The New kearnystreet.org Has Launched

We hope you enjoy our new, streamlined website. With the new kearnystreet.org, the blog has also moved. Find the blog under the “COMMUNITY” tab.

Or click here:

http://kearnystreet.org/community/blog/

What do you think of the new site? We’re still adding the archived areas, and fine-tuning the kinks, and we’ll be rolling out exciting features in the coming year.

The Future Project–Community Special $5 Tix Oct. 18

Psst! We’re spreading the word about this Sunday’s performance of The Future Project over at Intersection for the Arts. $5 per ticket this Sunday only. This is a good deal to see two prior APAture Featured Artists: Erika Chong Shuch and Sean San Jose!

The Future Project: Sunday Will Come – Community Special!

A Sunday Night Special Offer
One Night Only!

Sunday, October 18th, 8pm
$5 tickets for the only Sunday Night Performance!

As a special offer to our dear friends in the dance, theatre, performance and education communities, Intersection would like to open up to you a very special Sunday Night performance of the long awaited The Future Project: Sunday Will Come starring Erika Chong Shuch and Sean San Jose. Merging the Erika Chong Shuch Performance Project’s beautiful, dreamlike imagery and Campo Santo’s intense and honest realism, The Future Project: Sunday Will Come is a simultaneously intimate and spacious reflection on mortality and humanity. Be one of the first to see The Future Project: Sunday Will Come during it’s opening week with this special $5 Sunday Night Special!

Reservations are highly encouraged and can be made by emailing Bea at bea@theintersection.org or by calling 415-626-2787 x109. Payments can be made at the door.

The Future Project: Sunday Will Come is a series of mini-plays, songs, dances and “moments” that contemplate mortality, memory, relationships and the questions that loom large in these uncertain times. This collaboration with the Erika Shuch Performance Project and Campo Santo explores what it means to be human, what it means to be alive, and what it means to be just another small creature in this great, big world. Featuring Erika Chong Shuch, Sean San Jose and live music by Denizen Kane.

And if you can’t make it to this special Sunday performance, enjoy a $5 discount off the regular ticket price on opening week performances from October 15-19th! Just go to www.theintersection.org for tickets and enter the discount code: Goldfish09 in at checkout!

For more information, go to www.theintersection.org
Or call 415-626-2787 x109

SF-NYC-based Asian American Writers at KSW’s LitCrawl Reading this Sat.

KSW @ LitCrawl
Four Barrel Coffee, 375 Valencia
6-7pm

More info at the LitCrawl site.

I left my heart in….?

With split hearts and nostalgic minds, divided between the Wild Wild West and the Big Apple, all of our readers have both lived and worked in San Francisco and New York City. Kearny Street Workshop is pleased to present a cross-country, cross-genre literary exploration of east and west. Join us as our readers share musings on east/west dichotomies, stories of their bi-coastal travels, and ruminations on the meaning of place.

Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) is the nation’s oldest Asian American multidisciplinary arts organizations in the country. Dedicated to producing, presenting and promoting art that empowers APA artists and communities, KSW supports emerging artists and allows new voices to be heard.

Samantha Chanse is a writer & performer, arts organizer, and teacher who has been based in San Francisco since 2001. Her work has been presented with the NY International Fringe Festival, Kearny Street Workshop, The Marsh, Asian American Theater Company, Footloose/Shotwell Studios, Bindlestiff, and others. She was the recipient of a SFAC Individual Artist Commission, resulting in the 2008 SF/NY productions of her first solo play, Lydia’s Funeral Video. She co-founded artist salon series Laundry Party, served as KSW’s artistic director, and recently embarked on a bicoastal lifestyle to pursue a MFA in playwriting at Columbia University in her native NYC. www.samanthachanse.com

Khoi Nguyen, the editor and founder of Gender on Our Minds, a publication started in order to raise consciousness from the perspective of Gender and Queer Studies, and co-editor of Woman in Mind, a predecessor graduate journal dedicated to women’s and feminist’s voices. He is currently in love with SF.York. His wish list has one item: a teleporting machine.

Brynn Saito was born and raised in Fresno and has recently returned to California after nearly five years in NYC. Her poetry has appeared in From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas and is forthcoming in Pleiades, Harpur Palate, and Helen Vendler’s Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology, 3rd ed. She was a 2008 Kundiman Asian American Poetry Fellow and is currently working on her first book.

Nina Sharma is a writer currently living in New York City. She is the Programs Coordinator at The Asian American Writers’ Workshop and is in the Liberal Studies, American Studies Graduate Program at Columbia University, where she is specializing in diaspora and immigrant studies. Her work has been published in Big Apple Parent, Ginosko Literary Journal and Riffin.com.

Alice Wu is a screenwriter and director, best known for her film Saving Face, which premiered at Sundance in 2004 and won the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) screenwriting award. It was inspired by her own experiences coming out as a gay woman in a Chinese American community. Born and raised in San Jose, Alice graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Computer Science in 1990 and received a Masters in Computer Science, also from Stanford, in 1992.

