the Asian Women Giving Circle’s 2009 and 2010 grantees and wanted to make sure and post up on it not only because it's important - but because it just sounds like it should be a really cool event.

The Main Event

The Asian Women Giving Circle and MOCA present the 4th Annual Celebration of Activism Through the Arts Featuring works in progress by the Asian Women Giving Circle’s 2009 and 2010 grantees

Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street New York City
There will be food, drinks, gift bags, auction items and more.


Special remarks by:

Elaine Kim, writer and producer of Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded (AWGC 2010 Grantee)
Jeannie Park, former Executive Editor of People magazine

In its fifth year of raising resources and philanthropists, the AWGC has raised and distributed over $350,000 for thirty-nine projects of individual artists and community-based organizations. These projects focus on social activism using the arts. Every donor helps to decide which projects get funded.

Come see some of the works in progress such as a film that examines stereotypes of Asian American women in the media, a music video that raises awareness about sex-trafficking, a documentary about mental illness and suicide in the Asian American community, a multi-media summer workshop for low-income immigrant girls who live with the legacy of war and a multi-media art project that features interviews with laundromat customers to show the shifting demographics in NYC neighborhoods and more.

http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=2273

Double Happiness (2 Tickets): $100
Friend (1 Ticket): $60
Non-Profit (1 Ticket): $30

Auction items: Dinner cooking class with private chef for 4, wine tasting for 20, jewelry, Maidenform gift basket, Chelsea Pier Sports Center package, private tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and more!

Hiding Divya Trailer



About The Asian Women Giving Circle And MOCA

The Asian Women Giving Circle is a group of Asian American women pooling their money to fund other Asian women in NYC who use the tools of art to further a social equity goal. We work together to raise resources to support Asian American serving, Asian American women-led social change organizations in New York City’s under-served communities. We raise resources and philanthropists. AWGC is a donor-advised fund of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. Every donor helps decide which projects are funded.

www.asianwomengivingcircle.org

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), founded in 1980, is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history, heritage, culture and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States. The greatly expanded MOCA at 215 Centre Street is a national home for the precious narratives of diverse Chinese American communities, and strives to be a model among interactive museums.

www.mocanyc.org

And Because You Wanted To Know About The Grant Winners...

The 2010 AWGC grant recipients, each of whom will receive awards of $8,000 to $10,000, are:

Asian American Writers’ Workshop – Double Exposure: War Narratives at Home

The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is the largest non-profit devoted to creating, publishing, developing and disseminating creative writing by Asian Americans. Double Exposure: War Narratives at Home is a multi-media, Pan-Asian arts workshop that will focus on the experiences of Asian American girls ages 14-18 displaced by war. This nine-week, intensive summer workshop led by women artists will bring together low-income, underrepresented girls who are primary and secondary witnesses to war (from the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Burma, Iran, etc.) to share the stories of their lives through photography and writing, encouraging bonds across nationalities and generations.

www.aaww.org

DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association – Paglalakbay: Journeys of Filipina Domestic Workers

Paglalakbay is a multi-arts project that partners domestic workers with young Filipino cultural workers (photographers, visual artists, performance artists, poets and musicians) to document their working conditions, life, resilience and resistance. Through arts skills training workshops, Filipino women workers will produce cultural works to be used for a public showcase, campaign materials for DAMAYAN, and as a source for generating income. Two key cultural art products from this project are the Paglalakbay Memory Cookbook, which will include recipes from various regions of the Philippines that have been adapted to the US by the women workers and a month-long public installation of art works created over the course of the project. DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association is a grassroots organization based in New York and New Jersey that promotes the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers.

www.damayanmigrants.org

Desipina Productions – Out of the Kitchen and Into the Fire

Founded in 2000, Desipina Productions is a Brooklyn-based South Asian and Asian American theater and film arts company. Its mission is to combat stereotypes in pop culture and mainstream culture by providing points of views rarely seen. The project is a three-month series of events by women including a tour of “Hiding Divya,” a film about mental illness among three generations of women in a South Asian family produced and directed by Desipina’s founders, play readings, and a panel on APA women in the arts. The tour will include colleges and community centers in New York and across the country. The purpose of the series is to start a dialogue about mental illness within the South Asian community and to counter stereotypes of Asian women in the broader society.

