Join us in celebrating the release of Corky Lee’s Asian America, a stunning retrospective of his life’s work- a selection of the best photographs from his vast collection, from his start in New York’s Chinatown in the 1970s to his coverage of diverse Asian American communities until his passing in 2021.
Join us on Thursday, June 20, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM for a screening of the film Twilight’s Kiss (“Suk Suk”), 2019 co-presented with BAAFF. The film follows the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years as they navigate their families and personal histories while contemplating a possible future together.
Join Maddie Lam, Anny Thach, and Pao Arts Center for an evening of poetry and music. The performances take you through an inner landscape of a human heart, charting the atlas of grief and loss, celebration and regeneration. Through prose and poetry, visual narrative, and song, Dandelions in the Stardust is a soft place to land.
Turn everyday pantry items into tiny, delectable sculptures using quick dry clay and paints.
Experiment with vibrant colors, textures, and shapes to create one-of-a-kind prints that capture the imagination.
Based on traditional Mexican tile art, this workshop will encourage participants to think about patterns in new and exciting ways.
What is your family's story of immigration to Boston? Inspired by artist Yu-Wen Wu’s Lantern Stories, Lining Zhang, from Harvard Education School, hosts an interactive workshop with storytelling, art making, and conversation to explore what immigration and cultural identity means for family. Adults and children above age 10 accompanied by caregivers are welcome to join.
Join us for the opening reception of Inspired by... Artwork by Josiah Quincy Elementary School.
Bring in the year of the dragon with an elegant reception featuring live music, and small plates and cocktails from Shojo Boston by celebrated restaurateur, Brian Moy. Enjoy award-winning takes on old-school Asian dishes and drinks with a flair while experiencing live entertainment and the current Pao Arts Center exhibits, Lunchbox Moments and Chinatown Workers Statues: A Statue in the Making. Before the night is over, leave your hopes for the new year on our wishing tree.
Join Pao Arts Center to celebrate the Lunar New Year!
We will host an afternoon of art, interactive workshops, and performances. All ages are invited to join us for cultural activities as we usher in the year of the dragon!
Directed by Tianding He, SKINLESS reimagines the ancient Chinese legend The White Snake as a queer, gender-bending modern fairy tale.
Experience a multimedia musical performance from No-No Boy (singer Julian Saporiti) as part of the tour for his latest album Empire Electric. This newest release brings Asian American history to life through a uniquely inventive approach to storytelling.
Join us for the opening of our newest exhibits, Lunchbox Moments and Chinatown Worker Statues: A Statue in the Making
Murals: September 1 - October 14, 2023
Live Performances: October 1
This fall, see, hear, create, and connect. Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities.
In case of inclement weather, performance will take place on the rain date - Sunday, October 1, 2023.
11:00 am | Continuum Dance Project (a part of Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023)
11:15 am | Tour of Experience Chinatown murals (check-in under yellow Pao Arts Center tent)
11:30 am | Nüwa Athletic Club | Chinese Lion Dance
11:45 am | TIFFY | Singer-Songwriter
12:50 pm | Maddie Lam | Singer-Songwriter
1:00 pm | Tour of Experience Chinatown murals (check-in under yellow Pao Arts Center tent)
2:00 pm | Juk-Sing | Canto-Pop Band
3:00 pm | Encore presentation: Continuum Dance Project (a part of Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023)
11:00 am - 3:30 pm | Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany St | At Home In Chinatown: A Residence Lab Retrospective | Exhibit Gallery Hours
Experience Chinatown is a part of Chinatown HOPE, an open space initiative, led by a collective of 8 community organizations in Boston’s Chinatown, to advocate for new and improved open spaces, and promote community wellness.
Founded in 2013 by Fernadina Chan, CDP choreographers/co-directors Adriane Brayton and Fernadina Chan work collaboratively with their dancer. Continuum Dance Project pushes the boundaries of audience interaction and traditional vantage points, by presenting work in unconventional spaces.
Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo
Inspired by the Cantonese hits of the 80s and 90s, these Kwong Kow Chinese School dropouts have performed covers of Beyond, Faye Wong, and many more across the Greater Boston Area since 2018. By sharing these classics along with original songs, Juk Sing (JK Wong, Jeffrey La, and Ashley Yu) hopes to bring back some cultural nostalgia with a dream pop twist.
