TEST 4 by Rebecca Landwehr

MAY|2010

HYPHEN—ART AS IDENTITY

1371 Harvard St. N.W. Washington D.C. 20009 (202) 724-5613 (202) 724-4493 TTY/TDD

www.dcarts.dc.gov

content IMPRINT Hyphen—Art as Identity by Wilma Consul

COVER ART |KHANH H. LE

Hyphen—Art as Identity by Chris Keener

3 5

EDITOR

SHYREE MEZICK

DESIGNER ROD LITTLE

CONTRIBUTORS WILMA CONSUL REBECCA LANDWEHR

SPOTlight Dana Tai Soon Burgess Anu Yadav Khanh H. Le Jason Ignacio Hannah Naomi Kim Carmen C. Wong

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art 101

23 27

Fringe Youth-Led Productions with Anu Yadav Public Art’s Student Show June 10 DTSB & Co. Summer Youth Program

SOUND

BITE

Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Anu Yadav Jason Ignacio & Hannah Naomi Kim Khanh H. Le & Daniel Phoenix Singh

dialed

2010 Grantees Upcoming Deadlines

27th Annual Larry Neal Writers’ Awards Upcoming Art Salons June 26 @ Connor Gallery July 25 @ Hillyer Art Space

Art Bank: Featured Artist Kay Hwang Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs’

artisttoolbox New Resources, New Players

Art IDENTITY

HYPHEN

IMPRINT

WRITTEN|WILMA CONSUL

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) path to becoming an artist involves a journey back to the source. When the artist returns to the past, s/he transforms the self into a vessel to create. Identity is one of the most explored themes among artists of ethnic or immigrant background. And the individuals we profile in this issue represent a mini-plate of those AAPI experiences.

ILLUSTRATION|KHAN H. LE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.â&#x20AC;? (Pilipino proverb) One who knows not to look back to the source will never reach the destination.

et each one’s work is a palette full of snapshots that tell of their struggles within or with the outside world. A Korean

American discovers the depth of her identity among youth activists in Africa. A Vietnamese American who knew nothing about the Vietnam War that brought him to the United States takes pride in his only “talent” to think – a lot – about the arts. Through writing, an Indian American becomes an activist, telling the world that she matters. And through movement and innovation, a choreographer finds solace in defining love and life as a half-Korean growing up in New Mexico among Latinos. These artists -- immigrants or whose parents are immigrants -- have all experienced being excluded in some ways because of who they are. They defy that exclusion through their work.

Now they embrace inclusion, but not only of others because AAPI’s by nature are inclusive. They choose to include because they’ve been excluded. To become good artists, they had to accept their own pains growing up, the ecstasy of discovering that they are born to be create and to educate even in the most exclusive worlds. They are reaching their destinations. Such is the peregrination of the Asian American and Pacific Islander artist.

Wilma B. Consul is a journalist, theater artist, dancer and culinarian who lives in the District’s East of the River.

L E E R DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Hyphenâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; Art as Identity Featuring: Anu Yadav Dana Tai Soon Burgess Jason Ignacio Khanh H. Le Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company:

“The most important life questions are: What am I? Then, Who am I?” - Gloria Nauden ,DCCAH Executive Director Learn more about Gloria Nauden’s thoughts on the video here.

VIDEO|CHRIS KEENER WORDS|ANU YADAV

SPOTlight

PROFILE

Dana Tai Soon

BURGESS

“I AM A HYPHENATED AMERICAN.” “My fascination with understanding my diverse cultural terrain became the driving factor in why I pursued dance. Movement is a form of expression which communicates beyond language barriers and feelings of cultural estrangement. Developing a personal dance aesthetic allows me an outlet from which to be understood. I can express my emotional journeys, personal stories and cultural histories. I am deeply dedicated to choreographing dances which express the multi-faceted perspectives of the Asian diaspora throughout the Americas. The issue of what it means to be an Asian American today spans complicated issues of generational differences and diverse cultural communities interactions.

Ultimately out

of this state of flux and confusion comes my belief that we ultimately have the power to define who we are, how we are perceived, and to create change and acceptance through the presentation of poignant, sublime art. “

PHOTOS|XXXXX XXXXX

www.dtsbco.com

Members of Dana Tai Soon Burgessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Company: Connie Fink, Associate Artistic Director Ricardo Alvarez Katie Chupashko Su-Chen Cuff Sarah Halzack Takako Hattawy Miyako Nitadori Florian Rouiller Hala Shah Kelly Moss Southall Tati (Maria Del Carmen) Valle-Riestra

PHOTOS|CHRIS KEENER

Anu

YADAV Who I am. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. That’s the recording that plays viciously in my head. Over and over again. It comes from: You are dirty! Your food smells! You don’t belong here! It comes from: Stop asking so many questions Beti! Please! Where are we from? Where did you grow up? What about Nanaji? Naniji? Moussiji? Moussaji? Mamaji? Chachaji? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Who you are. Is in part, who and where home is to you. Home: My entire family in India sitting in one living room, in rocking chairs, waiting for me to walk through that door. The 25 Indian families huddled together in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I craved stories. My father was scared his children would grow up away from India, not knowing who they really are and where they are really from. He died when I was 12. In this foreign land. Another blanket of silence. In absence of legacies handed down, of rituals continued, there are things I don’t know. So, I create my own. It helps me remember a piece of. Who I really am. Every year. (Lights a candle) I light a candle through the night. And I begin a letter. “Dear Dad….” (Blows the candle out.)

www.anuyadav.com

PHOTO|CHRIS KEENER

Khanh H.

