SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED: December 29, 2023 @ 11:59PM PST
EXHIBITION DATES: April- June 2024
EXHIBITION VENUES: Oakland Asian Cultural Center & ARTogether, Oakland, CA

Manu Kaur (they/them) is AAWAA’s latest Emerging Curators Program Fellow and is curated an art exhibition that was on display in April-June 2024 in Oakland, California. This is an Artists Call showcased the vast talents and cultures of caste-oppressed artists around the world.

Manu envisioned this exhibition to embody their version of Begumpura, the "land without sorrow", a utopian casteless society introduced by Dalit guru, Guru Ravidas. Manu's Begumpura is Queer and Trans and Anti-Caste and pro-Black. Artists were encouraged to incorporate their bio and/or chosen family and ancestors within their art as well. The main outcome of this project was to create a safe space for caste-oppressed community members to freely express themselves and reclaim their culture and identity through art and healing. Dalit and Adivasi artists will be prioritized, but artists from all caste-oppressed backgrounds were encouraged to apply. All and any mediums of art were welcome. Compensation was provided to artists who were selected for this exhibition.

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SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 8, 2023 @ 11:59PM PST
PHOTO SHOOT DATE: December 17, 2023
TIME & LOCATION: TBD (SF Bay Area)

This model call was for community members who hold Dalit, Adivasi, Bahujan identities, including folks from the Indo-Caribbean diaspora and other ethnic minorities of South Asian ancestry. This call was for a photo project envisioned by Manu Kaur, AAWAA’s current Emerging Curators Program Fellow, who is a Dalit community organizer along with artist and photographer Simrah Farrukh.

This photo project & audio storytelling displayed the narratives of what a Chamari, and more broadly what a caste-oppressed person, "looks like" and what it means to hold this lived identity with pride. The photos from this shoot were displayed at AAWAA's ECP art exhibition in April 2024 and may also be used for marketing and portfolio purposes.

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Event Date: November 16, 2023 @ 6PM
Where: The Ruby, San Francisco

An event for artists and/or writers trying to navigate the world of fellowships, grants, and residencies. Attendees joined us for a candid conversation with fellow Ruby members Shruti Swamy, Christie George, and AAWAA Programs & Communications Manager Melanie Elvena about the art of applying. From identifying the right opportunities to crafting compelling proposals, panelists shared their experiences with each other in a casual conversation. No question were too big or too small. With so much collective wisdom in our community, we brought together beginners who are just starting to identify opportunities as well as those who have attended several residencies. We also had the opportunity to help refine and populate some crowdsourced resources.

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Event Date: September 23, 2023 @ 3-5PM
Where: Cone Shape Top - 5200 Adeline Street, Oakland, CA 94608

AAWAA hosted its September Member Studio Hours event - Grooves & Waves. Attendees unwound for an afternoon at Cone Shape Top: Center 4 Arts & Music, which featured music by DJ Microtone (as heard on KALX 90.7FM Berkeley), visual art by AAWAA Member Paulina Hoong, and a live community painting activity. Fellow Artist Members got to meet in-person and took the opportunity to mix, mingle, network, and make art together.

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Event Date: August 26, 2023 @ 2-3PM PDT
Where: Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th Street, Suite 290, Oakland, CA 94607
Who: FREE & Open to the Public with RSVP

Attendees joined on August 26 at Oakland Asian Cultural Center in the afternoon for a reception welcoming our latest Emerging Curators Program (ECP) Fellow, Manu Kaur.

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Event Dates: August 26-27, 2023
Where: Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th Street, Suite 290, Oakland, CA 94607
& Online via Zoom

AAWAA hosted an entire weekend of Emerging Curators Program (ECP) workshops! Audiences attended professional development workshops on August 26 (in-person and online) and August 27 (online only) geared towards curators and artists in the following areas:

August 26 @ 3-4PM PDT: Anti-Caste Framework Workshop - In-person and online. Audiences learned about the Caste System and how to curate their next program within an Anti-Caste framework. Facilitated by Manu Kaur.
August 26 @ 4-5PM PDT: Curatorial & Exhibition Design Workshop - In-person and online. attendees learned the ins and outs of the Curatorial Process for conceptualizing arts exhibitions, then dove into the world of Exhibition Design and the logistics of displaying and hanging artwork. Facilitated by Cat Lauigan and Michelle A. Lee.
August 27 @ 11AM-12PM PDT: Identity Visioning & Fundraising Workshop - Online only. Audiences tapped into how to Identity Vision as a curator or artist and use Fundraising to increase resources for your next project. Facilitated by Melanie Elvena.
August 27 @ 1-2PM PDT: Marketing & PR Workshop - Online only. Attendees got a crash course on Marketing & PR and picked up some tips and tricks for promoting their next arts event or project. Facilitated by Diana Li.