Maddie Lam is a Boston-born singer-songwriter, producer, and performer. She understands music as the sound of a soul. Infused with softness, her music and performances offer a dynamic, connective and healing space for others to rest in.
The Nüwa Athletic Club, based in Boston, MA, provides an environment for Asian American girls and women to enhance their physical and emotional development through teamwork, sportsmanship and cultural activities which includes but is not limited to lion and dragon dance.
TIFFY is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer Tiffany Sammy. TIFFY represents what it means for genres to clash and meld in 2023, preserving a bottled-up mix of dream rock, sugar pop, and coarse punk. Often boiling the terminology down to "soft punk", her music has been featured in FADER, Paste Magazine, NPR and Vanyaland. She actively plays throughout New England with her live band.
PRESENTING
PLATINUM
GOLD
EVENT PRESENTER
PATRON
FRIEND
COMMUNITY
PARTNERS
Join us as we bring joy and laughter to the heart of Chinatown in this family-friendly community celebration.
Cornhole, crafting, music, giveaways and more!
Brought to you by Chinatown HOPE, a collective of eight Chinatown organizations, funded through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Community-based Health Initiative, with the aim of coming together to leverage and build upon existing assets to have a greater, lasting impact on working class residents in Boston Chinatown.
Chinatown HOPE is a collective of eight Chinatown organizations with the aim of coming together to leverage and build upon existing assets to have a greater, lasting impact on working class residents in Boston Chinatown. Community engagement began in summer of 2022 to understand what the Chinatown community thought a healthy neighborhood looked like, and resulted in our 3 branched intervention. Chinatown HOPE was funded through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Community-based Health Initiative to decrease social isolation and increase community cohesion by activating open space in Chinatown through gardening, arts, cultural programming, and resident leadership development.
Murals: September 1 - October 14, 2023
Live Performances: Sunday, October 1
This fall, see, hear, create, and connect. Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities.
In case of inclement weather, performances will take place on the rain date - Sunday, October 1, 2023.
Enjoy lively murals that respond to this year’s theme, “How does a community thrive?”
Create your own self-paced tour or join a guided tour on September 30th at 11:15 am or 1:00 pm.
APM coffee: 99 Kneeland Street | A Communal Blend | Jennifer Duan
Crave Chinatown: 75 Kneeland Street | Unity | Jinyi Duan
WakuWaku: 2 Tyler Street | Welcoming Dishes | Yuan-yuan Wang
Q Restaurant: 660 Washington Street | We Protect Each Other | Yixuan Zeng
Happy Lamb Hotpot Boston: 693 Washington Street | Let’s Eat | Jialu Zou
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC): 38 Ash Street | What Makes a Community Thrive? | BCNC Youth Center | Read more about their process of creating the murals
11:00 am | Continuum Dance Project (a part of Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023) | Contemporary Dance
11:15 am | Tour of Experience Chinatown murals (check-in under yellow Pao Arts Center tent)
11:30 am | Nüwa Athletic Club | Chinese Lion Dance
11:45 am | TIFFY | Singer-Songwriter
12:50 pm | Maddie Lam | Singer-Songwriter
1:00 pm | Tour of Experience Chinatown murals (check-in under yellow Pao Arts Center tent)
2:00 pm | Juk-Sing | Canto-Pop Band
3:00 pm | Encore presentation: Continuum Dance Project (a part of Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023) | Contemporary Dance
11:00 am - 3:30 pm | Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany St | At Home In Chinatown: A Residence Lab Retrospective Exhibit
Experience Chinatown is part of Chinatown HOPE, a collective of eight Chinatown organizations, funded through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Community-based Health Initiative, with the aim of coming together to leverage and build upon existing assets to have a greater, lasting impact on working class residents in Boston Chinatown.
Jennifer (Jenn) Duan (she/they) is a Chinese American artist based in Cambridge, MA. She is inspired by how art can be used as a medium for storytelling, emotional healing, and conveying the intangible. Through art, Jenn is interested in exploring the intersections of Chinese American identity, mental health, and what it means to be part of a community. In their free time, Jenn likes running, collecting zines, and peeling tangerines.