“You can tell more about an artist by what they omit than what they include” “Even though I identify myself as a Vietnamese-born American, I still do not know what it means. There is a discord within my own origin due to the fact that I was born too late. By the time I have arrived, Vietnam had already claimed its independence. Being born too late effectively removed me from that point in history. Growing up in the United States, I learned to adapt my identity living between two cultures. “What would it be like to live a life without the unresolved tensions between two cultures? Like an earthquake, the Vietnam War shook my core identity...my rootedness is shaken with doubt and discomfort because it is transforming into a kind of rootless-ness as I slowly acclimate to American culture. Identity is the central theme of my works, and I examine it through the bits and pieces of my personal memory and the collective history from the two cultures. Contradictions and fragmentations are key issues in examining the notion of identity within the structure of my works.... through the process of collage, I layer together fragmented photo images to create a new historical narrative that is reflective of the tension within my own identity.”

www.khanhhle.com

Jason

IGNAC Jason Ignacio was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. A recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Award

for

Outstanding

Emerging

Artist

(2009), Jason has made a name for himself in here in DC and the world. Jason’s talent for dancing was discovered at age 12, when he began training with the Gigi Felix Velarde Ballet Dance Workshop. Jason continued to dance with Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater, and Steps Dance Studio. As a member of the Earth Savers Dreams Ensemble, Jason has traveled across Asia, the United Arab Emirates, Europe, and the United States. In 2008, Washingtonian magazine named Ignacio one of DC’s Top 20 Showstoppers. He has also won the 2009 MetroDC Dance Award for Outstanding Individual Performance PHOTO|CHRIS KEENER

along with the Kennedy Center’s Local Dance Commissioning Project Award for The Mountain. Most recently, Jason received the PEARL Cultural Heritage Award from the Embassy of the Philippines for raising awareness of and deepening appreciation for the Philippines and its rich culture through excellence in performing arts. He currently teaches at the CityDance Center at Strathmore, and is a member of CityDance Ensemble, inc. of DC.

www.jasonignacio.com

PHOTO|PAUL EMERSON

CIO

PHOTO|PAUL EMERSON

Hannah Nao

KIM “The

philosopher

Simone is

Weil

perhaps

recognised

once

the

and wrote,

most

need

Christian

‘To

important the

mystic rooted

and

human

least soul.’

“Capturing the gesture of a figure and inversing its silhouette, I paint to remember a particular human identity that has been removed from layered landscapes of specific coordinates of place. I want to explore what rootedness means in an era that reifies continual displacement of time and space. My work addresses the intersections of post-modern and cyber spaces, in which distant, disparate places and people collide on various platforms of globalization. I work from collected media, archival, and personal photography to collage a response to the shifting terrain that has become my experience of present visual culture. I work in both time-based and still media, to explore multiple dimensions of movement— chronological (in animation images interact and slide over each other) and spatial (in the painting images accumulate over each other in the same space). The simultaneity of multiple geographies and events creates a complex juxtaposition of

individual

and

collective

stories

that

challenges provincial perceptions of the world. www.bitonality.com

omi

Carmen

WONG “I wonder then if I am one of a fragmented octuplet because my art is articulated from so many varying identities: exanglophile-now-americanized-asianfemale-apolitical-nomad.

“With every project I have to dig a little deeper, find another part of myself... that can piece together a narrative: whether it is from a poem, a play, a visual form, an unrelenting musical refrain, maybe all of them? Everything in life and art is nothing new, but what makes good ideas and great art is the honing of perspective, an ability to see it or tell it in a way that is forgotten, to celebrate that shiny kernel of truth. With every project, it becomes increasingly personal, a little harder to boast about, a little more naked. It is not so much needing to be accepted as hoping that it is good enough. Maybe one more detail and it will be good enough, a tweak here might make it better. You keep wanting to challenge your “good enough” ...but always [you’re] stronger when you are able to survive every morphosis your life or art demands of you.... as an artist, I think it is important to be that all-seeing eye, to grow a voice that speaks for as many of those identities that you share...”

www.banishedproductions.org

G A TACTILE DINNER @ Big Bear Cafe May 13 thru 15 A synaesthetic experience inspired by the Futurists!

A TACTILE DINNER @ Long View Gallery May 16 thru 17 A synaesthetic experience inspired by the Futurists!

Daniel Phoenix

SINGH

“...the dance is about being poor, about being rich, about being

happy, young, old, all the different things had a place in dance for them. That was just amazing for me.... when you’re dancing it’s like the most intimate part of your life and you’re free to be where you are and who you are. But then the logistical parts of it don’t mesh well, so it’s again about finding the balance between doing what you want to do and finding a place that will show you as you are.” www.dakshina.org

PHOTOS|STEPHEN BARANOVICS

2010grantees

DCCAH will award 515 grants totaling $7.25 million to fund arts projects across the District of Columbia. DCCAH is proud to continue offering support to the District’s unique artists and arts organizations. Congratulations to these individuals and organizations who received funding so far in 2010: ARTIST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM •Abdul Ali Addurrahman •Amy Saidman •Anupama Yadav •Assane Konte •Brian Wilbur Grundstrom •Frederic Yonnet •Gabriel Feldman •Henry Ofori-Atta •Issachah James Savage •Juan H. Gaddis •Karen L.B. Evans •Karen Zacarias •Kyle Dargan •Laura Zam •Lawrence B. Redmond •Marc Anthony Nelson •Mary Hall Surface •Maurice Michael Saylor •Randall Packer •Ryan Richmond •Sandra Beasley •Sara Ilyse Jacobson •Suzanne Zweizig •Vijay Palaparty

ARTS EDUCATION PROJECTS INDIVIDUALS •Asssane Konte •Joel Bergner •Marc S. Spiegel •Mary Beth Bowen ARTS EDUCATION PROJECTS ORGANIZATIONS •Capital Fringe, Inc. •Capitol Hill Arts Workshop •Capitol Letters Writing Center •CapoeiraDC •Center for Inspired Teaching •CentroNia •City Arts, Inc. •City at Peace, Inc. •CityDance Ensemble •Critical Exposure •DC Scores •Dumbarton Concerts, Inc. •Festivals DC, Ltd. •Folger Shakespeare Library •Grupo de Artistas Latino Americano •John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

