Podcasts about asian arts initiative

CW: Negligent Abuse, Child Death. This week I speak to Anne Ishii Executive Director of The Asian Arts Initiative, the owner of the clothing brand MASSIVE and a manga translator. Anne discusses the shocking death of her younger sibling when she was 6 years old and the ways it shaped her life and personality. We both discuss sharing a history of negligent abuse and how victims of this specific type of abuse have an extremely difficult time even realizing they were abused. We also laugh at an inside joke we don't even bother explaining because we don't think anyone else will understand, much like our shared trauma. Thank you for your support! Hairy Butthole Live starts next month! 5/2022

On today's episode host Conrad Benner is joined by Anne Ishii! Anne is a writer based in Philadelphia and New York, as well as the Executive Director of Asian Arts Initiative. Anne also owns and runs MASSIVE GOODS, a fashion brand and manga publisher. Together we talk about queerness, love, art, leadership, and so much more!

Co-promoted with Asian Arts Initiative and Blue Stoop In conversation with Elizabeth McCracken A debut ''work of gorgeous, enduring prose'' (The Washington Post), Lan Samantha Chang's Hunger explored the lives of immigrant families haunted by the past. Her other writing includes the novels Inheritance and All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost, as well as several other works of short fiction and nonfiction. The first Asian American and the first woman director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Chang was a Berlin Prize fellow, won the PEN Open Book Award, and earned grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. In The Family Chao, a Chinese American family's long-simmering resentments bubble to the surface amidst the mystery of its stern patriarch's murder. Evoking ''moving depictions of marriage and parenthood, and love, betrayal, and loneliness'' (The Boston Globe), Elizabeth McCracken's seven books include Bowlaway, The Giant's House, and Thunderstruck & Other Stories. A former faculty member at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and currently the James Michener Chair for Fiction at the University of Texas at Austin, McCracken has earned the PEN New England Award, three Pushcart Prizes, and an O. Henry Prize, among other honors. Longlisted for the National Book Award, The Souvenir Museum is a story collection in which characters begin transformative journeys that test the strange relationships that bind families together. (recorded 2/9/2022)

The event "Korea, Vietnam, and Afro-America: Our Shared Struggle for Peace and Democracy" scheduled for Jan 29th at the Asian Arts Initiative has been postponed due to inclement weather. A new date for the event will be shared soon. In place of it we held a livestream only session of the Saturday Free School. The Saturday Free School continued reading Hegel's "Science of Logic." This week, we continued to read the preface to the second edition, which can be found on pages 11-22 in the online PDF: https://drive.google.com/.../1eXesdzt13OZSmq0SUEUy4t.../view