Jinyi Duan
Jinyi Duan (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist who draws inspiration from the various cultures they have been a part of through their life. Responding to a world that is becoming more segregated, they hope to show the individual nuances that make up various cultures, and in turn, highlighting the connections that exist between them. Typically working visually in acrylic paint, pens, and sharpies, they specialize in line work with a limited color palette.
Yuan-yuan Wang (she/her) is a Taiwanese artist and educator based in Boston, MA. She is interested in showing personal experiences and philosophy through art, connecting deeply with texture, layers and colors.
Yixuan Zeng (they/them) is a visual artist that passionately believes in the limitless power of storytelling for greater social change. They have collaborated at numerous film festivals to elevate underrepresented stories, formerly as Programming Director at the Boston Asian American Film Festival. As an illustrator and designer, Yixuan has worked on a variety of projects from apparel to emojis. Nowadays, Yixuan crafts murals to reclaim public spaces for local communities and to inspire collective healing.
Jialu Zou (they/them) is a non-binary Chinese American freelance illustrator based in Boston, MA. They graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration. They specialize in digital illustration with a focus on bright colors and a variety of textures. Jialu’s previous professional experience includes public art, gala pieces, and various zine projects. Besides illustrations, Jialu loves cooking, book making, and most of all, spending time with their cat, Percy.
The Youth Center provides opportunities for youth to build connections, explore and understand their community, and to put leadership skills into action. Through year-round programming centered on leadership development, education, and workforce readiness in Boston and Quincy, BCNC supports youth to thrive in school and beyond. Read more about their process of creating the murals.
Founded in 2013 by Fernadina Chan, CDP choreographers/co-directors Adriane Brayton and Fernadina Chan work collaboratively with their dancer. Continuum Dance Project pushes the boundaries of audience interaction and traditional vantage points, by presenting work in unconventional spaces.
Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo
Inspired by the Cantonese hits of the 80s and 90s, these Kwong Kow Chinese School dropouts have performed covers of Beyond, Faye Wong, and many more across the Greater Boston Area since 2018. By sharing these classics along with original songs, Juk Sing (JK Wong, Jeffrey La, and Ashley Yu) hopes to bring back some cultural nostalgia with a dream pop twist.
Maddie Lam is a Boston-born singer-songwriter, producer, and performer. She understands music as the sound of a soul. Infused with softness, her music and performances offer a dynamic, connective and healing space for others to rest in.
The Nüwa Athletic Club, based in Boston, MA, provides an environment for Asian American girls and women to enhance their physical and emotional development through teamwork, sportsmanship and cultural activities which includes but is not limited to lion and dragon dance.
TIFFY is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer Tiffany Sammy. TIFFY represents what it means for genres to clash and meld in 2023, preserving a bottled-up mix of dream rock, sugar pop, and coarse punk. Often boiling the terminology down to "soft punk", her music has been featured in FADER, Paste Magazine, NPR and Vanyaland. She actively plays throughout New England with her live band.
PRESENTING
PLATINUM
GOLD
EVENT PRESENTER
PATRON
FRIEND
COMMUNITY
PARTNERS
A new play reading in Cantonese and English
Directed by Wilson Wang
Performed at the Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany Street, Boston
Flight of a Legless Bird follows the intertwined lives of Robin and Leslie, two queer artists from the 1980s to the 2000s. Robin, a filmmaker in New York's West Village, confronts the reality of a HIV/AIDS diagnosis, while Leslie, an accomplished Cantopop star and actor, grapples with his personal hurdles in bustling Hong Kong. Their worlds collide by chance, uniting them through shared desires as the new millennium approaches. Poetically fusing Cantonese and English, the play reminisces a golden era of music, love, identity, and the transformative power of art in a rapidly changing time.
Flight of a Legless Bird is a recipient of The Paul Stephen Lim Playwriting Award Distinguished Achievement at the 2022 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Premiered in July 2021 at Ying Drama Studio’s (鷹劇坊) MINI Theater Festival in Beijing; developed through New York Theater Workshop’s Mind the Gap program with funding from The Sam Hutton Fund at Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts.