•Joy of Motion Dance Center, Inc. •Latin American Youth Center Youth-

Build Public Charter School •National Building Museum •National Housing Trust Enterprise Preservation Corporation •PEN/Faulkner Foundation •Septima Clark Public Charter School •St. Coletta of Greater Washington, Inc. •Step Afrika! USA, Inc. •The Choral Arts Society •The Ellington Fund •The National Museum of Women in the Arts •The Parkmont School •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Phillips Collection •The Selma M. Levine School of Music •The Shakespeare Theatre •The Studio Theatre •The Theatre Lab School of Dramatic Arts •The Washington Ballet •The Washington Middle School for Girls •The Washington National Opera •The Washington Theatre Awards Society •Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art •Turning the Page •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Drama Society, Inc. •Washington Performing Arts Society •William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School •WVSA School For Arts in Learning •Young Playwrights Theater, Inc. ARTS TEACHER FELLOWSHIPS •Christina Greta Schorn •Dawn Naser •Katie Coogan •Premila Mistry

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS INDIVIDUALS •Jose Gonzalez •Marta Perez Garcia •Regie Cabico •Thembi Duncan

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS ORGANIZATIONS •Center City Public Charter SchoolCongress Heights Campus •Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School-Amos 1 Campus •Hyde Leadership Public Charter School •KippDC-LEAP Academy •School Within School at Peabody •Scott Montgomery Elementary School • SEED Public Charter School CITY ARTS PROJECTS INDIVIDUALS •Audrey L. Brown •Holly Bass •Holly Tank •Joy Jones •Kim Roberts •Rex Weil •Ruth Stenstrom •Sarah Browning •Sukumar Srinivasan CITY ARTS PROJECTS ORGANIZATIONS •Art Enables •Building Bridges Across the River •Capital City Symphony •CapoeiraDC •CentroNia •Cultural Development Corporation of the District of Columbia •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Company •Dance Institute of Washington •DC Film Alliance •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Ford’s Theatre Society •Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington •James Renwick Alliance •John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts •Mexican Cultural Institute •Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company •Opera Lafayette •Pin Points Theatre •Post-Classical Ensemble, Inc. •Sixth & I Historic Synagogue •Speakeasy DC

•Teaching for Change •The Choral Arts Society •The Shakespeare Theatre •The Textile Museum •The Washington National Opera •Transformer, Inc. •Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Drama Society, Inc. •Washington Improvisational Theater Co. •Washington Parks & People •Washington Project for the Arts •Washington Sculptor’s Group EAST OF THE RIVER

•African Diaspora Ancestral Com-

memoration Institute •Arch Development Corporation •East of the River Boys and Girls Steelband •Life Pieces To Masterpieces, Inc •Northeast Performing Arts Group •Serenity Players, Inc. •Sewing Opportunities Never Ending Young Playwrights Theater, Inc. (S.O.N.E.) •Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum •The Washington Ballet •Ward 7 Arts Collaborative •Young Playwrights Theater, Inc. ELDERS LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS PROGRAM •Abraham and Laura Lisner Home for Aged Women •Audrey L. Brown •IONA Senior Services •Sharna Fabiano •The Double Nickels Theatre Company, Inc. •The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts •The Washington Ballet •Washington Improvisational Theater Co. FESTIVALS DC

•Building Bridges Across the River •Capital Fringe, Inc. •Cultural Tourism DC •D.C. Blues Society •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Company

•DC Film Alliance •El Teatro de Danza

Contemporanca de El Salvador

•Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital

•Festivals DC, Ltd. •FotoWeekDC •French-American

Cultural Foundation

•Grupo de Artistas Latino Americano

•John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

•National Building Museum •National Cherry Blossom Festival Committee, Inc.

•One in Ten, Inc. •VSA Arts •Washington Project for the Arts •Washington, DC International Film Festival

FOLK & TRADITIONAL ARTS MINI-GRANT PROGRAM •Brendan Bell •Carlenia Springer •Interstages, Inc. •Lucy Ann Jickling •Sharna Fabiano

GRANTS IN AID •21st Century Consort •African Continuum Theatre Coalition •Art Enables •Atlas Performing Arts Center •Building Bridges Across the River •Capital City Symphony •Capital Fringe Inc. •Capitol Movement, Inc. •City Arts, Inc. •City at Peace, Inc •CityDance Ensemble •Critical Exposure •Cultural Development Corporation of the District of Columbia •D.C. Blues Society •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company •Dance Institute of Washington •DC Film Alliance •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Edgeworks •Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital •Federal City Performing Arts Association, Inc. •FotoWeekDC •Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop •Friends of Fillmore Arts Center •Hamiltonian Artists, Inc. •International Arts and Artists •International Capoeira Angola Foundation •Joy of Motion Dance Center, Inc. •KanKouran West African Dance Co. •Maru Montero Dance Company •Moving Forward:Contemporary Asian American Dance Company •Musica Aperta •Northeast Performing Arts Group

•One Common Unity, Inc. •Opera Camerata of Washington DC,

Inc. •Opera Lafayette •Pan American Symphony Orchestra •PEN/Faulkner Foundation •Post-Classical Ensemble, Inc. •Smith Farm Center for the Healing Arts •Solas Nua, Inc. •Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation •SpeakeasyDC •Step Afrika! USA, Inc. • Taffety Punk Theatre, Inc. •The Black Women Playwrights’ Group •The Congressional Chorus •The In Series, Inc. •The Inkwell •The National Men’s Chorus •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Selma M. Levine School of Music •The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts •The Thomas Circle Singers •The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. •The Washington Chorus •The Washington Theatre Awards Society •The Washington Women’s Chorus •Theater Alliance of Washington •Theatre Downtown, Inc, t/a The Washington Stage Guild •Transformer, Inc. •Vocal Arts Society •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Concert Opera •Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, Inc •Washington Improvisational Theater Co. •Washington Project for the Arts •Washington, DC International Film Festival •Words Beats & Life •Youth Organizations United to Rise

