A Note on AAPI Artists
(taken from my grad apps, but I thought I’d share)
For artists eclipsed by the shadow of marginalization, discovering what is sacred to them is imperative in developing a focused and impactful body of work. AAPI artists have latched onto this ritual, both out of necessity and practicality, and have transformed their practice into a pluralistic reformation of creative identity work. Much like their predecessors, today’s AAPI artist honors the literal journey and the destination equally, allaying the threat of cultural erasure through the artistic preservation of histories, oftentimes working in allyship with technology. This preservation functions as an exercise between identifying the sacred from the profane. All of this fits into a broader anthology, one that benefits the community by providing vital knowledge about our primordial origins. Using technology, the opportunity arises to educate the masses about these origins, to use the cyber medium as messenger and message. As the interconnectedness between peoples challenges the AAPI diaspora to reimagine our modern existence, our artists remind us of what is at our core. They liberate us from sociological and systemic imprisonment and grant us wings to ride the wind together, our stories echoing across the skies — moving mountains.