www.hidingdivya.com

Hanalei Ramos and Jiny Ung the Asian Arts Initiative – Cycles

“Cycles” is a multi-ethnic, multi-media art project that includes a documentary featuring short interviews with more than150 customers at two laundromats in Woodside, Queens and Jersey City, NJ, most of whom are women who reflect the dynamic and evolving demographic changes in their communities. Raw highlights of interviews will be posted to a web site and on YouTube and shown at Asian American film festivals, community centers and college campuses. In addition, installations will be placed in both laundromats to display photographs and stories of interviewees. The project will highlight the oral histories of Asian women within their immigrant communities, empowering women to become advocates for the community issues affecting them.

http://www.everydayarmada.org

May Ling Lai - Music Video on Child Trafficking

May Ling Lai is an Asian American woman singer, songwriter, and producer. Building on the success of a music video and public service announcement (PSA) she produced about domestic violence entitled “Someday.” May Ling will create a music video and public education campaign to raise awareness about the problem of child trafficking, globally and here in New York City. In addition to the music video, footage will be used to create a public service announcement. Online discussions, forums, blogs, and other internet media will be used to create awareness on this issue and inspire activism.

www.songswithavoice.com

Pearl J. Park via Light Fish Arts – Can

“Can,” a documentary film produced by Asian American director Pearl J. Park, is a realistic, balanced and in-depth film portrayal of the mental illness and suicide within the Asian American community. It will be used to educate mental health providers who have little to no cross-cultural training and may be unfamiliar with traditional Asian practices and beliefs. In addition, the documentary will be shared with key Asian American opinion leaders to help create a social dialogue about this serious health issue and break the taboo power of mental illness within Asian American communities.

http://www.amongourkin.org

Ping Chong & Company – Undesirable Elements: Secret Survivors

“Secret Survivors” is a theatrical multimedia production featuring survivors of child sexual abuse sharing their stories through dramatic narrative. The piece, which draws upon Ping Chong & Company “Undesirable Elements” model (an interview-based theater project exploring social justice issues through the lens of culture and identity), will act as a vehicle to break taboos, improve community and policy responses, and generate healing through storytelling. Secret Survivors will be led by Amita Swadhin, a queer South Asian educator, anti-violence activist, and incest survivor. By creating a performance that showcases the story of a South Asian American survivor, the production will provide tools that can raise the issue of child sexual abuse in Asian American communities and help service providers better understand how this abuse plays out in Asian American communities.

www.undesirableelements.org/pages/secretsurvivors.html

Ruby Veridiano - Glamourbaby Diaries

A new project developed by Ruby Veridiano, an Asian American writer, speaker/arts educator, and media personality, Glamourbaby Diaries is an empowerment program for young women, ages 14 to 21, using writing and incorporating media, fashion, and women’s history. The goal of this program is to create an inspiring and provocative space for young women to explore their identity and assert their voices in the public sphere. The program will focus on the leadership and personal development of female leaders, thinkers, and writers, providing participants with tools to strengthen the expression of their opinions and ideas, thus creating opportunities to better represent themselves in their families, schools, and communities.

www.rubyisill.com/blog

Women Make Movies - Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded


“Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded” is a 30-minute sequel to the 1986 award-winning film, “Slaying the Dragon: Asian Women in U.S. Television and Film”, a comprehensive look at media stereotypes of Asian and Asian American women since the silent era of film. The film addresses how Hollywood’s visual representations of Asian women have changed with globalization and the transformation of America's population over the past two decades. By challenging viewers to question the pop culture images they see and by offering alternative voices, Women Make Movies aims to help create real change in the way that Asians are seen.

www.wmm.com