HIP HOP COMMUNITY ARTS

•CityDance Ensemble •Dance Institute of Washington •David Nicholas Adams •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Diallo Sumbry •Facilitating Leadership in Youth, Inc. •Festivals DC, Ltd •Jerald Bryant •Latin American Youth Center, Inc. •Magee McIlvaine •Mentors of Minorities in Education •Pediatric Aids/HIV Care, Inc. •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Studio Theatre •William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School •Words Beats & Life •Youth Organizations United to Rise

SMALL PROJECTS PROGRAM •Alexis E. Gillespie •Allison Lince-Bentley •Building Bridges Across the River •Carol Pineau •City Arts, Inc. •CityDance Ensemble •Consumer Action Network •DC Youth Orchestra Program •El Teatro del Danza Contemporanea de El Salavador •Eleanor Walton •In Da Streets, Inc. •Jamelle G. Thomas •Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington •Keisha Dene Mitchell •Khanh H. Le •Lorton Art Program, Inc. •New Horizons •Noah Getz •Ryan Richmond •Shawn Short •Sherri Lyn Sosslau •SpeakeasyDC •The Selma M. Levine School of Music •The Washington Ballet •Washington Bach Consort •Washington Project for the Arts •Women in Film & Video •VERGE Ensemble

•Eric Rubin •Graciela Requel Sedillo Lopez •Guarina Lopez-Davis •Hannah Naomi Kim •Jason Nickens •Jes Therkelsen •Jessica Solomon •John A. Johnson •Justin Young •Lindsay Routt •Maria Emelyn Villa Bryk •Mark Perkins •Mary Christina Coble •Matthew Jordan Hemerlein •Maureen Elizabeth Andary •Nicole Aguirre •Patrick Crowley •Paul Joseph Thornley •Peter Chang •Rachel Beamer •Ryan Patrick McDonnell •Sarah Koss •Sia Tiambi Barnes •Thomas Patrick Goss •Tommy Bobo

STIM10

•American Poetry Museum •Building Bridges Across the River •Capital City Symphony •City Arts, Inc. •CityDance Ensemble •Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh

Company •DC Youth Orchestra Program •Joy of Motion Dance Center, Inc. •Life Pieces To Masterpieces, Inc. •Opera Lafayette •Prisons Foundation •The Choral Arts Society •The Double Nickels Theatre Company, Inc. •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •Theater Alliance of Washington •Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, Inc •Washington Men’s Camerata •Woolly Mammoth Theater Company UPSTART PROGRAM

•Environmental Film Festival in the

Nation’s Capital •FotoWeekDC •Jones-Haywood Dance School, Inc. •One in Ten, Inc. •The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts •Youth Organizations United to Rise YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

•Adam de Boer •Alexander Richard Clarke •Alexandra Silverthorne •Carmen Wong •Christylez Bacon •Danielle M. Evennou •Elizabeth Dawn DeRoche

CULTURAL FACILITIES PROGRAM

•Atlas Performing Arts Center •Dance Institute of Washington •DC Wheel Productions, Inc. •Folger Shakespeare Library •Grupo de Artistas Latino Americano •Hillwood Museum and Gardens

Foundation •Meridian International Center •National Trust for Historic Preservation •The National Museum of Women in the Arts •The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts •The Shakespeare Theatre •The Studio Theatre •The Washington Ballet •Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art •Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, Inc PUBLIC ART BUILDING COMMUNITIES •Bill Warrell •Chinatown Community Cultural Center, Inc •City Arts, Inc. •Golden Triangle Business Improvement District •Kelly Towles •Latin American Youth Center, Inc. •Roderick Turner

PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONED PROJECTS •Takoma Metro Underpass – Sam Gilliam •NY Avenue BridgeDesign Team – Kent Bloomer •Girard Street Playground Mural – Words Beats and Life – Albus Cavus – Aniekan Udofia •Benning Library Project – Rik Freeman –Life Pieces To Master Pieces •Anacostia Library Project – Kamala Subramanian –Bill Howard •New Beginnings Youth Development Center Mural – Cheryl Foster –Joey Tomassoni •The New Saint Elizabeths Hospital Suspended Installations – Matthew Barinholtz – Walter Kravitz •The New Saint Elizabeths Hospital Murals – Sheila Crider – Roderick Turner – Bill Gibbons

PUBLIC ART BANK RECENT ACQUISITIONS Artists •Aliza Lelah •BJ Adams •Carol Brown Goldberg •Caroline Thorington •Catherine Kleeman •Cynthia Connolly •David Allen Harris •Denise Wright •Elaine Langerman •Ellen Hill •Frank Hallam Day •Frank Smith •Gloria Kirk •Gwen Lewis •James Brown Jr. •Jarvis Grant •Jason Horowitz •Jenny Walton •John Aquilino •John Grunwell •John James Anderson •Joseph Craig English •Judy Byron •Karen Hubacher •Kay Hwang •Lely Constantinople •Lisa Fanning •Lisa Marie Thalhammer •Margaret Boozer •Matt Dunn •Michael B. Platt •Michael Dax Iacovone •Peggy Fleming •Robert Sanabria •Sandra Parra •Sharon Moody

