Monday, December 7, 2009
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LECTURE By Dr. Fang Lili and Zhu Legeng

‘A Case Study on Inheritance and Development of Jingdezhen Ceramic Craftsmanship.’

走向现代化的中国 - 以景德镇的陶瓷手工艺传承为例

DATE: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2009, 7PM
LOCATION: UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT AT HOUSTON STREET CENTER, 273 BOWERY
ENTRY: FREE

The talk will explain Dr. Fang's understanding of how tradition and cultural heritage have presented new sources of economic growth. Jindezhen is the case study because its traditional ceramic craftsmanship and the culture system based on it were attacked and essentially overthrown by a modern, industrial system. The craft persisted and was well preserved in the new culture. MORE...

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Out Of The Archive: PROCESS & PROGESS

SEPTEMBER 18 - OCTOBER 30, 2009
Curated by Angel Velasco Shaw
Opening Reception:
Friday September 18th 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: AAAC, 23 Bowery, NYC
Gallery Talk with Artists & Scholars:
Wednesday October 7th 6 - 8pm.
Location: WHITE BOX 329 Broome St. NYC

Artists: Albert Chong, John Yoyogi Fortes, Swati Khurana, and Tomie Arai.
Writers: Jan Christian Bernabe, Karen Su, Karlyn Koh, Midori Yoshimoto, and Sarita Echavez See.

To commemorate the thirty-fifth year of mounting arts in a community context, the Asian American Arts Centre presents “Out of the Archive: Process and Progress,” a major exhibition program. It aims to draw attention to the AAAC Artists Archive and its recently launched digital archive - artasiamerica.org. This program includes a special exhibition installation, a gallery talk, a catalogue, several essayists, and online interactive events and opportunities for the audience. The digital archive, a major undertaking over two years in the making, consists of about 10% of the total 1,500 Asian American artists entries in the original archive, which reflects the last 60 years and several generations of artistic production.

The four artists presented, Tomie Arai, Albert Chong, John Yoyogi Fortes, and Swati Khurana, have been selected from a review of all the artists posted in artasiamerica.org by guest curator Angel Velasco Shaw. The printed catalogue has been edited and coordinated by Sarita Echavez See who selected four writers to participate with her in reviewing the artists' work: Karen Su, Karlyn Koh, and Jan Christian Bernabe. AAAC seeks to expand the ways in which it has presented Asian American art in a community context. Expanding our approach to the literary arts, we are introducing a critical writing component in order to draw upon literary and cultural criticism for visual interpretive and critical thinking.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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JULY 28, 2009



artasiamerica, the digital archive is finally launched! Go to www.artasiamerica.org.

This effort is just the beginning. As we work with more and more artists, organizations, galleries, we'll move closer towards our goal of making the archive of artasiamerica search-able, discoverable, and accessible online.
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Saturday, July 25, 2009
Computer Art Residency

JULY 27 - JULY 31, 2009

Artist: Jiawei Gong
Location: Immigrant Social Service (ISS)
Sponsored by Asian American Arts Centre with support from a collaboration with Immigrant Social Service, the artist Jiawei Gong will be in residence for this week from July 27 to July 31, 2009 Monday to Friday daily from 3pm to 6pm at the Immigrant Social Service at 137 Henry St. He will install some of his new art work as it is developing and work on his computer in the basement community space of Immigrant Social Services where local teenagers gather daily. During the Residency he will interact with these teenager on a casual, informal basis, spending time with them, answering their questions and curiosity, and in this way introduce young people to creativity & how technology can be used to further creative goals.

More about Jiawei Gong can be found at www.jiaweigong.com Read more on AAAC & its programs at www.artspiral.org. Immigrant Social Services, Inc. programs can be view at www.issnyonline.org

Jiawei Gong "Liquid Emotions"
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
HOME MADE: Picturing Chinese Settlement in New Zealand

Artist Talk by Kerry Ann Lee
Date: Wed, July 8th 2009 | Time: 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Admission: Free; donations are welcome.



