Agarianaa @ SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco
AAWAA and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) present the multidisciplinary art exhibition Agrarianaa: Art Inspired by APA Agricultural Roots, as part of APICC’s annual United States of Asian America Festival.
Agrarianaa is a multimedia exhibition featuring 25 artists and farmers rooted in the rich history of Asian Pacific American agricultural crafts, legacies and present-day community placemaking. Artists in the show reflect on ancestral farming and gardening practices and address interconnected topics such as migrant labor, environmental activism, land and food sovereignty. Works range from installations mapping out food ways impacted by factory farming and genetically modified seeds to paper and textiles dyed and woven from the sacred and spiritual cultivation of the earth. The exhibition also covers multiple histories planted in the exploitation of Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII, the the cross-cultural nourishment of a Hawaiian plate lunch, the grassroots solidarity among the United Farm Workers movement and more. Agrarianaa includes artists of multiple generations, ethnic backgrounds and gender identities, all highlighting how a regenerative agricultural ecosystem can sprout into the resilient spaces necessary to heal and thrive in community.
In addition to the visual arts showcase, Agrarianaa features biographies from the diasporic food growers including Namu Farms along with textual histories and artifacts from the Chinese Historical Society of America.
Curators
Michelle A. Lee, Diana Li, Erina C Alejo
Jurors
Sita Bhaumik, Artist, Educator, Writer, and cook with the People’s Kitchen Collective
Aileen Suzara, Land-based Educator, Eco-Advocate, and Cook
Participating Artists
Angela Angel, Caryl Henry Alexander, Choppy Oshiro, Emerald Maher, Eryn Kimura, Frances Huynh, Grace Hwang Lynch, Hanna Chen, Julio “Somos One” Magaña-Saludado, Libby Paloma, lisa pradhan, Lucien Kubo, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, MalPina Chan, *O.M. France, Vasudhaa Narayanan, Pallavi Sharma, Patricia Ong, Reiko Fujii, Roseli Ilano, roshni kavate, Susie Kagami, *The Rooted Recipes Project, The Round Rock Collective
Literary Artists
Bonnie Kwong (Literary Reading Curator), Nellie Wong, Scott Chang-Fleeman, Grace Hwang Lynch, Angela Urata, Philip Kan Gotanda
FEATURED FARMERS
Anh Doan, The Farm at Our House
Austin Tom, Punalu’u Pastures
Christina Chan, Choy Division
Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, UCSC Farm
Kristyn Leach, Choi & Daughters
Mai Nguyen, Farmer Mai
Rishi Kumar, Sarvodaya Farms
Scott Chang-Fleeman, Shao Shan Farm
Shin Mune, Mune Farms
Dates:
May 2 – 23, 2019
Location
SOMArts Cultural Center, Main Gallery, 934 Brannan St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Hours
Tuesday – Friday, 12:00pm – 7:00pm, Saturday 12:00pm-5:00pm
Opening Reception & Performances
May 2nd, 2019, 6:00pm-9:00pm Featuring a performance by Patricia Ong and Roseli Ilano, chants from the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee facilitated by Julio Magaña, and a Pop-Up Shop featuring affordable artwork by Agrarianaa artists.
Closing Reception & Literary Reading
May 23rd, 2019, 6:00pm-9:00pm. Featuring a literary reading curated by Bonnie Wai-Lee Kwong. Visitors are also invited to bring seeds, plants and cuttings for a participatory plant swap to occur at the closing reception.
Presentation Partners
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Chinese Historical Society of America
Funded in Part by
Grants for the Arts, California Arts Council, SF Arts Commission, Zellerbach Family Foundation
Sponsored in Part by
SOMArts Cultural Center