•Solomon Wondimu •Sondra Arkin •Stanley Squirewell •Steven Jackson •Susana Raab

Artomatic Purchases •Arlie Hammons •Ben Nicholson •Carlito Cabading •Claudia Minicozzi •Jamea Richmond Edwards •Jeremy Arn D. Ramirez •Jessica Van Brakle •John Sawyer •Kerry Cavanagh •Kimberley Bursic •Lori Larusso (Jordan Faye Contemporary) •Lynne Venhart •Marina Reiter •Mark Jude •Matthew R. Carucci •Michael Torra •Pat Goslee •Patricia McDonald Hartnett •Rachel Thern •Rob Chester •Sam Vasfi •Sean Hennessey •Stephen Beardsell •Susan Finsen •Susannah Parnin Artists Represented by Galleries •Colby Caldwell (Hemphill Gallery) •Franz Jantzen (Hemphill Gallery) •Godfrey Frankel (Hemphill Gallery) •James Huckenpahler (Hemphill Gallery) •Jamils Rahimi (ArtEnables) •Kate McGraw (Curator’s Office) •Kevin McDonald (Pyramid Atlantic) •Margie Smeller (ArtEnables) •Michael Farrell (Curator’s Office) •Nancy McIntyre (Jane Haslem Gallery) •Renee Stout (Hemphill Gallery) •Robin Wheeler (ArtEnables) •Workingman Collective (Hemphill Gallery)

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR INFORMATION— CALLS TO ARTISTS & ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ASIA HERITAGE FOUNDATION HERITAGE STORY WALL PROJECT In commemoration of the Asia Heritage Foundation’s 5th annual celebration, the Heritage Story Wall Project honors senior citizens of the Asian community.

FIESTA ASIA BOLLYWOOD FLASH MOB The Asia Heritage Foundation is looking for individuals and organizations for their first ever Bollywood Flash Mob Dance Street Style on Pennsylvania Ave on May 22 during for the Fiesta Asia Street Fair.

FORD FOUNDATION SPACE FOR CHANGE PLANNING AND PRE-DEVELOPMENT GRANTS LINC, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, announces an open call for proposals to the Space for Change Planning and PreDevelopment Grant program. Grants will provide a complementary suite of material support, with access to a national learning community, as well as technical assistance

WE’RE GETTING A NEW LOOK! LOOK FOR OUR NEW WEBSITE AND GRANTS APPLICATION SET TO LAUNCH IN EARLY JUNE

art 101

FRINGE YOUTH-LED PRODUCERS

apital Fringe has partnered with Sasha Bruce Youthwork to create the Youth-Led Producerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Program, designed to support students in writing, developing and producing their own show at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival July 8-25, 2010. Teaching artist Anu Yadav works with students between the ages of 13 and 18 from the Anacostia and Ballou High Schools in Southeast DC each week as part of the Youth Led Afterschool Program. Covering the entire aspect of what it means to be a self-producing artist, the students learn all the various components of the performing arts. They participate in workshops directed at crafting their artistic talents and voices, learning that the arts can be a powerful tool for self-expression, public dialogue and social change. Capital Fringe is committed to supporting the leadership of youth artists to join and shape the DC performing arts community as independent producers.

PHOTOS|XXXX XXXXXX

Performances will be Saturday July 17 at 1pm, and Thursday July 22 at 7pm at this years Annual Capital Fringe Festival.

DC CREATES!

STUDENT A DCCAH is holding an exhibition of student artwork showcasing the diverse visual creativity and talent in the DC Public and Public Charter Schools. Art instructors across DC were encouraged to submit the top works created during this school year. Of those submissions, 42 will be on display in the ground floor gallery of the Historical Society of Washington DC. A panel of jurors will select the top 10 works to be added to our Art Bank Collection. Awards will be announce at the opening reception. Please join us in honoring these young artists! Opening Reception: June 4th, 6PM-8PM This exhibition will be on view from June 4th- July 4th, 2010 Where: The Historical Society of Washington DC, 801 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 For questions or further information, contact Rachel Dickerson at Rachel.dickerson@dc.gov or call (202)724-5613

ART SHOW PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: Bell Multi Cultural High School Center Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Brightwood Childrens Studio School Duke Ellington High School EL Haynes Ferebee-Hope Community School Filmore Arts Center Francis Stevens Educational Campus Hendley Elementary School JC Nalle Elementary School JO Wilson Elementary John Eaton Elementary Lafayette Elementary Latin American Montessori Bilingual Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary Peabody Early Childhood SAIL Public Charter School SEED Public Charter School Sousa Middle School Stuart Hobson MIddle School Truesdell Educational Center Watkins Elementary School William E. Doer Junior

DTS B

2009 AS IAN AM E RIC AN

W 31

ith funding from the Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, Dana Tai Soon Burgess and Program Assistant Kelly Moss Southall presented a 3-week youth outreach program directed towards Asian American students. Designed to provide students with a culturally enriched experience, 12 students from DC Charter School and School Without Walls were able to experience the importance of culture and community. At Joy of Motion in DuPont Circle, students to learn about each others cultural backgrounds and artistic interests. The second component of the program included guided museum visits at a number of Smithsonian locations, including the Freer and Sackler Galleries. The discussion was followed by a simple technique class and creative movement explorations.

&CO

N YOUTH P RO G RAM

During the time, students were assigned small projects to help acquaint them with each museum, teach them how to gather information from the artwork, and to communicate that information to their peers. The students were exposed to a large amount of current exhibits, as well as museum collections expressing both contemporary and historical culture-specific issues. At the end of the program, the Students received completion certificates, and a small award ceremony at School Without Walls. Julie Soohyun Koo from the Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs was present to honor each student for their completion of the program.

SOUND

E T BI DANA TAI SOON How does your cultural heritage inform your artistic process? DTSB:

AY: When I was a child, I thought I was invisible. I also remember feeling watched as if I was a strange curiosity. Only years later I realized this puzzling twin cloak of both invisibility and scrutiny was intimately tied to being one of the few Indian heritage people in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I lived in two worlds, ‘Indian’ and ‘American.’ The Indian world was my home, this tight-knit immigrant community filled with close contact and little privacy, long goodbyes and enough food for guests who were always welcome. It makes sense that my artistic process centers on being with people, building and nurturing relationships, observing people, documenting their experiences as authentically and respectfully as possible, and engaging with communities over a long period of time. A lot of my art comes from the strength of the relationships that inspire it. The more unfamiliar ‘American’ world was [where] I learned about the power of being ignored for who I was, and watched for what I was assumed to be. Theater became not only my escape, but a way to reveal more of myself outside the confines of the reality around me. It is through the performance of my own writing that I discovered my stories mattered enough to share in the public arena.... It meant that I mattered too. I became fueled with the desire to share the stories of others whose voices were left on the margins, fighting to be heard.