Since the first gold-seekers arrived in New Zealand in the 1860s, Chinese have been regarded as outsiders to discussions of national identity. The absence of a recognizable Chinatown in New Zealand has meant that many of the Chinese customs inherited from early Cantonese settlers are observed in private within the family home. This condition coupled with emerging research and exposure on the topic offers a chance to define Chinese spaces and author Chinese stories from within the local community.

Kerry Ann Lee is an artist, designer and educator based in Wellington, New Zealand. Her work: Home Made: Picturing Chinese Settlement in New Zealand celebrates an alternative cultural history through cut-paper, paint, found text and images. Mixed media collages, paper-cuttings and a lavishly illustrated artist book, explore both personal and local experiences of Chinese settlement in New Zealand, both the Chinese face behind the takeout counter and the home customs housed behind the plastic ribbon curtain.

This articulate and heartfelt body of work comprising of original collages, paper cuts, prints and installation work, toured as a national exhibition in New Zealand between August 2008 – March 2009 and gathered public attention with feature appearances on Asia Down Under and Saturday with Kim Hill. Paper-cuttings from the exhibition featured as a selected finalist work in the Wallace Art Awards 2008 at The New Dowse Art Museum. Kerry Ann will also be undertaking an artist residency at the Island6 Arts Centre in Shanghai in September 2009.

The talk will provide an overview of the project and expands the discussion on the Cantonese Diaspora to focus on the Chinese settlement in New Zealand.

A limited edition of the Home Made artist book will be available for purchase at the forum.

Kerry Ann Lee’s visit is generously supported by Fulbright New Zealand and the New Zealand Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust. This event is organized by Adliana Bahrin, program manager at the AAAC.

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Monday, June 22, 2009
ART SLAM!

Date: Friday, July 3rd 2009 | Time: 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Participating Artists: Hwa Hyun Kim, Kerry Ann Lee, Nung-Hsen Hu, and Xiaoqing Ding.



For the past several years, the Asian American Arts Centre has held a series of slide/art slams, allowing emerging artists the opportunity to present and talk about their work, meet and network with each other as well as with more established artists and critics/curators. Last year, the Centre hosted two slide slams, showcasing the work of nine artists working in various media.

On Friday, July 3rd, Asian American Arts Centre will be hosting the annual ART SLAM, showcasing the work of emerging Asian-American & Asia influenced artists.

Admission is FREE. EVERYONE is invited. This event is organized by Adliana Bahrin.

The ART SLAM Series is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and from The New York Department of Cultural Affairs. The Asian American Arts Centre was founded in 1974 in New York City as a not-for-profit organization to address the distinctive concerns of Asian Americans in the United States. Its mission is to promote the preservation and creative vitality of Asian American cultural growth through the arts, and its historical and aesthetic linkage to other communities.

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Monday, June 8, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
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Online Exhibition - website
Date: June 4, 2009




On June 5, 1989, in response to the massacre of the students in Tiananmen Square, the Asian American Arts Centre in NY initiated a year long exhibition that eventually brought over 300 artists to participate, drawing attention to this historic tragedy. After the exhibit traveled to several sites over the next few years and the calls to have it and the informative materials that accompanied it died away, the exhibition and the art work that it encompassed lay dormant. Now, on the occasion of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Student Movement this exhibition is being revised with this online exhibition for all to see. Much has passed and China may no longer be the China that it was. For this exhibition, this is not the issue. Tiananmen Square, however, must not be forgotten. So many artists came forward to give selflessly to this cause, creating innumerable memorable images...

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Monday, May 4, 2009
Asian/Pacific American Archives Survey



AAAC has appeared as one of the Asian/Pacific American archives survey participants on the NYU website! Go here to read more.