In anticipation of the Collingswood Book Festival, we thought it might be nice to have some of our senior editors and a couple of festival participants sit down for a proper chat about poetry and community, the anonymity of sending work out into the void and the anonymity of masks, and of course, bears and bathrobes. Enjoy and let us know what you think! Has the pandemic made writing more universal or melted our minds so terribly that our relationship to literature has changed? Will readings stay virtual and/or can we find a happy relationship between Zoom and IRL? This episode includes these special guests: Cynthia Dewi Oka is the author of Fire Is Not a Country (2021) and Salvage (2017) from Northwestern University Press, and Nomad of Salt and Hard Water (2016) from Thread Makes Blanket Press. A recipient of the Tupelo Quarterly Poetry Prize and the Leeway Transformation Award, her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, POETRY, Academy of American Poets, The Rumpus, PANK, Guernica, ESPNW, and elsewhere. In collaboration with Philadelphia Contemporary, Friends of the Rail Park, and Asian Arts Initiative, her experimental poem, Future Revisions, was exhibited at the Rail Park billboard in Philadelphia from July to August 2021. She has taught creative writing at Bryn Mawr College and is a 2021-2022 Poet in Residence at the Amy Clampitt House in Lenox, MA. She is originally from Bali, Indonesia.  Rogan Kelly is the author of Demolition in the Tropics (Seven Kitchens Press, 2019). His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in New Orleans Review, The Penn Review, Plume, RHINO, and elsewhere. He is the editor of The Night Heron Barks and Ran Off With the Star Bassoon. We thought we'd include our bio's here, since we never do: Jason Schneiderman is the author of four books of poems, most recently Hold Me Tight (Red Hen 2020) and Primary Source (Red Hen 2016). He edited the anthology Queer: A Reader for Writers (Oxford UP 2016). His poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry, VQR, The Believer, and The Penguin Book of the Sonnet; he is a co-host of the podcast Painted Bride Quarterly Slush Pile. His awards include the Shestack Award and a Fulbright Fellowship. He is an Associate Professor of English at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.  Kathleen Volk Miller has written for LitHub, NYT Modern Love, O, the Oprah magazine, Salon, the NYTimes, Huffington Post, Washington Post, Family Circle, Philadelphia Magazine and other venues. “How We Want to Live,” an essay, was chosen as the penultimate piece in Oprah's Book of Starting Over (Flat Iron Books, Hearst Publications, 2016). She is co-editor of the anthology, Humor: A Reader for Writers (Oxford University Press, 2014). She is co-editor of The Painted Bride Quarterly and co-host of PBQ's podcast, Slush Pile. She has also published in literary magazines, such as Drunken Boat, Opium, and other venues. She holds “Healing through Writing” and “Writing and Neuroplasticity” workshops, and other memoir classes. She consults on literary magazine start up, working with college students, and getting published in literary magazines.  She is a professor at Drexel University.  Marion Wrenn is Director of the Writing Program; Senior Lecturer of Writing and Literature and Creative Writing at NYU Abu Dhabi. Marion C. Wrenn is a media critic, cultural historian, and literary editor who writes essays and creative non-fiction. She earned her PhD from NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication and has received grants and awards from NYU, the AAUW, and the Rockefeller Archive Center.  Recent work on satirical news and citizen audiences have appeared in Poetics. Her essays have appeared in American Poetry Review, South Loop Review, and elsewhere. She co-edits the literary journal Painted Bride Quarterly (pbqmag.org) and has taught writing at NYU, Parsons, and the Princeton Writing Program.  This episode is brought to you by one of our sponsors, Wilbur Records, who kindly introduced us to the artist  A.M.Mills, whose song “Spaghetti with Loretta” now opens our show. 

2012 Chat with Kelly Adorno of SomaticMovers about her upcoming Philly Fringe performance, Counter Rotation. Curve through our world. Grab our views. Share our axis. Watch the SomaticMovers reconnect with the body while exploring thoughts, memories, and even some splashing water! Enter an atmosphere unlike any other and allow yourself to inhale and get lost. Performance to be held on Saturday, Sept 15, 2012 at Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia

Currently working as the Executive Director of the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia, Anne Ishii is a living legend responsible for translating and producing the first works of Queer manga that hit the west, including her translation of Gengoroh Tagame's "My Brother's Husband", which landed them an Eisner Award (among many others) and cementing Tagame's work as a pioneering breakout hit both in Japan and overseas. In this conversation Anne and Pax chat about her time living in France, how she first found Tagame's work, her time starting a massively successful clothing brand with Graham Kolbeins, and much, much more. You can find her at AnneIshii.com, or on social media @ill_iterate. Support her work at https://asianartsinitiative.org, check out https://massive-goods.com, and read her work at https://amishii.substack.com. Please give us a 5-Star rating on your favorite podcasting app, it really helps the show! If you're watching us on YouTube, giving us a like or a sub would be amazing and help us bring your more of that sweet sweet content. Find us on twitter at: @BrotakusPodcast @PaxLillin Intro Song: F*** You, Pay Me (Instrumental) by Akira the Don News Theme 1 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/ Cover Art by Khori Allen Instagram: @khori_allen Interested in recording your own podcast? Visit https://squadcast.fm/?ref=brotakus to get started. If you want to know what it's like, email us! We love hearing from you and would love to advise you on starting your own podcast. To send us episode/guest suggestions, feedback, hate mail, love mail, fanfic or business/advertising inquiries, shoot us an email at BrotakusPodcast@Gmail.com Find out more at https://brotakus.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Host and KYW Newsradio Community Affairs Reporter Cherri Gregg asks the burning questions about the rise in attacks against Asian Americans in major US Cities. John Chin, President of the Philadelphia Chinatown Community Development Corporation and Anne Ishii, executive director of the Asian Arts Initiative are guests. Then, the newsmaker of the week is the Dr. Anthea Butler, author of “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.” The Patriot Homecare Changemaker of the week is Men Who Care of Germantown. Executive Director Clayton Justice is guest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the inaugural episode of Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room's Queer Atlas. On this episode, meet your hosts Katharine & Leeb and come with them as they venture outside of the store to chat with writer, editor, translator and Executive Direct of the Asian Arts Initiative, Anne Ishii.Credits:Special Guest: Anne IshiiHosted by Khalib Owen & Katharine MilonTheme song "Inner City Tumbleweed" by Khalib OwenAudio engineers - Khalib Owen, Alan ChelakResearch & Scripting - Katharine MilonCreated & Produced by Alan Chelak, Khalib Owen, and Katharine Milon