BURGESS & ANU YADAV AY: What

do you think is the potential role of artists today within an era of economic downturn? What role do and can Asian American artists play?

DTSB: The American economy is based on innovation. In order for our economy to rebound with strength, all sectors of our economy must be infused with the basic concepts of creativity. Artists move through a process of creativity everytime they make a new work. So I believe there is much that we can add to the American economic landscape. Asian American artists are a bridge to not only Asia with America but they also represent the ability to constantly probe and question American perspectives, thus pushing our economic growth forward.

JASON IGNACIO & JI: I

find your work poetic with profound political sense, is there anything in your past, perhaps in your childhood, that inspired you to be who you are as an artist?

HNK: My earliest artistic influence was my mother, who taught me to draw and paint from a young age. I spent all of my childhood in the DC area, and had the privilege of going to the Smithsonian museums often... I don’t think I really understood the expansiveness of art, and its overlaps with all spheres of society, until my studies in college. Political and social theory profoundly affects the collective identity of a nation--and artists can be a powerful catalyst that influences that identity. One of my most formative experiences was living in...Namibia through the Fulbright scholarship. It was this young African country that revealed a unique awareness of my own Korean-American identity. I identified with the generation... caught between an emerging, global identity; and the weighty history of colonialism. The arts can capture these complex emotions and generational changes in ways that few other disciplines can. Observing the struggle for identity in Namibian society led me back to my own Korean roots, and revitalized an interest I’ve had since college: the current division of North and South Korea. I think I am trying to figure out what it means to be an artist (maybe a lifelong process), but it is my hope to create work from a place that intersects both these poetic and political sensibilities.”

HANNAH NAOMI KIM HNK: You

have studied and traveled to many places around the world. In what ways have nature and the landscapes youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve experienced influenced the way you approach your art?

JI: I have been performing and traveling extensively since the age of 14. My observation and experiences of environments abroad have nourished me as a versatile artist. Traveling has helped me tap into different worlds and simulate a situation or create my own. When I dance or choreograph, I transform myself, travel through time, or even bend time to transport the audience to different environments, perhaps to places they have never been before. Passing through different parts of the world has helped me see clearly the geographical imprint of a country through the taste of their water, the feel of their breeze on my skin, their complexions, the color of their sky, the sensation of their sand beneath my feet, and the contrast of their landscape. These variations have broadened my horizon as person and as an artist. I understand that the beauty of this world lies beneath the differences of our culture. Much like the diversity of humankind, the snow might be blowing from one direction, but each snowflake is different. This is how I approach my art.

DANIEL PHOENIX SINGH DPS: What

do you think a common element of all of us developing our own individual and different identity is? Has being an artist changed this in anyway? If yes, how?

KHL: I think the common element that allows us to develop our own identity and make it unique is through stereotyping we face daily. People try to understand the world quickly by identifying people, places and things through ‘clumping,’ or categorizing information into particular groupings. When I was young I would get so scared of telling people that I was Vietnamese because of my fear that they would associate me with the Vietnam War. Identifying myself as a Vietnamese, I cannot seem to escape from [its] overbearing shadow and the impact that its burden casts on my shoulders. It probably started in middle school... it was such a tremendous pressure having the feeling of being connected to that War, and at the same time wanting others to accept me as an American. ...I don’t know if I [am] confident enough to call myself a ‘Vietnamese-American’ artist. For artists laying claim on two cultures, it is a “mixed blessing” according to Lucy Lippard. I have an unusual outlook having lived in two worlds, but at the same time I do suffer from the notion of not having a place to which I can truly belong. I think that this is something we all share not only as Asian American, but also as immigrants living between cultures.

& KHAN H. LE

KHL: Have

you you ever imagined or fantasized about what would it be like to live a life without the unresolved tensions between two cultures?

DPS:

“...because I don’t fall into the white or black category -- and I’m not even

Latino -- I’m just in a different category altogether. I don’t know necessarily that it’s racist. I just think [people] don’t know any different. One of my friends says, ‘You can’t help a fish for being in the water.’ It’s that kind of thing. Over time, I think it’s changing. I think that most... people are constantly educating [each other] about who they are and fighting stereotypes and prejudices.... you have all these little places where you have to keep telling and explaining and breaking down stereotypes. It’s partly my responsibility to educate people.”

dialed

ESSAY Youth 1st Place Claire G. Shaw 2nd Place Julia Nessman 3rd Place Claire Trinity Hon. Mention Sophia Strazzella Hon. Mention Joshua Taubman Teen 1st Place Siera Toney 2nd Place Osamwenyobo Oviasogie 3rd Place Bria Bailey Hon. Mention Sarah Kennedy Hon. Mention Ikea Witcher

FICTION Youth 1st Place Claire E. Parker 2nd Place Sofia Yasin 3rd Place Ana Sierra Hon. Mention Alexandra Radifera Teen 1st Place Caroline Hall 2nd Place Francisco Fitch-Flores 3rd Place Margaret Gushue Hon. Mention Diamond Richardson Hon. Mention Grier Starling Adult 1st Place Binahkaye Joy 2nd Place Gabriel Louis 3rd Place Wila Reinhard Hon. Mention Mark E.P. Roberts Hon. Mention Rebecca Gross DRAMATIC WRITING 1st Place Sowande S. Tichawonna 2nd Place Alan Sharpe 3rd Place Paco Madden Hon. Mention Andrew Evans