Made available by New York University, the Asian/Pacific American Documentary Heritage Archives Survey project is the first systematic attempt to map Asian/Pacific American archival collections in the New York metropolitan area. AAAC is represented as an important archive documenting the development of New York Asian/Pacific American community and art. We are one of the rare organizations that have a professional artists' archive. The archive, currently about 1,500 artists, include Asian Americans producing art, Asian artists who are active in the United States, and other Americans who are significantly influenced by Asia.
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Friday, May 1, 2009
America’s Chinatown Voices

“ 藝匯唐人街 “
Date: May 09-August 08.
Press Conference: Friday, May 8, 3pm
Opening Reception: Friday, May 14, 630-830PM
Site: Columbus Park, Chinatown, New York, NY
Artists: Nathalie Pham & Avani Patel


A special outdoor art event will occur in Columbus Park this Spring/Summer. To rally the community to come together and speak about their community. From children to seniors, in English & in Chinese, with images or without, this opportunity is for all to be heard. Especially welcome are those atuned to the decisions that face Chinatown and know that the future of Chinatown is in our hands. Their voice, ideas, and statements will be painted on panels 18x24” all around the outside gates of Columbus Park at a distance of 15-20 feet of each other. A total of about 70-80 panels will be up, Once a week the artists (and volunteers) will come in on the weekend to repaint some panels, and repaint new comments and thoughts on the panels. On the weekends an Open Day where the artists will attend the installation and invite community members to write down their comments on the panels. Read more at www.artspiral.org/new.html

Each panel will have an email address or phone where the community can email the artist their thoughts and comments to be posted the next week.

Volunteers are welcome to sign up and help to mount this extensive weekly effort by contacting Nat@npham.com or aaacinfo@artspiral.org

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Monday, April 27, 2009
AAAC at the CAPA Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival

"The 29th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival Heritage Festival is a unique event in New York City, bringing together various Asian Pacific American organizations and individuals to celebrate Asian America. "

Date: Saturday May 3
2009, from 12pm – 6pm
Venue: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
47th Street between 1st & 2ed Ave.
Festival Admission: FREE!

Asian American Arts Centre is pleased to present a selection of folk artists demonstrating their art during 30th Annual CAPA Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival.



Featuring a variety of Folk artists from different backgrounds, five traditional artists/crafts people will be giving hands on demonstrations. As for this year, the artists joining Asian American Arts Centre are:

Kavita Vyas - Mehandi artist
Ye Xun : Dough figurine master artist
Ming Liang Lu: master paper cutter of portraits
Jampa Youden : a Tibetan folk singer who also does traditional jewelry design.
Rose Sigal Ibsen : Sumi-e Calligraphy Artist

Audiences will have the opportunity to interact with skilled folk artists who demonstrate their crafts and will have the opportunity to ask questions, make requests and the chance to learn and delight in the magic of a traditional craft!
Go here to read more about our folk artists.

This is an ideal event for families. The music, art and performances will delight both old and young alike. See you there this weekend!
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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Date: March 23, 2009
Location: South St. Seaport Museum, New York, NY

AAAC education programs will be featured at Cool Culture on March 26 at South St Seaport Museum called Crafting the Teachable Moment. Come and experience AAAC culturally diverse approach to art education. Or book a tour of AAAC gallery directly through aaacinfo@artspiral.org You can become conscious of what is learned visually, intuitively.

Go here for more information on Cool Culture. Look out for latest updates on our website.
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Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tibetan Thangka Paintings Exhibition (Extended)



**The exhibition of Tibetan Thangka Paintings is extended towards the end of March!**


EXHIBITION OF TIBETAN THANGKA PAINTINGS
JANUARY 26 - MARCH 31, 2009

The exhibition of high quality Tibetan Thangka paintings will be on view during this festival. The dates of the exhibition are January 26 till March 13, 2009. Thangka paintings usually depict deities and saints, aspects of the life of the Buddha, as well as the more abstract Mandalas, astrological charts, medical descriptions and scenes, usually serving as a supplementary aid to religious educational development. They are meant as focal elements for visualization, meditation and contemplation. A talk by Lama Tenzin Yignyen is expected at the opening reception.