Pricing : Free, suggested donation $10
Performance Dates:
Friday, June 2, 2023 - 7:00 PM + Post-show conversation
Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 2:00PM
Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 7:00PM + Post-show “Red Heels” Cantopop Dance Party
About Found in Translation:
Found in Translation is a collaboration between Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (AATAB), CHUANG Stage, and Pao Arts Center. Established in 2021, Found in Translation celebrates the power and complexities of being multilingual, immigrants, or identifying as Asian American in Greater Boston through theatre.
Contact : ashley.yung@bcnc.net
Ethan Luk (Playwright)
Ethan Luk was born and raised in Hong Kong. His work has been recognized by 92Y, The Kennedy Center, One Teen Story, Sine Theta Magazine, and The Adroit Journal among others. He is currently an undergraduate at Princeton University. www.ethanluk.com
Wilson Wang (Director)
Born in Northern China, Wilson Wang is currently a student at the University of California, Berkeley. His practices actively engages both filmic and performance arts through the lens of critical humanities, with a specific interest in corporeality, race, aesthetic philosophy, and labor. His artistic contributions include Flight of a Legless Bird, A Visit from the Dead, The Moment I Died (short film), and A Breath Under Water (short film).
Patrick Ip (Leslie Cheung)
Patrick Ip is an LA based actor who travels between Asia and North America. Graduated from UC Berkeley with an Electrical Engineering Computer Science degree, he had worked in several fields but couldn’t resist his love for performing--he received his master’s in acting at Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2019. He has performed in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
EK William (Robin Heron)
Meet EK William. Fresh off of playing the villainous Pharoah in Ed Chisholm's Off-Broadway show "The Savage Queen", you can now spot this method actor in several national commercials and films. EK loves creating characters who are pensive, intense, dominant, and passionate; all having multi-dimensionality. EK has received training from New England Conservatory, Checkov Actors Studio Boston, and the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.
Hana Yiu (Anita Mui)
Hana Yiu, a versatile classical singer, is making her theatrical debut with Chuang Stage in the US. As a classical singer, She will be joining the esteemed Seraphic Fire at Aspen Music Festival this summer. Additionally, she is also part of the New York Philharmonic Chorus. Hana holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music and a Master's degree from The Hartt School.
Anthony Eng (Cheung Wut-Hoi/Theo)
Anthony Eng is a Boston-based actor who usually only does short films. He is excited to make his theatre debut in Flight of the Legless Bird. When not on stage, he is a teacher and a single dad. He’d like to thank Ken Cheeseman, the cast and crew, as well as the various families who helped with childcare!
JK Wong (Kenny/Daffy)
JK Wong is a Boston local artist. He is most known for his multilingual indie surf punk band, Orca Bones, his live-looping project, aznjujube, and his canto-pop band, Juk Sing.
Originally from Quincy, MA, JK can now be spotted kicking the Chinese shuttlecock or eating snacks around Boston Chinatown.
Jen Lewis (Dinah Heron)
Jen Lewis is an Actor, director, teacher, activist and mom, Jen teaches Acting at Bunker Hill Community College and served as Interim Executive Director of StageSource. As You Like It (Merely Players); Othello (Dream Role Players), Legally Dead (Boston Playwrights'); Living Out (Lyric Stage); and Friends of Eddie Coyle (Stickball).
Evan Taylor (David)
Evan Taylor is a Boston Based actor currently attending Emerson College (BFA Acting 24’), and is thrilled to work with CHUANG Stage/Pao Arts Center/AATAB for the first time. Recent credits include Logan in Paris (Emerson Stage) and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (EmShakes). A big thanks to my family and friends for supporting my dream, you rock!
CHUANG Stage is the first Mandarin-English bilingual, bicultural theatre company nationwide, cultivating joyful and challenging Asian American stories that pioneer a new activism in the arts.
Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston is a social collective that empowers and connects Pan-Asian theatre artists in the Greater Boston area.
The Found in Translation Series is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts' Public Art for Spatial Justice program, with funding from the Barr Foundation.