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Event Date: July 15, 2023 @ 3-5PM PDT
Where: Online via Discord

AAWAA hosted a virtual workshop on and about Discord coupled with an artist showcase! For the first half, members dove into the world of Discord and discovered how to navigate the exciting features of Discord, the popular online community platform, and leverage its potential for networking. Members were guided through the process, offered tips and tricks to enhance their Discord experience. Additionally, 3-4 members showcased their art in a dedicated channel as fellow artists and attendees admired and engaged with their artwork and connected with a vibrant community of like-minded individuals!

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Event Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023 @ 2-5PM
Venue: SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco

Audiences joined in for literary readings by Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power artists Shizue Seigel and Rebecca Nie followed by a special screening of Manilatown Manang in partnership with Manilatown Heritage Foundation, a documentary about the life and times of Jeanette Gandiongo Lazam, an original Tenant Defender of the International Hotel during the 1970s and the last evicted tenant to step out of the hotel on August 4, 1977. The screening ended with an audience Q&A with some of the film’s producers and participants.

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Exhibition Dates: April 28 - May 21
Gallery Hours: Thursdays @ 3-7:30PM, Fridays @ 12-7:30PM, Saturdays-Sundays @ 12-5PM
Venue: Main Gallery - SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco & Online

Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander woman agency and resilience in a multitude of manifestations. Jade is a rare mineral imbued with different metaphysical and cultural meanings, used since prehistoric times to adorn objects associated with power such as ceremonial daggers, jewelry, and crowns. Using jade as an allusion to more diverse definitions of power, the exhibition payed homage to overlooked AAPI historical figures and established new legacies of leadership for a more equitable future for women everywhere.

Co-Presented by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center as part of the 26th annual United States of Asian America Festival: REIMAGINING HORIZONS.

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Event Date: Sunday, April 30 @ 1PM & 3PM
Venue: SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco

Co-presented by AAWAA and The Ruby, audiences joined curator and artist, Yeu Q Nguyen, for two (2) community art-making and empowerment workshops that celebrated the opening of Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power. Inspired by the Chinese lucky bracelet, participants learned how to make square-knot adjustable bracelets personalized them with their own words of power using jade stone beads and red cord.

After each workshop, participants were invited to join Q in a private walk-through of the exhibition and activated her site-specific wave installation in the main gallery.

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Opening Reception: Thursday, April 27, 2023 @ 6-9PM PDT
Venue: Main Gallery - SOMArts Cultural Center & Online via AAWAA’s YouTube Channel

Audiences met all the artists involved in the Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power exhibition and Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s 26th annual United States of Asian America Festival! Audiences interacted with featured community installations by curator and artist, Yeu Q Nguyen, and artist duo, Twin Walls Mural Company. Special performance by IS/LAND Performance Collaborative.

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Event Date: Saturday, March 25, 2023 @ 3-5PM PDT
Venue: The Ruby, San Francisco & Online

An annual event in celebration of Women’s History Month where AAWAA Artist Members and invited AAPI women artists from The Ruby and Bay Area Asian Deaf Association present their work in a rapid-fire format of 4 slides in 4 minutes. Artist presenters show their work and give updates on their current art endeavors. Co-presented by AAWAA and The Ruby, this program creates networking opportunities between our artist community and special guests who include prominent educators, curators, gallerists, researchers, collectors and other art professionals.

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Event Date: February 26, 2023 @ 10:30AM-12:30PM PST
Where: Online via Zoom

Calling all AAWAA writers! Join us for a workshop about the ins and outs of the publishing process from fellow Artist Member, writer, poet, and multidisciplinary artist, Bonnie Wai-Lee Kwong. During this workshop learn about the process of compiling a manuscript, sending writing samples and excerpts, and what it's like to work with a publishing press. She's had two books of her poetry published, ravel (2015) and The Quenching (2022). We hope attendees will also leave the workshop feeling inspired as Bonnie shares her personal experiences as an Asian American woman writer and how she's expanded her writing beyond the genre into other mediums like performance and theater.

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AAWAA Members attended a special curator and artist led tour of the Tanforan BART Station’s exhibition, Tanforan Incarceration 1942: Resilience Behind Barbed Wire, unfolding the lesser known history of the site for its role as a racetrack turned detention center for the incarceration of Bay Area Japanese Americans during World War II and the broader impacts of Executive Order 9066. The exhibition was curated by AAWAA Artist Member Na Omi Judy Shintani and features the artwork of AAWAA Artist Members Ellen Bepp, Shari Arai DeBoer, Lucien Kubo, and Kay Sekimachi. BART Art Program Manager, Jennifer Easton, will also be present to speak more about the program and upcoming projects.

Following the tour, attendees visited the Tanforan Memorial with Doug Yamamoto (Tanforan Assembly Center Memorial Committee) just outside the station featuring a sculpture based on a photo of the Mochida sisters taken by photographer Dorothea Lange along with the 8,000+ names of those who were sent to long-term concentration camps through the site. The afternoon concluded with networking and happy hour at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery in the Shops at Tanforan mall.

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