For further information, see under Current Exhibition at www.artspiral.org.
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Sunday, March 1, 2009
Abstractions and Contractions at LumenHouse

(click image to enlarge)


Abstractions and Contractions
Curated by Eun Young Choi

March 7 – March 29, 2009
Opening reception: Saturday, March 7, 2009,  6 - 9pm


Exhibiting Artists:
Lisha Bai, Ivin Ballen, Ethan Greenbaum, Geujin Han, Benjamin S. Jones, Sandra Eula Lee, Zaun Lee, Aurora Robson, Aili Schmeltz, Sun You

LUMENHOUSE
47 Beaver Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206  718.942.5395  lumenhouse.com
Gallery Hours: Sat & Sun 12 – 6pm and by appointment
(J,M train to Flushing Avenue stop)

Abstractions and Contractions brings together ten exciting artists whose work deal with the complex process of creating varying degrees of abstract work. The word abstraction may bring to mind the act of considering something as a general characteristic, a secret removal, or an unrealistic and visionary idea. Contraction may refer to a shortening or thickening of muscle fibers, a stage in wound healing, or a decrease in economic growth. Although they are two very different words the result of abstracting or contracting something may converge on some common ground, an end product that is more constricted, reduced, and condensed yet more compelling, expanded and intensified.

Abstraction in art may refer to work that seem detached and uninvolved on the one end and emotionally charged and lyrical on the other. It exists along a continuum where the departure from realistic depiction can be slight to complete. The artists in Abstractions and Contractions examine color, line and form from their surroundings like the hills of Los Angeles, vinyl kitchen floors, Formica countertops, Lego blocks, and toilet paper rolls to compose fascinating compositions that transform the ordinary into an interplay between the real and the surreal while referencing a long history of abstract art.

Abstractions and Contractions is part of an annual exhibition program sponsored by the AHL Foundation and is being hosted by Lumenhouse this year. The AHL Foundation was established to support cultural and artistic events with the purpose of building a wider public awareness of the contributions of Korean-American artists to contemporary art. It aims to discover talented artists and provide them with an opportunity to further their creative activities by providing grants and exhibitions. While the Foundation concentrates most of its resources to build awareness and support for artists of Korean descent, the goal of this exhibition is to foster the exchange of ideas between artists of Korean and non-Korean heritage and to nurture all underrepresented artists at large regardless of their cultural background.  For additional information please visit www.ahlfoundation.org.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support and sponsorship of AHL Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Additional support provided by NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Korean Cultural Services NY, and Lumenhouse.

For more information about the exhibition please contact Eun Young Choi at eyc2000@gmail.com
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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Exhibition of Tibetan Thangka Paintings
January 26 - March 13, 2009


High quality Tibetan Thangka paintings will be on view during this festival. The dates of the exhibition are January 26 till March 13, 2009. Thangka paintings usually depict deities and saints, aspects of the life of the Buddha, as well as the more abstract Mandalas, astrological charts, medical descriptions and scenes, usually serving as a supplementary aid to religious educational development. They are meant as focal elements for visualization, meditation and contemplation.

A talk by Lama Tenzin Yignyen is expected at the opening reception. Write to aaacinfo@artspiral.org or call us at our temporary phone number at 1.917.923.8118 for more information. This exhibition is organized by Robert Lee with assistance from Adliana Bahrin.

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Monday, January 26, 2009
Lunar New Year Folk Arts Festival & Exhibition of Tibetan Thangka Paintings

Celebrating The Year Of OX

Asian American Arts Centre

presents

LUNAR NEW YEAR
FOLK ARTS FESTIVAL

Sunday, February 1, 2009 from 3:00 - 5:30 p.m.


Exhibition of Tibetan Thangka Paintings

January 26 - March 13, 2009

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Arts Centre is pleased to announce "A Lunar New Year Folk Arts Festival" featuring Asian Folk Artists, and a Tibetan folk singer. Five traditional artists/crafts people will be giving hands on demonstrations. Artists include: Ye Xun - a Chinese miniature dough figurine artist, Lin Ying - a Chinese ink calligrapher, Kavita Vyas - an Indian Mahendi hand painting artist, Kwok Kay Choey - an Er Hu performer, together with Jampa Youden - a Tibetan folk singing performance. New Year delicacies will also be served.

Audiences will have the opportunity to interact with skilled folk artists who demonstrate their crafts and will have the opportunity to ask questions, make requests and the chance to learn and delight in the magic of a traditional craft and to enjoy traditional folk singing. This is an ideal event for families. The music, art and performances will delight both old and young alike. Festival Admission: $12 - General; $6 - Senior Citizens, Students; Children 3 - 12 - $6: and for Children 3 and under - Free.

