Visibility Project: Portraits of Queer Asians and Asian Americans
Exhibition Dates: June 12 – October 4, 2013
The Leeway Foundation presents The Visibility Project an exhibit featuring over 30 photographs and videos of and by queer Asians and Asian Americans. The project’s director is the Oakland, California-based photographer Mia Nakano, who will be in Philadelphia for the opening reception to speak about the project on Friday June 21. Mia will also appear at the William Way Center on the Sunday June 23 to photograph local Asian and Asian Americans in the LGBT community.
Of the exhibit photographer Mia says, “The goals of the project are simple. One, to ensure personal stories and the history of the queer Asian American movement from the women and transgender perspective [sic] is captured. Two, to be a resource for Asian American, ethnic, LGBTQ, and women’s studies students and programs, as well as numerous individuals and community organizations internationally. Lastly, to become the most well respected, comprehensive, and accessible aggregate of information about and by the queer Asian American women, gender non-conforming, and trans community.”
Several members of hotpot!, a local queer Asian and Pacific Islander organization, were photographed and interviewed for the project in May 2012. Those members will be present at the opening reception to speak about their experiences and personal perspectives on why The Visibility Project is important.
The exhibition opens June 12 and remains on view until October 4, 2013. The opening reception features an artist-led tour of the work on Friday June 21 from 6:00pm-8:00pm. To RSVP please click here. Leeway’s offices are located at 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 832 between 13th and Juniper Streets. Viewings are by appointment only Monday through Friday. To schedule a viewing call 215.545.4078.
The exhibit is presented in partnership with Asian Americans United, Asian Arts Initiative, Boat People SOS–Delaware Valley, hotpot!, Japanese Americans Citizens League– Philadelphia, One Love Movement, Twelve Gates Arts, and William Way Center.
Photo Session at William Way Center
Mia will be photographing local LGBT Asians and Asian Americans at the William Way Center (1315 Spruce Street) in Center City on Sunday June 23 from 10:00am – 6:00pm.
Participation in the project is inclusive to trans, ftm, mtf, genderqueer, bisexuals, gender-non conforming, lesbian, queer, intersex, andro, two-spirit, and more. The definitions of Asian American are constantly evolving and include any identification with ‘Asian’, Hapa, etc. In exchange for participating, people can use the images for non-commercial use, and are encouraged to submit bios and links to their websites to promote related personal work or social justice-related causes. Those interested in being photographed for the project should sign up here.
ABOUT THE VISIBILITY PROJECT
The Visibility Project combines photographs and oral histories to document the personal experiences of Asian and Asian American women, transgender, and gender non-conforming people who are queer. This community is frequently overlooked, ignored, and disregarded by society at large. The cultivation of this project was a direct response to change that dynamic one face, one story, one participant at a time. The Visibility Project provides a platform that allows participants to self-identify, share their histories and experiences. The result is an unbelievably diverse representation of what it means to be a queer Asian American that transcends linguistic, cultural, and generational barriers.
ABOUT MIA NAKANO
Mia is a freelance photographer, videographer, and web-designer. Her work has been seen in dozens of media outlets including Colorlines, The Kathmandu Post, and Democracy Now!. Mia has contributed to organizations such as The Smithsonian Institution, Salon.com, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, and is the founding photo editor of Hyphen magazine. She is a seasoned self-taught artist, educator, and lecturer advocating strategic and mindful use of visual arts to create social change. Mia is a board member of Banteay Srei and the Queer Cultural Center. She is a proud 4th-generation Japanese American, queer, woman of color, daughter of a single mother, and sister of a deaf adult.
ABOUT CO-SPONSORS
Asian Americans United
Founded in 1985, Asian Americans United’s mission is to build leadership in Asian American communities to build our neighborhoods and unite against oppression. AAU has worked in Philadelphia’s Asian American communities and in broader multiracial coalitions around quality education, youth leadership, anti-Asian violence, immigrant rights, and folk arts and cultural maintenance.
Asian Arts Initiative
Asian Arts Initiative is a community-based arts center in Philadelphia that engages artists and everyday people to create art that explores the diverse experiences of Asian Americans, addresses our social context, and imagines and effects positive community change.
Boat People SOS - Delaware Valley
BPSOS-Delaware Valley is the local, community-based branch office of a national Vietnamese-American non-profit organization with a 33-year track record of service. Their mission is to empower, organize, and equip Vietnamese individuals and communities in their search for liberty and dignity. BPSOS strengthen and builds the local Philadelphia underserved community through direct services, advocacy, leadership development and organizing.
hotpot!
hotpot! is a Philadelphia-based organization working to build community for Queer Asian + Pacific Islander lesbian, bisexual women, trans*, gender variant/queer/non-conforming identified folks through social gatherings, political action and good food.
Japanese American Citizens League – Philadelphia
Founded in 1929, the JACL is the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the United States. It is a national organization that responds to issues that enhance or threaten the civil and human rights of all Americans and implements strategies to affect positive social change, particularly to the Asian Pacific American Community. The Philadelphia Chapter was founded in 1947 by Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated in American concentration camps during WWII.
One Love Movement
Born out of a deportation crisis in the Cambodian-American community in Philadelphia during the Fall of 2010, One Love is now a national network of grassroots Asian American organizers that unites communities to organize for power, so families can protect their human rights and live together with dignity.
Twelve Gates
Twelve Gates Arts aims to showcase international and South Asian arts bound by the sensibilities of a transnational identity, to compose and promote projects crossing cultural and geographical boundaries, and to educate the community about culture as 'other.'
William Way
William Way LGBT Community Center is the premiere organization serving Greater Philadelphia's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They are open 365 days a year and offer a vast array of programs (from free peer counseling and senior services to job readiness classes and social support groups), as well as top-notch events, art exhibits and live performances. They also offer over 70 programs per month to the more than 60,000 individuals who walk through their doors each year.