Best Photos of APAture Pt. 3

Finally!

Photos from Performance Night at Intersection for the Arts and Handmade Fair/Closing Day at Goforaloop…

Model Minority Revolt riffs Gwen and the Harajuku Girls.

Photo: KSW

Nicole Maxali makes us with her >:( face.

Photo: KSW

No strings attached, we swear. He really did jump that high!

Photo: Kenni Camota

Philip Huang gets/does a medical exam.

Photo: Kenni Camota

Handmade Fair. DIY crafters fill the gallery.

Photo: KSW

Hi there, Debbie Huey! She’s our Featured Comics & Zines Artist.

Photo: KSW

Return of the APAture artists! Gene Luen Yang, Jason Shiga, Thien Pham

Photo: KSW

Checking out the art. This piece is by Thailan When.

Photo: KSW

Interacting with Judy Shintani’s Remembrance Shrine.

Photo: KSW

Just really like the sunlight in this photo. Btw, the KSW photos were all taken by student volunteers. Great job!

Photo: KSW

The APAture tee. What a great souvenir

Photo: KSW

FIN

Best Photos of APAture Pt. 2

Mixing it up at the APAture Happy Hour

Photo: Kenni Camota

Khoi Nguyen emcees Literary Night at Hotel Rex.

Photo: KSW

Linda Park reads a funny piece about depression (really!) at Hotel Rex.

Photo: KSW

Kenji Liu takes the mic.

Photo: KSW

J-Pop meets APAture. Film Night at VIZ Cinema!

Photo: KSW

Filmmaker Q & A.

From left: Chihiro Wimbush, Chris Bucoy Brown, Kevin Wong, Oliver Ferrasci, Philip Huang

Photo: KSW

APAture fills the VIZ theatre and goes warp speed!

Photo: Kenni Camota

Artists tees, CDs, books and more at the APAture store, powered by FLINC.

Photo: KSW

Best Photos Part 1 here.

Part 3 tomorrow!

What’s Your Trajectory? Get career advice from Ellen Oh!

Our KSW Director Ellen Oh will be participating in a panel discussion about career trajectories. It’s hosted by the SF Bay Area Emerging Arts Professionals, and should make you feel better about being a “non-straight arrow.”

Creative Conversations 2009: Career Trajectories – Not All Straight Arrows

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (PT)

Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th Street, #290, 2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94607

What is your profession? What have you learned? Where are you going? Whether you are an emerging, mid-career or established arts professional this is a discussion for YOU.

Join the San Francisco Bay Area Emerging Arts Professionals in a roundtable discussion featuring a panel of emerging and established Bay Area arts professionals as they share their career paths, challenges, and advice. The event is held in community with Americans for the Arts’ 2009 Creative Conversations and National Arts and Humanities Month.  Light refreshments served.

Oakland Asian Cultural Center is 5 minutes from the 12th Street BART Station at Broadway in Oakland.

Panelists:

1. Evelyn Orantes, Cultural Arts Developer, Education Department, Oakland Museum of California
2. Maia Rosal, Managing Director, Joe Goode Performance Group
3. Marc Vogl, Program Officer, Performing Arts Program, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
4. JUST ADDED! Ellen Oh, Executive Director, Kearny Street Workshop

Price:

$6 to reserve your seat online
$8 at the door

Panelist Biographies:

Evelyn Orantes is currently the Cultural Arts Developer for the Oakland Museum of California. She oversees art school programs for the education department as well as serves as the Project Director of the Days of the Dead annual exhibition and related public programs. Evelyn has devoted the last eight years of her career as a cultural worker advancing community based arts practice, and addressing issues of diversity in the arts. She has participated as a fellow at the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, where she worked with staff from the National Museum of the American Indian to develop Days of the Dead programming and curriculum.

Ms. Orantes is an altar maker and installation artist. Her work has been shown in venues including the Mission Cultural Center, Triton Museum, The Legion Palace of Fine Arts and the Oakland Museum of California. She has donated her cartoneria pieces to the Chicana Latino Foundation’s art auction and currently serves on board of the Chicana Latina Community.

Maia Rosal is Managing Director of Joe Goode Performance Group. She enjoyed a career as a dancer with American Ballet Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, and Pretty Ugly Dancecompany before being drawn into arts administration. Her previous management work includes associate manager of Floria Productions, a small European based company representing artists in the performing arts;and production manager for incoming performances and events at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Marc Vogl has worked for over a decade with artists and performing arts groups in the Bay Area. He co-founded the sketch comedy group Killing My Lobster and the Hi/Lo Film Festival and served as executive director of Lobster Theater Project, a multi-disciplinary San Francisco non-profit arts organization.  Marc’s experiences in the arts have included acting, writing, directing and producing award winning comedy shows and new plays, making short films, programming film festivals, and representing small arts organizations on the San Francisco Arts Task Force.

Outside of the arts, Marc has volunteered on local, state and national political campaigns, reported on AIDS and refugee crises from Africa, worked for several hi-tech start-ups in the Bay Area, taught American History to French kids and delivered flowers in his hometown of Washington, D.C.