• Come early. Space is limited. For reservation and information write to aaacinfo@artspiral.org or call (646) 831 9744.

The Festival Artists

Kavita Vyas practices the Art of Mehandi, the art of painting designs on hands and feet. Mehandi designs use animals and floral patterns, sometimes even musical instruments, taking hours to finish. It began over 100 years ago in India by the Muslims, mostly in Pakistan. It is also widely done by the Arab people. She learned this art form from the master Mrs. Saroj Oza, who created the cone method. Kavita loves Mehandi art because she can create new designs each time she paints. Kavita and her Mehandi art was covered on the 10 o'clock news, Channel 11.

Kwok Kay Choey was born in Singapore and learned to play the Er Hu as a teenager with Wu Gong-xi. Since 1964, he has been a resident member of the New York Chinese Music Ensemble and has performed in its bi-annual season each year in New York City as well as performing in the tri-state area. He is also a painter, calligrapher and Tai Chi master.

Ye Xun, born in Zhejiang, has combined the qualities of both his master teachers, the poetic sensibility of Master Zhao Kou Ming with the realistic representation of color and manner of Master Lang Shao An (his grandfather). His figures appear life-like with a sense of vitality in the scenes and characters of his work. His work includes the famous mythological characters such as the Monkey King from "Journey to the West", the Eight Immortals and the Goddess of Mercy. He has also won numerous awards for his designs including First Place in the Zhejiang Provincial Competition for Best Design.

Rose Sigal-Ibsen has practiced calligraphy for many years and won critical acclaim for her work. Born in Romania and migrating from Israel to the US, she worked as an enamelist after studying at FIT. In 1979 she began her study of Sumi ink at the KoHo School of Sumi-e in NY and later Chinese brushwork at the Zhejiang Academy in China. She has won Awards of Excellence from the Kampo Cultural Center and from the Manhattan Arts International magazine. She has exhibited widely, for example, in China at the Fourth World Conferenc on Women in Beijing, in Bucharest at the Romanian Cultural Foundation, and in the US at the Steinhardt Conservatory and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC.

Jampa Youden TIBETAN FOLK SONGS Jampa Youden grew up in one of the many nomadic communities in Tibet, where the land is vast (larger than Texas and California together), streams are crystal clear, where there are herds of sheep, birds, meadows of fragrant flowers and medicinal plants, surrounded by snow capped mountains. He learned to sing from his grandfather. The songs are of nomadic life since 70% of the Tibetan population is nomadic. From a family of singers, he and his brothers are often invited to sing at special occasions, weddings and parties. At age thirty he escaped with family members to Nepal before coming to the United States. Separated from his family here, singing makes him happy, and it also makes others happy. He thinks singing is like medicine. He says, "It is free to be happy." He tells of the Tibetan proverb, "When you are happy, you enjoy wine. When you are sad, you must tame your mind."


Exhibition of Tibetan Thangka Paintings

January 26 - March 13, 2009
Opening Reception Sunday February 8, 3pm – 530pm

The exhibition of high quality Tibetan Thangka paintings will be on view during this festival. The dates of the exhibition are January 26 till March 13, 2009. Thangka paintings usually depict deities and saints, aspects of the life of the Buddha, as well as the more abstract Mandalas, astrological charts, medical descriptions and scenes, usually serving as a supplementary aid to religious educational development. They are meant as focal elements for visualization, meditation and contemplation. A talk by Lama Tenzin Yignyen is expected at the opening reception. Write aaacinfo@artspiral.org for info or check http://www.artspiral.org/new.html

For more information see www.artspiral.org

Directions: Asian American Arts Centre is located at 26 Bowery on the 3rd floor, above McDonalds. It is one block south of Canal St, D, B Train to Grand St or N, R, Q, W & #6 Train to Canal St., or #4 & #5 Train to City Hall. M103 or M15 bus to Chatham Square.

By Car: Holland Tunnel leads to entrance to Manhattan Bridge along Canal St. where it crosses the Bowery. Parking in outdoor lots on Henry St east of the Bowery, off Cathrine or Market Sts.

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