Born in Denpasar, Cynthia Dewi Oka grew up as an ethnic minority and religious minority in Bali and Java. These experiences pushed her family to migrate to Vancouver, Canada, where Cynthia faced a whole other beast of diasporic experiences. Now a poet with three Pushcart Prize nominations, she lives in Philadelphia, where she partnered with Asian Arts Initiative to offer Sanctuary: A Migrant Poetry Workshop for Philly-based immigrant poets. Cynthia shares with us her journey across many borders, working as an organizer, a poet, a teacher, and a mother. We talk about martabak, motherhood, medok accents, imagination, imperialism, and immigration. Cynthia Dewi Oka is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and author Salvage and Nomad of Salt and Hard Water. She is also a recipient of the Leeway Foundation's Transformation Award; the Tupelo Quarterly Poetry Prize; the Fifth Wednesday Journal Editor's Prize in Poetry; the Amy Clampitt Residency (2021-2022); and scholarships from Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and Vermont Studio Center. She has performed her poetry in various venues across the US and internationally, including at The New School, The Nuyorican, Poet's House, the Langston Hughes House, Nick Virgilio Writer's House, Noyes Art Garage, Woman Made Gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, the Philly Pigeon, the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Busboys and Poets, Writers Resist Philadelphia, The Laura Flanders Show, Split This Rock Poetry Festival, Hobart Festival of Women Writers, Festival Internacional de Poesia de la Habana, and the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. She is a contributor to ESPN's The Undefeated the anthologies Soul Sister Revue: A Poetry Compilation (Jamii Publishing, 2019) as well as other anthologies. Cynthia has been a poetry mentor for The Speakeasy Project, taught Foundations of Poetry for the Blue Stoop, and served as a guest poet in universities across the United States. In 2018, she visited Widener University as a featured poet in the English and Creative Writing Departments' Distinguished Writers Series. As a Dodge Poet, she has visited and worked with young poets in high schools through mini-festivals across New Jersey. She has also facilitated poetry workshops for organizations and initiatives such as Community Building Art Works, FreeWrite Prison Writing Group, Women Writers in Bloom, Women's Mobile Museum, and Training for Change. www.cynthiadewioka.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sugar-nutmeg/support

(S4, EP 7) Award winning Lao-American artist and poet Catzie Villayphonh joined me as a guest for this week's episode. Catzie spoke about her work with fellow Lao artists on amplifying the voices and history of the Lao American experience through her organization, Laos in the House. Catzie shared about the challenges that Laos in the House, and other nonprofits in refugee / immigrant communities have faced since the pandemic. To learn more about Laos In The House, visit www.laosinthehouse.com and to check out Catzie's work on her IG @catzuella . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bio: Catzie Vilayphonh is a multimedia artist with a background in writing, spoken word poetry, photography and filmmaking. She runs Laos in the House, a project that promotes storytelling in the Lao American refugee community, and is a founding member of the group Yellow Rage who were featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. Through her work, Catzie provides an awareness not often heard, drawing from personal narrative. She has worked on various artistic projects with partners such as Mural Arts Philadelphia, Asian Arts Initiative, Smithsonian APIA Center, The Moth, Philadelphia Assembled and Legacies of War. Throughout her artistic career, Catzie has been a recipient of awards from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts as well as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. She has been a 2012 Creative Capital finalist, a four-time Leeway Foundation honoree, and was named a 2016 Woman Non-Profit Leader by Philadelphia City Council. She is a co-founding chair of the national Lao American Writers Summit, and was recently appointed to the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 4 is sponsored by Red Scarf Revolution (RSR). RSR aims to bring awareness to the tragedies, atrocities and cultural destruction the Cambodian people endured from 1975 to 1979 under the communist Khmer Rouge regime and how that period impacts us today. With that awareness, Red Scarf Revolution advocates the silenced art, music, culture, and language, with designs that incite the resiliency of the Cambodian people. Visit their website at www.redscarfrevolution.com to check out their merch line and to learn more about their work, or follow their Instagram at red_scarf_revolution or on their Facebook. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/banhmichronicles/support