Marc studied at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, and holds B.A. degrees in American History and English Literature from Brown University and a Masters in Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard where he was a Lucius N. Littauer Fellow.

Ellen Oh is the Executive Director of Kearny Street Workshop (KSW). Founded in 1972, KSW is the Bay area’s oldest Asian Pacific American multidisciplinary arts organization.

Ellen worked in marketing and community outreach at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, during its move from Golden Gate Park to Civic Center.  She then earned a Masters Degree in Arts Administration from Columbia University.

Most recently, Ellen served as Associate Director of Marketing at Sundance Institute, where she was responsible for all publications, advertising, media sponsorships, merchandise, envirographics, and motion graphics for the Film Festival and year-round programs.

Prior to graduate school, Ellen’s additional experience includes, running a telemarketing campaign for the Boulder Philharmonic, creating a volunteer program for a traveling Smithsonian exhibition, organizing an art fair at the Taste of Chicago, managing volunteers for the Atlanta Olympics, marketing the 2002 Sydney Biennale, and assisting with exhibition coordination for the 2006 Whitney Biennial.

A Tour of the APAture Handmade Fair

Just got sent this video by one of our APAture artists, Ed Penano (creator of Dinky Ninja Bears), giving a tour of APAture 2009’s Handmade Fair. Includes a performance by Wilson Wong at the end!

Thanks for making this video, Ed!

KSW Ticket Special at #5 Angry Red Drum

#5 Angry Red Drum is a tragic-comic parable reminiscent of an early David Lynch film. This world premiere features a live original sound score using traditional and found instruments, misremembered fragments of Bob Dylan lyrics, and post-post-post modern dance. This is where Beckett meets Burning Man.

Opening Night    September 28, 2009  (Monday • 8:00 pm)
Performances    October 1-17, 2009  (Thu-Sat 8:00 pm • Sun 5:00 pm)

Location: THICK HOUSE   1695 18th Street (Potrero Hill)
Tickets $25 (student & senior rates available) | 415-401-8081 or www.thickhouse.org

Discount for Kearny Street Workshop members: $5 off with code ‘ICW2′ valid from Thurs Oct 8th through Sunday Oct 11th
Special event for Kearny Street Workshop members on Sunday Oct 11th includes a Q&A session after the show.

More information at www.asianamericantheater.org

APAture Backstage: Chris Bucoy Brown on the Handmade Fair 9/26

There has long been the idea that Asian American empowerment comes with the need to cast off and shun the characterization of us as nerds and geeks. No matter how cool or successful you may be, nothing can pull you down a peg faster than to invoke the indelible 80s caricature of Long Duk Dong. Some might say that APAture exists specifically to challenge the stereotype–here you’ll find many examples of artists, writers, musicians and performers who buck this concept with artistic exuberance.

The truth is we’re committed to embracing The Nerd. What could be more nerdy than comics? APAture has celebrated excellence amongst self-published creators of comics and zines since nearly the beginning, and we’re proud to say that we’ve caught some bright stars on their rise over the years.

At the Handmade Fair this year, we’re excited to be showcasing some terrific new talent to APAture, including Bay Area Artists Unite (BAAU), a collective that publishes an annual anthology of manga and other graphic art. And we’re thrilled to be bringing back a league of extraordinary creators who have been featured artists, including Eisner winner Jason Shiga, National Book Award finalist Gene Yang, Comix Claptrap podcast host Thien Pham and the amazing zine-making duo of Mark Miyake and Jing Bentley.

Not to be outdone, this year’s featured artist is new to us at APAture but has been a staple of the indie comics scene for years. Debbie Huey and her adorable character Bumperboy have bounded from mini-books to publishing kids’ books and become champions of making comics kid-friendly again–and making fans out of anyone who loves cuteness.  And Debbie will be sure to have some Bumperboy-inspired crafts on hand in the spirit of our handmade fair.

Yes, we are comics geeks at APAture. And we fully encourage you to embrace your Inner Nerd as well this Saturday.

APAture Backstage: Kristin Lamb on the Handmade Fair 9/26

The APAture Handmade Fair is one of the new elements we have brought to the yearly APAture festival. I am part of the DIY Craft committee, which is organizing the crafty half of the Handmade Fair. It’s a marketplace of all things handmade: comics, zines, apparel, accessories, plushies, and more.

One of the most exciting parts of the fair is the collaboration between committees. The formation of the Handmade Fair in conjunction with the comic/zine expo has been really fun to coordinate with the help of a few different committees. My fellow craft committee member Yola and I have had to share information and brain storm with the comic/zine committee as well as the gallery committee to create what we think is going to be an awesome event.

Our Featured Artist in DIY Crafts, fiftyseven-thirtythree, was given a spot in the APAture Runway fashion show which turned out to be a super fun event!  It was really great watching the models strut their stuff wearing our artist’s pieces.

Note: Many of the vendors at the Handmade Fair accept cash and check only. Prepare you wallets!