Teen 1st Place Kyndall Amber Brown 2nd Place Jillian Burford 3rd Place Sahara Jade Artiga-Oliver Hon. Mention Nia Shambourger Adult 1st Place Danielle M. Evennou 2nd Place Margaux Delotte-Bennett 3rd Place Sandra Farrell Beasley

32 UNDER

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POETRY Youth 1st Place Zoe Mills 2nd Place David L. Thomas 3rd Place Lakeisha Thompson Hon. Mention Sharri Barnes Hon. Mention George Miller

Join us and our Young Artist Program recipients as as we explore what it means to be young artist in DC Saturday, June 26 Conner Gallery 1358 Florida Avenue, NE 6pm - 8pm

2010 SYEPMEDIA Youth from DCCAH’s Summer Youth Employment Program will be hosting July’s Art Salon!

ARTS CAMP

Sunday, July 25th, 2010 Hillyer Art Space 9 Hillyer Court, NW 5:30pm - 8pm

In May 2008, DCCAH in collaboration with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the surrounding communities initiated a call to artists to create an artistic trail identity for the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT). DC graphic designer and public artist Robert Kent Wilson was selected to complete the MBT project: â&#x20AC;&#x153;...as a testimony to DCCAH and the [DC Creates!] Public Art Program, the open minded nature of the DDOT planning dept, as well as proof to what is possible for us artists when we work hard and when given grant opportunities (regardless of the size and budget). Call me a DCCAH public art grantee poster child.â&#x20AC;? The MBT is an 8-mile multi-use trail that runs from Silver Spring, MD to Union Station in DC. It connects to the Capital Crescent Trail, the Anacostia Tributaries Trail System and the National Mall, and is part of the East Coast Greenway.

ARTBANK

ARTIST

KAY H

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A certain tension has always existed between my work as an artist and my perceptions about art in general. I often wish nostalgically for a world in which art provides models for life; where it describes a rational, compassionate cycle of relationship citizenship, society, love and humanity. In such a Utopian world, I imagine art might breathe easier and convey more to humankind.

HWANG

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Art itself seems resistant to this (or any other) idealism. My work, however, especially this recent series of drawings, tries to explore a balanced role for art through meditative unclouded visual language. In these drawings, I use abstracted forms existing without reference to specific states of being - their vocabulary is built from a desire for coolness, geometry, and repose.

29 45

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Though formally abstract, the drawings seek psychological balance between two worlds, one based on logical and rhythmic mechanics, and another on the effervescence of freedom.â&#x20AC;? www.kayhwang.com

42 30 46

The 2010 Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit will celebrate, connect, and prepare leaders to create their own dynamic future for the arts in America as a united field.

Washington, DC Office 1000 Vermont Avenue, NW 6th Floor Washington, DC 20005 T 202.371.2830 F 202.371.0424

New York City Office One East 53rd Street 2nd Floor New York, NY 10022 T 212.223.2787 F 212.980.4857

Dial In The Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Channel OCTV-16 Fridays at 9pm Saturdays at 11pm

Online thedcarts.wordpress.com/art202tv

THE MAYOR’S OFFICE ON

ASIAN AND

PACIFIC ISLANDER AFFAIRS

Created in 1987, the Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs is an independent agency established through the District of Columbia’s Asian and Pacific Islander Community Development Act.

OAPIA’s mission is to ensure that the full range of health, education, employment, social services and business information, programs and services are accessible to the District’s API community. OAPIA is the liaison between the District government and the API community. OAPIA organizes and facilitates public and private programs on public safety, human rights, economic development, housing, employment, social services, public health, transportation, education, and multicultural development.

“We are honored to have artwork that embodies a unique sense of comfort and appeal.” —Soohyun “Julie” Koo, Director, OAPIA

MONUMENTAL SCAFFOLDING SERIES BY COLIN WINTERBOTTOM

THE

IN KNOW OAPIA

FIESTA ASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Saturday, May 15 11am-3pm MLK Memorial Library 901 G Street NW

Thursday, May 20 Friday, May 21 AED Globe Theater 1927 Florida Ave, NW

Various providers will provide services from health to legal and education. All in one place, and all are free!

The Washington Film Institute and AED hosts Fiesta Asia Film Festival, a film fest showcasing films made by Asian-Americans.

MAYOR FENTY’S

EURO ASIA SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL

Tuesday, May 18, 7pm MLK Memorial Library 901 G Street NW

JUNE 2-12, 2010

COMMUNITY DAY

APIA HERITAGE MONTH CELEBRATION

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s APIA Heritage Month Celebration features cultural performances, the Mayor’s Community Service Awards and more!

11TH ANNUAL DC APA FILM FESTIVAL October 7-16, 2010 The 2010 DC APA Film Festival features award winning films directed, produced, or principally acted by Asians or Asian Pacific Americans, even if the subject matter is not Asian.

The EuroAsia Shorts Film Festival proudly screens a selection of short films from Europe, Asia and the US screen at embassies and cultural centers throughout Washington, DC. In 2010, the theme of Joy and Sorrow will be explored. The medium of short film will serve as a springboard for discussions following each night’s screening

SULUDC: MAY SHOW SULUDC is an underground, grassroots network for Asian American and/or Pacific Islander artists that presents spoken word multidisciplinary artists in DC . On the third Saturday of every month, Sulu hosts a performance showcase of emerging and established AAPI artists in music, spoken word, video, and multidisciplinary performances.

KOLLABORATION DC: ASIAN AMERICAN TALENT SHOWCASE SEPTEMBER 25, 2010 Kollaboration, the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) organization and Movement, was founded in 2000 by Executive Director Paul “PK” Kim. Kollaboration DC will be the first annual event produced within the

THE

IN KNOW DCCAH ON HOLD

DIGITAL CAPITAL WEEK

Callers to DC’s Information Call Center (311) will be getting a pleasant surprise when they hear their new hold music—our grantees!