Bonus ep!This past week, the Asian Arts Initiative in Philly (AAI) hosted a short conversation about the question of representation in media and politics. AAI’s exec. director Anne Ishii (@ill_iterate) MCed the event, which featured myself (Andy) and Bakirathi Mani, a fellow academic in the region (Swarthmore college, check out her new book Unseeing Empire, with the discount code E20EMPR). We talk: Kamala and Andrewsouth and east Asian comparative diasporasAsian versus Asian American studieswhy the search for representation is always just a little bit “off”? (there’s also a Youtube version of the in-person conversation here!)Check out AAI on twitter: @asianartsphillyAs always, follow us @ttsgpod and email us at: timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com! Get on the email list at goodbye.substack.com

On today’s episode, I speak with Cat Ramirez a director and producer. Cat is the current Creative Director of Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists which serves to enhance and strengthen the presence of Asian Americans in the Philadelphia theatre community. Our conversation runs the gamut from the definition of devised works, to the creation of PAPA, to their love of anime. For a full transcript of today's episode go to beyondthelightspodcast.com. Mentioned in this Episode[00:03:55] Mariadela Belle Alvarez [00:03:57] Carl(os) Roa [00:08:50] Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists [00:09:25] Makoto Hirano Open Letter [00:11:25] Asian Arts Initiative [00:11:38] Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival [00:11:50] PAPA Playwrights Project [00:11:59] Stephanie Kyung-Sun Walters[00:15:20] Bearded Ladies Cabaret [00:15:36] Obvious Agency [00:19:36] Interact Theater Company [00:25:50] Directors Gathering [00:35:40] Watch Yu Yu Hakusho [00:35:45] About Yu Yu Hakusho Follow CatWebsiteInstagramFollow Philadelphia Asian Performing ArtistsWebsiteFacebookInstagramFollow Beyond the LightsWebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram

After our recent retrospective on My Brother's Husband, we were left curious about its creator, Gengoroh Tagame, and the world of gay manga. So we decided to talk to the person who perhaps knows Tagame's work best - Anne Ishii, the translator of My Brother's Husband and ambassador of Tagame's work in the west! Anne is one of the co-founders of Massive Goods, a publisher dedicated to producing gay manga, apparel, and merchandise, and is the executive director of the Asian Arts Initiative. She has done so much over her career, and we explore the breadth of her translation background and work in manga! She shares her insights on Tagame and the writing of My Brother's Husband, thoughts on the future of gay manga, and reveals some exciting news that may color you surprised! We don't want to show our colors just yet, so listen to the podcast and experience the rainbow of gay manga goodness! For a complete list of links & Community Shout-Outs included in this episode, check out this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2020/manga-mavericks-ep-140-massive-gay-manga-gengoroh-tagame-w-anne-ishii PODCAST BREAKDOWN: 00:22 - Intro 01:47 - Introducing Anne & the Publication Background of My Brother’s Husband 10:03 - Anne’s Background in Manga 14:12 - Anne’s Experiences as a Manga Translator 17:03 - Anne’s Experiences with Gay Manga and the Origins of Massive 22:42 - Manga Piracy and Reaching Out to Artists 30:00 - The State of Gay Manga & Manga Magazines 34:05 - Dating Apps: The Future of Gay Manga? 38:21 - Massive’s Fashion 42:40 - Representation in Gay Manga 45:37 - The Relationship between BL and Gay Manga 51:52 - The Future of Massive 58:15 - The Origins of My Brother’s Husband 1:05:26 - The Appeal of Gengoroh Tagame’s Erotica 1:10:05 - Was Mike Based on Chris Butcher? 1:12:51 - Translation Insights 1:21:56 - Upcoming Gengoroh Tagame Projects & Announcements from Anne! 1:25:00 - Anne’s Work with the Asian Arts Initiative 1:28:45 - Community Shout-Outs 1:39:11 - Wrap-Up Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com, and on Youtube! You can also follow Lum on Twitter at @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! If one-time donations are more your speed you can donate to LumRanmaYasha’s Ko-fi here, and if you want to support LumRanmaYasha’s art and other projects you can follow them @siddartworks on Instagram and Twitter and donate to their personal Patreon. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!