A multimedia opera and surrealist drama, co-produced with Guerilla Opera that follows two Chinese-American women who meet in the afterlife and explores conflicts between their Western upbringing and Chinese culture.
HER | alive.un.dead is a concert-length media opera about three generations of Asian women in a single family. Through birth and death cycles in the family, and encounters in a space called the “in-between”, these women expound on gender biases against women, and discriminatory practices upon people of Asian descent.
HER | alive.un.dead focuses on the specific experiences of being an Asian woman in a largely Western society and upbringing. This clash between East and West is interpreted differently between three generations of women in a single family, and changes drastically from character to character due to each character's background and upbringing: fresh immigrant with strong connections to her homeland, first-generation Chinese American trying to integrate into American society, and a second-generation Chinese American who really only feels like she is American and is ignoring the 'Chinese' part of her heritage.
The opera will take place in ten scenes within three acts, with over 60 minutes of music. The narrative is non-linear, which helps contrast between the dramatic arc and musical arc of the work.
The libretto is in English, Mandarin, and Teochew.
Flashing Lights Warning: This performance features flashing lighting effects.
Trigger Warning: This performance includes topics of teen suicide, and may be disturbing for certain audience members. Resources for crisis and suicide prevention are available 24/7 by dialing 998 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Friday, May 12 | 8:00 PM with Opening Night Post-Show discussion with creators and cast
Saturday, May 13 | 3:00 PM with Pre-Show Tactile Tour (2:00 PM start time, preregistration required) and Post-Show discussion with creators and cast
Saturday, May 13 | 7:30 PM
Sunday, May 14 | 3:00 PM
Price: Tiered $15-55
Unlike traditional opera companies, Guerilla Opera is an ensemble of artists that perform without a conductor or formal music director. This is unusual and distinguishes Guerilla Opera in the field of opera. This practice requires extraordinary awareness and communication skills that can only be honed through consistent practice by a group of artists working together over time.
Founded in 2007, Guerilla Opera (GO) is one of Boston’s most exciting ensembles creating brave new works, with The Boston Globe raving that “radical exploration remains the cornerstone of everything it does”. This artist-led ensemble wields a mission to present new experimental works of opera theater that are tailored to their ensemble of outstanding artists. Their artistic vision is to generate a unique body of work that ferociously confronts the status quo through culturally-focused and socially-resonant stories that examine and question antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form of opera and to bring thrilling performances to nationwide audiences. With this mission and vision, Guerilla Opera has garnered a national reputation for innovation, with Opera News raving that “Guerilla Opera redefines the Opera experience.”
Emily Koh
Emily Koh is a Singaporean composer based in Atlanta, whose music is characterized by inventive explorations of the smallest details of sound. In addition to writing acoustic and electronic concert music, she enjoys collaborating with other creatives in projects where sound plays an important role in the creative process. Emily is currently Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music. (https://emilykoh.net)
Mo Zhou
Originally from China, Mo Zhou is a stage director and educator whose international career spans all artistic disciplines including opera, theater, musical theater, dance, and film.
Equally passionate about invigorating classical canons and spearheading new works, Zhou’s productions have been seen at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, National Centre for the Performing Arts in China, Santa Fe Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, the Juilliard School, WP Theatre, to name a few. She has also worked as a member of the directing staff at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, the Dallas Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, among others.
Sol Kim Bentley
Two-time Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions regional finalist Sol Kim Bentley was lauded by Opera News for her “ardently sincere … beautifully restrained and heartbreaking” performance as Cardillac’s Daughter in Hindemith’s Cardillac for Opera Boston, the production of which was named one of the top ten international musical events of 2011 by Musical America. Previously, she understudied the title role in Opera Boston’s world premiere of Zhou Long’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Madame White Snake (performing the role for an invited dress rehearsal), and was the Roll Seller in Opera Boston’s New England premiere of Shostakovich’s The Nose.
