By invitation only.
Andrew Lam is the author of East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres and Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora. For eight years, he was a regular commentator on NPR's "All Things Considered." An editor with New America Media, the nation's largest association of ethnic media, Lam has contributed essays to dozens of newspapers across the country, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Baltimore Sun, the Atlanta Journal, and the Chicago Tribune. His third book, Birds of Paradise, a short story collection, is due out in 2013. He is currently working on a novel. In his talk, Andrew Lam will discuss what it takes to carve out a writing career in the 21st century. He will share the experience gained from a writing life that ranges from writing books to doing radio commentaries, from organizing and editing websites to freelancing, getting fellowships and reporting news in a multimedia world. Most of all he'll be talking about how a Vietnamese refugee became an American writer and found a passion for literary journalism and writing stories that matter. His presentation will include readings from Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora and East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres.
Tad Nakamura will be in attendance to present his three short films and answer questions after the film showing.
Yellow Brotherhood is a short personal documentary about a friendship and finding community through a self-help group turned basketball team that began in the 1960s. Filmmaker Tad Nakamura met Brett and Khi-Min when they were six years old on a community basketball team called the 'Venice YB'. As Tad says in the film, 'We didn't know what YB stood for and we really didn't care - all we cared about was having fun.' As they grew, they learned that YB stood for 'Yellow Brotherhood', a self-help group formed by a gang called 'The Ministers' to help youth get off drugs. Only later did they realize how the tradition of Yellow Brotherhood's dedication to personal and political development helped them through their own problems and empowered them to carry on its legacy of creating and serving community. Features never-before-seen stills and footage of Los Angeles' Japanese American community in the 1960s and 1970s.
Pilgrimage tells the inspiring story of how an abandoned WWII concentration camp for Japanese Americans has been transformed into a symbol of retrospection and solidarity for people of all ages, races and nationalities in our post 9/11 world. With a hip music track, never-before-seen archival footage and a story-telling style that features young and old, PILGRIMAGE reveals how the Japanese American community reclaimed a national experience that had almost been deleted from public understanding. PILGRIMAGE shows how the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage now has new meaning for diverse generations who realize that when the US government herded thousands of innocent Americans into what the government itself called concentration camps, it was failure of democracy that would affect all Americans.
A Song for Ourselves is an intimate journey into the life and music of Asian American Movement troubadour Chris Iijima. Struggling to make sense of their father's early death, his teenage sons learn that during the 1970s when Asians in America were still considered "Orientals," Chris' music and passion for social justice helped provide the voice and identity an entire generation had been in search of. Through animated photographs, intimate home movies, archival footage of Chris' introduction to nationwide television by John Lennon and Chris' own songs, their father's life takes on bigger meaning than they had ever dreamed of.
First Person Plural: In 1966, Deann Borshay Liem was adopted by an American family and was sentfrom Korea to her new home. Growing up in California, the memory of her birth family was nearly obliterated until recurring dreams lead Deann to discover the truth: her Korean mother was very much alive. Bravely uniting her biological and adoptive families, Deann's heartfelt journey makes First Person Plural a poignant essay on family, loss, and the reconciling of two identities. First Person Plural was an official selection of the Sundance Festival in 2000 and the winner of multiple awards, including an Emmy nomination for Liem for Best Director.
Her passport said she was Cha Jung Hee. She knew she was not. So began a 40-year deception for a Korean adoptee who came to the US in 1966. Told to keep her true identity a secret from her new American family, this eight-year-old girl quickly forgot she was ever anyone else. But why had her identity been switched? And who was the real Cha Jung Hee? In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee is the search to find the answers. It follows acclaimed filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem as she returns to her native Korea to find her "double," the mysterious girl whose place she took in America. Traversing the landscapes of memory, amnesia and identity, while also uncovering layers of deception in her adoption, this moving and provocative film probes the ethics of international adoptions and reveals the cost of living a lie. Part mystery, part personal odyssey, it raises fundamental questions about who we are and who we could be but for the hands of fate.
During the summer of 1965, Filipino agricultural laborers went on strike in the Coachella Valley of California. Upon seeing the success of the Coachella strike, Filipino organizers shifted their focus to Delano, California. By September 1965, Mexican and Filipino union organizers consolidated their organizing strategies under the National Farm Worker Association (NFWA), later known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). It was the struggle in the fields that would have the greatest impact for both Chicanas/os and Filipino-Americans during the civil rights movement. Many of us may have heard of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. But few know of the efforts by Filipino activist like Andy Imutan, Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco. Join us in a discussion of the possibilities and fragileness of multiracial solidarities as we remember and celebrate the various heroes in the fight for labor and civil rights.