After our recent retrospective on My Brother's Husband, we were left curious about its creator, Gengoroh Tagame, and the world of gay manga. So we decided to talk to the person who perhaps knows Tagame's work best - Anne Ishii, the translator of My Brother's Husband and ambassador of Tagame's work in the west! Anne is one of the co-founders of Massive Goods, a publisher dedicated to producing gay manga, apparel, and merchandise, and is the executive director of the Asian Arts Initiative. She has done so much over her career, and we explore the breadth of her translation background and work in manga! She shares her insights on Tagame and the writing of My Brother's Husband, thoughts on the future of gay manga, and reveals some exciting news that may color you surprised! We don't want to show our colors just yet, so listen to the podcast and experience the rainbow of gay manga goodness! For a complete list of links & Community Shout-Outs included in this episode, check out this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2020/manga-mavericks-ep-140-massive-gay-manga-gengoroh-tagame-w-anne-ishii PODCAST BREAKDOWN: 00:22 - Intro 01:47 - Introducing Anne & the Publication Background of My Brother’s Husband 10:03 - Anne’s Background in Manga 14:12 - Anne’s Experiences as a Manga Translator 17:03 - Anne’s Experiences with Gay Manga and the Origins of Massive 22:42 - Manga Piracy and Reaching Out to Artists 30:00 - The State of Gay Manga & Manga Magazines 34:05 - Dating Apps: The Future of Gay Manga? 38:21 - Massive’s Fashion 42:40 - Representation in Gay Manga 45:37 - The Relationship between BL and Gay Manga 51:52 - The Future of Massive 58:15 - The Origins of My Brother’s Husband 1:05:26 - The Appeal of Gengoroh Tagame’s Erotica 1:10:05 - Was Mike Based on Chris Butcher? 1:12:51 - Translation Insights 1:21:56 - Upcoming Gengoroh Tagame Projects & Announcements from Anne! 1:25:00 - Anne’s Work with the Asian Arts Initiative 1:28:45 - Community Shout-Outs 1:39:11 - Wrap-Up Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com, and on Youtube! You can also follow Lum on Twitter at @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! If one-time donations are more your speed you can donate to LumRanmaYasha’s Ko-fi here, and if you want to support LumRanmaYasha’s art and other projects you can follow them @siddartworks on Instagram and Twitter and donate to their personal Patreon. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!