Nina Guo
Soprano Nina Guo is interested in the sounds of recent and ongoing times, and her performance practice includes interpreting notated music, improvising, and collaborating on interdisciplinary projects. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in classical voice from the New England Conservatory of Music (2015), she completed a Master’s degree in Sound Studies and Sonic Arts at the Universität der Künste in Berlin (2020). As a contemporary music specialist, her upcoming performances include solo appearances with Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt) and Decoder Ensemble (Hamburg), and recently, she has been featured at festivals like Acht Brücken (Köln), Passion:SPIEL at the Deutsches National Theater (Weimar), and Music in Time at Spoleto Festival (Charleston).
Jeannette Lee
Described to have “a lovely mezzo voice with lots of color, warmth and vibrancy,” Hong Kong mezzo-soprano Jeannette Lee is a sought-after versatile performer who was awarded the Hilda Harris Mezzo Soprano Prize at the 2022 George Shirley Vocal Competition. She was also a prize winner in 2023 William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition, 2021 NATS Artist Award (New England Region).
On the international concert stage, she has appeared as a soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor and BWV70 &130, Beethoven’s Chorale Fantasy, Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Messiah, Britten’s Cantata Academica, Monteverdi’s Marienvespers and Osvaldo Golijov’s Oceana. Jeannette is passionate about collaborating on new works, having recently premiered Simon Andrews’ Seasons in FUSE: Collaborations in Song and sang the East Coast premiere of Jenni Brandon’s Sea Smoke on Gichigami.
Jiayin Shi
Jiayin Shi is an operatic baritone singer, currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Boston University, School of Music. With a wide range of performing experiences, Jiayin Shi has served in various genres, including opera, oratorio, musical theater, and art songs. He has been praised for his performances in works such as Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Philip Glass and Robert Moran’s The Juniper Tree, as well as his work in the musical theater genre, including a Chinese musical: May Be Tomorrow Belongs to Me. Jiayin Shi earned two master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the China Conservatory of Music. He also received his bachelor’s degree from the China Conservatory of Music. With the passion of a musician, Jiayin Shi keeps on the journey of sharing his music with audiences around the world.
Lilit Hartunian
Violinist Lilit Hartunian performs at the forefront of contemporary music innovation, both as soloist and highly in-demand collaborative artist. First prize winner in the 2021 Black House Collective New Music Soloist Competition, Ms. Hartunian’s "Paganiniesque virtuosity" and “captivating and luxurious tone” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) are frequently on display at the major concert halls of Boston, including multiple solo performances at Jordan Hall and chamber music at Symphony Hall (Boston Symphony Orchestra Insights Series), as well as at leading academic institutions, where she often appears as both soloist and new music specialist. Highlights from the 2022-2023 season include performances with A Far Cry at The Kennedy Center, Boston Modern Orchestra Project at Carnegie Hall, and [Switch~ Ensemble] at June in Buffalo.
Stephen Marotto
A native of Norwalk, Connecticut, Stephen has received a Bachelors degree with honors from the University of Connecticut, and Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Boston University. Stephen’s formative teachers include Michael Reynolds, Kangho Lee, Marc
Johnson, and Rhonda Rider. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Stephen plays regularly with chamber groups throughout New England and also performs on various new music concert series in the Boston area and beyond. Stephen has attended music festivals at the
Banff Centre, Cortona Sessions for New Music and SoundSCAPE festival in Italy, and the Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany. Stephen has a wide range of musical interest that include contemporary chamber music, improvisatory music, and electroacoustic music.
Philipp Stäudlin
Stäudlin is an award-winning virtuoso saxophonist who has performed hundreds of concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His characteristic tonal qualities, deep sense of phrasing, and superb technical skills make him one of the most unique voices in today's classical saxophone world.
A native of Friedrichshafen, Germany, Stäudlin has appeared as a soloist with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Sound Icon ensemble, White Rabbit Ensemble (former ensemble-in-residence at Harvard University), Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, Callithumpian Consort, Bielefelder Philharmoniker, Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Tufts University Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and the Providence Singers.