Second generation Asians are often "caught between two cultures," those of their parents, which stresses conventional academics and home-country culture, and that which is more "American," with its emphasis on creativity, independence and individuality. Discussion will focus on the challenges and joys of living in this dual culture environment, and possibly gain insights from the member of the audience. Free lunch but must RSVP to lacasa@indiana.edu. Discussion Facilitator: Babita Upadhyay, Office of Multicultural Initiatives. Co-sponsored by La Casa and Office of 21st Century Scholars.
Taste of Asia is Asian American Association's largest event of the spring semester. Highlights of the program include a showcase of cultural and modern Asian American performances from students and local talents in addition to a sampling of Bloomington's finest Asian cuisine. The show is open to the public. Admission is free! Email aaa@indiana.edu for more info.
Asian Cultures around Campus is an on-going series of performances and/or instructional demonstrations featuring student talents as well as homegrown and renowned artists outside of Bloomington. Through these performances and demonstrations, the Asian Culture Center endeavors to bring the Asian cultures closer to the university and Bloomington communities. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
Come to the ACC to learn the ancient Indian art of henna designs. You will have hands on experience, as well as learn basic techniques and designs. Please feel free to bring your friends.
Southeast Asia (SEA) Night will expose guests to cultures 24 hours away by plane through Southeast Asian cultural displays, performances and food on April 7, 2012, at the Willkie Auditorium starting at 7 p.m.
Take a break from your stress-filled lives and come to the Woods to partake in yoga, meditation, and a tea-tasting.
We'll be showing IP Man, a semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun.
In 1929 an impoverished nine-year-old named Chiyo from a fishing village is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto's Gion district and subjected to cruel treatment from the owners and the head geisha Hatsumomo. Her stunning beauty attracts the vindictive jealousy of Hatsumomo, until she is rescued by and taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's bitter rival, Mameha. Under Mameha's mentorship, Chiyo becomes the geisha named Sayuri, trained in all the artistic and social skills a geisha must master in order to survive in her society. As a renowned geisha she enters a society of wealth, privilege, and political intrigue. As World War II looms Japan and the geisha's world are forever changed by the onslaught of history. Discussion over free dinner will follow after the screening. This event is hosted by CommUnity Education Program at Wright Quad.
The Friday Noon Concert Series provides an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and the community to take a lunch break while enjoying beautiful music performed by students from the Jacobs School of Music at the International Center. You are cordially invited to join us for this enjoyable event. A light lunch will follow the concert. Hope you can join us!
Jae Rhim Lee is an Asian-American visual artist, designer, and researcher whose work proposes unorthodox relationships between the mind/body/self and the built and natural environment. His talk will explore the themes of sustainability, transdisciplinary research-based art, and death.
Reviewed for IBN Live by Akanksha Banerji: David Kaplan's forthcoming film, Today's Special is written by Indian American Aasif Mandvi, who also plays the lead role of, Samir - a French sous chef who ends up at his dad's Indian restaurant. Actor/Writer Aasif Mandvi says, "It's a story of Samir, an Indian American, who dreams of becoming a French chef. He is about to go to France, when his father has a heart attack. As a result, he is forced to look after his father's Indian restaurant in Jackson Heights. Throughout his journey back to the cuisine of his culture," Samir finds himself surrounded by masalas instead of wine and cheese. Problem is that, he doesn't know anything about Indian food. In comes Akbar, played by Naseeruddin Shah- a taxi driver and a gourmet chef. The result is some sweet and sour lessons of life and lots of mouthwatering food.
On the occasion of the Japanese woodblock print installation, Legends of Kabuki: Tragic Heroes, Doomed Lovers, and Stories of Revenge, the IUAM Education Department, in partnership with the IU Asian Culture Center, will present an in-gallery program featuring IUAM graduate assistant Lesley Ham, who curated the installation, "in conversation," with IU graduate student and Japanese traditional performing artist Monica Ham. Lesley will provide the historical narrative and stories behind each print, while Monica will highlight the stories with demonstrations of Kabuki song and dance. A light reception will follow. Co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Faculty and Staff Council.
The ACC will host a collection of ink paintings by artist Pu YueRu. Born in a small village of WuJi county, HeBei province, P.R.China in 1954, she spent forty years farming, sewing, weaving, and painting in the village, but now works in her studio in a suburb of Beijing. Her paintings nostalgically depict traditional lives in China, recalling a self-sustained, harmonious, and happy paradise of human life. This will be Pu YueRu's first solo show in the United States.
By invitation only.
Come and enjoy the diversity within Asian cultures through cultural performances, art crafts, cultural activities & games such as Skittles chopstick challenge, calligraphy, henna, and many more. Have a taste of traditional Asian dishes at the cooking demonstration. For more information, please email acc@indiana.edu.