Subscribe to the podcast here! Byron Au Yong3:13 - The genesis of "Activist Songbook." The murder of Vincent Chin as impetus for U.S. legislation against hate crimes.5:12 - "'Activist Songbook' is the third in a trilogy of works where I've been addressing what Americans fear; ways out of oppression; and the central focus of these three works: an Asian male in America who receives media attention."6:03 - "Launched in 2017, 'Activist Songbook' was directly impacted by the election of Donald Trump and the increasing racism and xenophobia that have always been present in the U.S. but were further unleashed by Trump's method's of rhetoric...'Activist Songbook' is a project to counteract hate and energize movements."Asian Arts Initiative, an intersectional organizing group, founded in part as a response to the race riots following the Rodney King verdict in 1992. Founding Director, Gayle Isa.8:20 - Byron talks about his musical (written with Aaron Jafferis), "Stuck Elevator," about Ming Kuang Chen, an undocumented Chinese delivery man in New York City who was stuck in an elevator in the Bronx for 81 hours.The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund 11:14 - Byron talks about his piece, "The Ones," about the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, the largest school mass shooting in the U.S.19:32 - The need for collective action by marginalized groups in order to be heard. How do we broaden the classical music canon beyond music of dead, white, male, European composers?21:48 - Byron talks about his song "We Are Leaders," from "Activist Songbook," written from an interview with Wei Chen (Asian Americans United, Civic Engagement Coordinator), who immigrated from China to the U.S. at age 16 and his experiences - alongside those of other Chinese and Vietnamese students - of bullying and violence in American high school.22:48 - Why drag is important as related to visual representation. "Figuring out alternatives to dominant systems that oppress people."23:16 - The Japanese American elders who are still protesting because they were incarcerated as children in the Japanese internment camps in the U.S.23:40 - Jae Rhim Lee's Mushroom Burial Suit, to reimagine the funeral industry. 24:15 - Why representation matters. Byron talks about his realization that beyond Bruce Lee, he has no other Asian male artists or public figures to emulate. "I should be able to populate a wall with images of Asian male heroes."26:50 - The damages of justifying music under the label of "comfort, care, and bringing together." "The arts are part of a different economy, a gift economy...capitalism debilitates."29:52 - "I believe activism happens in so many different ways." The importance of "inner action and small actions, walking down the street."31:39 - The UceLi Quartet opens the Barcelona Opera house with a concert performed for plants. 32:05 - "Activism can be reading certain authors." Alice Walker, The Color Purple. Lynn Nottage, Ruined.33:07 - "There is activism in making the world a little bit nicer."33:33 - How the immigrant experience fosters both very high expectations and the ability to "make do."34:18 - "We learn from our experiences, especially the painful ones." Why we can't avoid going through our "shit" and how our "grand plans" become more flexible as we grow older.35:30 - Why the "solitary artist" is BS and why we can't create in isolation. "Music is made in ensemble. Art is created in community with other people.""Go into the forest with your friends and sing with the trees."36:48 - Why we have to write our own roles and stories. How classical music separates us from our whole humanity. Why classical music performers need to reclaim their agency.38:57 - I voice my frustrations with micro aggressions and invisibility in white dominant culture. Also, some stories about online dating and white guys who "prefer" Asian women. *eyeroll*41:54 - Kristina Wong, performance artist, who, in response to Trump's election, ran for elected office and won in L.A.'s Koreatown. Also, her projects, "Big Bad Chinese Mama" and "Auntie Sewing Squad, " making masks for vulnerable people.43:35 - Why finding similar ideas in multiple authors is the "connecting thread."43:51 - Byron's practice of keeping a quote book of autobiographies and biographies of composers. Shostakovich: "just try to reach one person."44:23 - Ronald Takaki, scholar who worked to rewrite American history to include Asian Americans. "Find gems that connect humanity...keep writing and know that those nuggets connect with other people....there's room for ALL of it." 

Anne Ishii is the Executive Director of the Asian Arts Initiative, Pornographer and the ring-leader of the Asian Illuminati. She joins Feeling Asian to talk about the challenges of being an Asian woman in a leadership position. Anne also describes how she created Massive Goods, a publisher and agent for queer manga and fashion by artists from Japan. Follow her @ill_iterate and follow us @feelingasianpodcast, @itsbrianpark and @ymmayer. Like, subscribe and donate to our Patreon!

In this episode, Community Engagement Manager Tenara Calem sits down with Anne Ishii (Executive Director of Asian Arts Initiative), Danny Orendorff (Executive Director of Vox Populi), and Maori Karmael Holmes (Artistic Director and CEO of BlackStar Film Festival), the leaders of a new coalition called Philly Arts for Black Lives Matter. Philly Arts for BLM emerged following the proposed city budget cuts to Philadelphia's municipal arts funding. Though the budget has already been voted on (and with it, restored the Philadelphia Cultural Fund), this important conversation demonstrates all the ways in which arts organizations can illuminate the path ahead for racial and economic justice in the city of Philadelphia. To learn more about this work, visit: http://phlartsforblacklives.com/

Anne Ishii is fluent in French. Anne and Kai discover they share a rare background story (8:23), and talk about her experience growing up as an Asian American with that complex background (9:53), and how she found gay erotic manga and what drew her to Gengoroh Tagame’s work in particular (48:56). They also discuss the history of the Asian Arts Initiative (58:30) and the directions she wants to take the organization (1:05:08).

Childhood obesity is rising so are rates of Type Two Diabetes and early signs of heart disease. Loraine Ballard Morrill speaks with Jeff Long, President and Founder of Healthy Kids Running Series who has created a fun and affordable 5 week program that introduces children to running and healthy living. http://www.healthykidsrunningseries.org/Philadelphia's Asian Arts Initiative was founded 25 years ago by Gayle Issa to promote the arts are an avenue for not only creative expression, but community building and intercultural awareness. Loraine speaks to newly appointed Executive Director Anne Ishii and her forward looking vision for the organization to realizing community impact through arts and arts practice. http://asianartsinitiative.org/Loraine is joined by Philly Gay Lawyer's Angela Giampolo for a once a month segment called SpeakOut which addresses issues impacting the LGBTQ community but have relevance to all. In this edition - an interview with Jake Yoblonski - CEO Platinum Brands about the rewards and challenges of LGBTQ businesses. https://platinumbrands.com/