Mike Williams
Hailed by the Boston Globe as “one of the city’s best percussionists,” Mike Williams has performed throughout North America and Europe and is a regular performer in the Boston area. An advocate for contemporary music, he is a member of the new music sinfonietta Sound Icon, Callithumpian Consort and is the percussionist and artistic director of Guerilla Opera, with whom he has commissioned and premiered 14 new chamber operas since 2007. He has also performed with such groups as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Ludovico Ensemble, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, and Harvard Group for New Music. Williams has worked with many of the leading composers of our time, including Pierluigi Billone, Philippe Leroux, Salvatore Sciarrino, Gunther Schuller, and Roger Reynolds, and he has been involved in numerous recordings on labels such as Cantaloupe, BMOP/sound, Albany, and Northwest Classics.
Saskia Martinez
Saskia Martinez (they/them) is a Boston-based scene designer and scenic artist. Regional credits include: Coriolanus, Seven Guitars (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Little Women: The Musical (Wheelock Family Theatre), Nina Simone: Four Women, Snow White, The Little Foxes, Appropriate (South Coast Repertory Theatre). Education: Boston University.
Nuozhou Wang
Nuozhou is a filmmaker and a video artist based in the US. She has designed projection for various opera productions and has directed, cinematographed, and created visual effects for numerous films and videos. Her work, featuring women characters invariably, explores gender, class, and sexuality. Nuozhou has engaged in the creation of works presented at various venues including the Museum of Modern Art, Pioneer Works, and Art Basel. Her works have aired on WCVB and have been featured in Broadway World, The Boston Globe, Vogue, Boston Musical Intelligencer, South China Morning Post, NIKKEI Asia, etc. Nuozhou received her BFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design.
Marie Yokoyama
Marie Yokoyama (she/her) is a lighting and set designer based in NY. Her lighting credit includes Rinaldo at Minnesota Opera; Orpheus in the Underworld and Rake's Progress at Juilliard; note to a friend at Tokyo Bunkakaikan; Merry Widow at Opera Theater Pittsburgh; Kim’s Convenience at Westport CountyPlayhouse; Searching for Mr. Moon at Portland Stage; Mystery of Irma Vep at St. Louis Rep; Testmatch at American Conservatory Theater San Francisco; Tiny Beautiful Things at Merrimack Repertory Theatre; Do You Feel Anger at Vineyard Theatre; and Pillowtalk with Kyoung's Pacific Beats. She is the Associate Artist for the Redhouse Arts Center where she has designed Macbeth, Fences, God of Carnage, On Golden Pond, and Ragtime.
Lindsay Hoisington
Lindsay Hoisington (Costume Designer) is a Boston-based Costume Designer, Wardrobe Supervisor, and Draper. She has worked as a Designer for Company Theatre on Frozen Jr. and Roald Dahl's Matilda, the Musical, Virginia Children's theatre on The Addam's Family and Cinderella, and here at Guerilla Opera for Her | Alive.Un.Dead. She has been Wardrobe Supervisor at WFT@BU, for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Actor's Shakespeare project and several others. She has also been a dresser for The Huntington as well as Odessy Opera, White Snakes Productions, and others. She has draped for Merrimack Rep Theatre and frequently for her design jobs. She hopes to bring compassion, empathy, and truth to every work she is in.
Keithlyn Parkman
Keithlyn B Parkman graduated from the Boston University College of Fine Arts with a BFA in Lighting Design. 10 years ago, during her time at BU, she stumbled across this zany little opera family, and the rest is history. Keithlyn has done a great many things for Guerilla over the years, but Thrilling may top the scales in number of jobs held, including but not limited to Lighting & Scenic Design, Props Mistress and Associate Producer. GO is an ensemble after all. When not running around Boston with Guerilla, Parkman shares her passion for theater making by mentoring young theater artists at various highschools in her hometown of NYC. Recent Guerilla credits include SALT, Rumpelstiltskin and Ofelia's Life Dream. Upcoming projects include Alice By Heart (The Beacon School) and Chicago (Berkeley Carroll).
Sarah Schneider
Sarah Schneider (she/her) is a Boston-based stage manager and child supervisor. In addition to her work with Guerilla Opera (Rumpelstiltskin, Emergence Fellowship Showcase), she has worked with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Boston Ballet, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Company One, the Boston University Opera Institute, and more. Sarah is a graduate of Boston University where she earned her BFA in Stage Management.