WITH PETER CORBETT

PASSPORT DC

June 11-20, 2010

May 1-31

Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK) is a 10 day festival focused on technology, innovation and all things digital in DC.

For four weeks, visitors and residents can celebrate and sample international culture and heritage in Washington, DC. Many of DC’s embassies and international cultural centers will open their doors to showcase their culture, art, music, dance and food.

For more information visit

HALF PRICE TICKETS TICKETPLACE, your source for halfprice local tickets to the performing arts in DC, now offers advance purchase and day of show ticket sales.

STAY ITK WITH CULTURECAPITAL.COM! CultureCapital.com connects DC to the heart of the arts and culture community of the DC area. This virtual arts marketplace provides information and ticket-purchase options for shows, performances, classes and exhibitions from more than 300 regional arts organizations and cultural institutions, making it the region’s richest and most diverse collection of arts and culture activities.

dcweek.eventbrite.com

THEATRE J’S

SERVEDC

Thursday May 20th

Looking for opportunities to volunteer and help your fellow DC residents?

MIKVEH OPEN MIC NIGHT DCJCC’s Theatre J will be holding an Open Mic Night from 6:157:15pm on the landing of their large staircase on 16th and Q. The event is centered on the theme of the play Mikveh, now playing at Theatre J.

FEDERALGRANTS BULLETIN The OPG Funding Alert is available for all of DC interested in federal funding opportunities. Interested individuals and organizations can sign up by clicking here.

For more events, visit our website and Facebook page.

CULTURAL TOURISM DC’S

Serve DC aims to strengthen and promote this spirit of service through partnerships, national service, and volunteerism.

artisttoolbox

Each month, you’ll find a staple of arts resources, with new additions provided by grantees. This month, Words Beats & Life provided a sampling of new resources they use, found in red.

PARTNERSHIPS Provides a forum for artists to convene, perform and exhibit; strengthening Washington’s arts community.

C U LT U R A L A L L I A N C E

& SERVE

RESEARCH

CONVENE

A D V O C AT E GREATER WASHINGTON

This virtual arts marketplace connects users to more than 300 DC-area arts organizations and cultural institutions.

RESOURCES ARTS EDUCATION •The American Alliance for Theatre & Education •The Kennedy Center ArtsEdge •National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts

FUNDING •ArtsReady •Grantmakers in the Arts •Mayor’s Office of Partnerships and Grants Development (OPGD) •Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG)

MARKETING Provides access to arts and humanities education for DC Public and Public Charter Schools to encourage the growth of the whole child.

•National Arts Marketing Project •Technology in the Arts

LEGAL •The Artists Rights Society •The Copyright Society of the United States of America •Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing •Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA)

GENERAL A private, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humanities Council funds and conducts humanitiesbased cultural and educational programs across DC.

•Americans for the Arts •National Council of Nonprofit Associations •National Endowment for the Humanities •National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts •The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

SPECIAL INTEREST Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, supporting excellence in the arts bringing art to all Americans, and leading the nation in arts education.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation supports the richness and diversity of the region’s arts resources and promotes wider access to the art and artists of the region, nation and world.

•American Association of Community Theatre •Asian Cultural Center •Freer + Sackler Galleries •International Society for the Performing Arts •The Japan Foundation •Japanese American Culture League •Kollaboration DC •The Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs •National Alliance for Media Art & Culture •National Association of Women Artists •PEN American Center •Poets & Writers

Provides education, advocacy and volunteer services through workshops, seminars, and clinics for artists and arts organizations, and pro-bono referral services.

dccah

ABOUT MISSION

Our Mission at The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is to provide grants, programs and educational activities that encourage diverse artistic expressions and learning opportunities, so that all District of Columbia residents and visitors can experience the rich culture of our city.

COMMISSIONERS

OFFICE OF THE POET LAUREATE Dolores Kendrick | District of Columbia

DCCAH STAFF Gloria Nauden | Executive Director Ayris T. Scales | Deputy Director

INTERNS

Evan Bentz | ART(202) TV Intern Breanna Bickmore | ART(202) TV Intern Armando Lopez Bircann | Digital Media Intern E. Kimbell Hall | Outreach Intern

Selema Jenkins| Programming Intern Elizabeth Pisano | Arts Education Intern Nijeul Porter | Special Events Intern Roland Spence | Programming Intern

Get Connected!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH Keona Pearson has worked at DCCAH for the past year as an Arts Program Assistant and our Risk Management Coordinator. With a background in finance from her experience with the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, Keona is an integral asset to the grants management department. Most recently, she has spearheaded the management and coordination of our Capital Region Touring program and the Performing Artist Roster Program. Her positive energy, hard work and professional stature enable her to give the highest quality customer service to all constituents. A true joy to be around, Keona is always able to bring out a smile in everyone with whom she interacts. .

STUDENT OF THE MONTH Angel Perez: Angel Perez, a junior at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, is having his first solo show in the Cafritz gallery at Sitar Arts Center, where he has been a student for ten years. Fatal Fantasy: La Melodia de la Calle, running through May 15, showcases his work in a variety of media including painting, printmaking, and found object sculpture. Perez considers himself a Chicano artist, combining elements from his Hispanic heritage with inspiration from his Adams Morgan neighborhood. In 2009, Perez was the winner of the District of Columbia Congressional Art Awards through the Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. His winning piece, a digital self-portrait, was displayed in a special exhibition hosted by Congresswoman Norton at the U.S. Capitol. Perez had the opportunity to meet First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House this year when she presented Sitar Arts Center with the Coming Up Taller Award from the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In addition, he is very active in the community, serving as the student representative on DCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arts Education Task Force, meeting with the Congressional Latino Council, and working with artists in the DC community such as color field painter Sam Gilliam and muralist Karlisima (Karla Rodas)