Philadelphia's Asian Arts Initiative was founded 25 years ago by Gayle Issa to promote the arts are an avenue for not only creative expression, but community building and intercultural awareness. Loraine speaks to newly appointed Executive Director Anne Ishii and her forward looking vision for the organization to realizing community impact through arts and arts practice. http://asianartsinitiative.org/

Sueyeun Juliette Lee speaks with Imani Roach about her site-specific installation and performance piece, Piece Light, which premieres on Thursday May 3rd as a part of the Asian Arts Initiative's 25th anniversary celebration weekend. They talk collaboration, the future of the Korean peninsula, and the boundless imagination that peace requires.

Sueyeun Juliette Lee speaks with Imani Roach about her site-specific installation and performance piece, Piece Light, which premieres on Thursday May 3rd as a part of the Asian Arts Initiative’s 25th anniversary celebration weekend. They talk collaboration, the future of the Korean peninsula, and the boundless imagination that peace requires.

A monologue about young Chinese American grappling with her cultural identity and embarrassment about her inability to speak Chinese starts a conversation about the challenges of being a first generation American. Featuring conversations with Donna Zhang , a senior at Drexel University whose monologue "A Last Stroll Through Pain" inspired this episode; Rebecca, Faith, and Nikita, three first generation Americans ; and Raquel Salas Rivera , a Philadelphia transplant from Puerto Rico and the  2018-19 Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. “I know I have no heritage, and I am just a mixed pot of nothings, which upsets me, but I will try harder to find my heritage, my Chinese heritage that I never had a chance to take back.” — from "A Last Stroll Through Pain" by Donna Zhang  * * * Further Reading & Resources To read more about Raquel Salas Rivera, visit their websiteand check out this article from Philly.com when they were announced as the 2018-19 Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. Learn about one of Raquel's big undertakings as Poet Laureate, We (Too) Are Philadelphia, and stay on the up and up to learn about the upcoming festival. Check out this incredible list of resources related to multilingualism from the United Nations. About the Performer STEPHANIE N. WALTERS Stephanie N. Walters is a Barrymore nominated actor, emerging playwright and teaching artist in Philadelphia. Stephanie is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and a founding member of Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists. Regional credits include: Walnut St. Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company, and Orbiter 3. She is a first year member of The Foundry and her writing has been showcased at Dragon’s Eye Theatre, Future is Female Festival, Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival, Revamp Collective, and Philly Improv Theatre. Stephanie is currently a student at PlayPenn and a proud graduate of Bucknell University, London Dramatic Academy, and CAP21.  www.stephanienwalters.com "A Last Stroll Through Pain" was directed by Mitchell Bloom Special thanks to Melody Wong and the Asian Arts Initiative.

Loraine Ballard Morrill speaks with Bob Smith, Vice President of Community Impact, Comcast – Freedom Region about Comcast Cares day April 21st. Comcast employees from every department will be engaged in more than 135 community projects across the Great Philadelphia Region and New jersey including 30 in the city of Philadelphia in partnership with numerous community organizations. Also discussed – the latest on Comcast's Internet Essentials which provides high speed internet, training and access to low cost computers to low income families and senior. For more info about Comcast Cares Day got to www.comcastinthecommunity.com. For Internet Essentials: www.internetessentials.com.Loraine has a talk with Gayle Issa, founder and outgoing Executive Director of the Asian Arts Initiative celebrating 25 years of bridging art and building community. There will be performances and exhibitions May 3-6th to mark the Anniversary. For more info go to http://asianartsinitiative.org/Finally during these troubled times – it's important to remember the positive people and organizations working to make the world a better place. Loraine speaks with Chris Tabakin founder of iHi International which works to improve the lives of vulnerable people worldwide especially people with disabilities. http://ihiinternational.org/

Loraine Ballard Morrill has a talk with Gayle Issa, founder and outgoing Executive Director of the Asian Arts Initiative celebrating 25 years of bridging art and building community. There will be performances and exhibitions May 3-6th to mark the Anniversary. For more info go to http://asianartsinitiative.org/