Welcome Year of the Wood Dragon. :)
With the Lunar New Year, I feel spring on the horizon, and thus this posting contains more practical announcements compared to recent writings. The rainy, indoor days in California, however, do have me working on my next collection of essays and vignettes.
(Switching gears a bit from my work in Thai community and culture - aside from a heads up to keep an eye out for upcoming online info sessions in late March and early April about the Thailand trip offering.)
At the moment, I am producing an open-mic for Asian American artists along the San Francisco Peninsula. I can’t take much credit for the idea - I came across it in San Jose and wanted to replicate it in my own area, receiving support from the Redwood City Parks and Art Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Co-presenter Chopsticks Alley’s CreativiTea Open Mic is a multidisciplinary showcase for musicians, writers, poets/spoken word artists, and visual artists to share their work in a low-key and supportive community.
At the heart of any open mic is courage. Courage to give form to a story and then share it in public. The Bay isn’t teeming with full-time artists, but I would wager there is enough untapped and unseen creative potential to fill multiple corporate campuses. I craved spaces where I could learn from others ready to take the stage with their work, and I’ve had to drive 30-60 minutes into metropolitan cities to find Asian artist events, community, and solidarity - who understood the art within martial arts and cooking, for instance. Even if you are not based in the Bay, but a creative or arts enthusiast nonetheless, I am finding better traction in my immediate locality in my emerging practice - rather than trying my hand in the big city lights, at least for now. The intentions for this showcase, for me, are to step outside my own work and support courageous voices out there and build connections closer to home.
Here are ways to support:
Refer an artist or sign up yourself (preference for artists living and working in San Mateo County). Deadline March 22. Send this sign up form to a Bay Area artist you know or sign up yourself - open to most ages and experience levels, from high schooler to elder, from seasoned artists to first-time, closeted creatives.
Become a sponsor. Artists and the production team are compensated for their time. Sponsorship opportunities available in tiers of $100, $250, and $500. Make donations via PayPal to vctang@stirfrystories.com or Venmo @stirfrystories. Reply to this email to request instructions for making a tax-deductible donation.
Save the Date and Attend! The open mic will be on Thursday, April 4, at 5:30pm in Redwood City at the CZI Community Space. Free and open to the public. Registration for guests forthcoming.
Moving from project to project makes it difficult to explain to folks what I do, as it is still unfolding, but I have to say I enjoy it. Switching gears between people and places from different parts of my life has also meant, though, switching names quite frequently. I don’t mind - sometimes confusing, but it helps place me where I am and with whom. As of late, I’ve had to bring back a childhood name into the fold - my first name. Frog, or Froggy, more precisely in Thai (Kop-Jaa) or else elder collaborators don’t remember who I am. So I was tickled when my friend, Zen sister, and brush artist (who does not call me as such) sent me these paintings she did of frogs. Leaping into spring. Ribbit.