Jolie Frazer-Madge
Jolie Frazer-Madge (she/her) is excited to be returning to Guerilla Opera, having previously staged managed I Give You My Home and The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. Previous Boston opera stage management credits include X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Odyssey Opera/Boston Modern Opera Project), and L'Arbore di Diana (New England Conservatory). Jolie holds a BFA in Stage Management from Boston University.
Aliana de la Guardia
Aliana de la Guardia is a Cuban-American soprano vocalist, arts leader, producer, and voice teacher. Specializing in new music and opera, she collaborates with opera companies, chamber ensembles, and varied artists nationwide. She is a co-founding artist and Artistic Director of Guerilla Opera, half of Bahué, a voice and percussion duo, and a PARMA Recordings Artist. She is the owner of the Dirty Paloma Voice Studio where she teaches private voice lessons, as well as at the Community Music School of Springfield, with speaking engagements at institutions, initiatives, conventions, and convenings nationwide.
COVID-19 Policy: All visitors are required to be masked during the duration of the performance. Performers may be unmasked while performing. View more on our visitor policy
Contact | ashley.yung@bcnc.net
The commissioning of Emily Koh for HER | alive.un.dead: a media opera received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
This opera is supported in part by a Grants for Arts Projects Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Live Arts Boston Grant award from The Boston Foundation and their partners at the Barr Foundation and Dunamis., a grant from Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership’s funds from the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research, and an award from the New Music USA Creator Development Fund.
This world-premiere opera was developed in partnership with the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum and the Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts.
Join Call and Response artists Sanika Phawde and payal kumar on Sunday, May 7th for an artist talk and live drawing session! Attendees are invited to take part in a few drawing exercises led by the artists, so please be sure to bring your own handheld drawing materials along. Space is limited and registration is required, please see the link below for the Eventbrite page.
Suggested drawing materials: sketchpad or notebook, pencils, markers, crayons, as well as a book, clipboard, or other hard surface to draw on.
Outside the Lines: Artist Talk and Drawing Session with Sanika Phawde & payal kumar is part of Call and Response: Illustration in Uncertain Times. The exhibition features illustrations by seven local AAPI artists who have used their craft to speak to this complicated moment. As with other kinds of labor, these artistic gestures offer critical support to the community by giving voice to different experiences and encouraging care.
Curated by: Leslie Anne Condon
Exhibiting Artists: Deborah Johnson, payal kumar, Lillian Lee, Shaina Lu, Yuko Okabe, Sanika Phawde, Wen-ti Tsen
Zine Artists: Pampi Amdas + Ebbie Russell for the Neighborhood Grow Plan, Asian American Resource Workshop, Asian Students in Alliance’s Lunchbox Magazine, Maya Beach + Asian Coalition Massachusetts, Jennifer Duan, Maria Fong, Anne Hu, Katelyn Lipton, Untangle BU, Keith Khanh Truong
To learn more about the exhibition, go to Call and Response: Illustration in Uncertain Times
Registration is required, and space is limited. Register today!
Contact Leslie Condon at Leslie.Condon@bcnc.net with any questions.
Join Asian American Theater Artists of Boston, CHUANG Stage, and Pao Arts Center in welcoming another season of bilingual theatre in Boston Chinatown, and celebrating what we’ve accomplished together in our past season!
Check out the exciting new plays we’ll reveal on the spot, enjoy surprise performances by our FiT alumni artists, and meet the playwrights and directors that will be making these bold new works rooted in community and belonging, as they take center stage in Found in Translation Season II.
Sign up now to secure a virtual spot at the party including a Zoom link!
Free | Suggested Donation $10
ABOUT FOUND IN TRANSLATION
Found in Translation is a collaboration between Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (AATAB), CHUANG Stage, and Pao Arts Center, Found in Translation is a series of multilingual staged plays and community gatherings activating Chinatown since Fall 2021. Found in Translation amplifies the power and complexities of being multilingual, immigrants, or identifying as Asian American in Greater Boston; these performances connect the pan-Asian community through conversations about race, language, identity, and our experiences when it comes to belongings and a collective more just future.
Season II of Found in Translation is supported by the Public Arts for Spatial Justice grant from New England Foundation of the Arts (NEFA).
Contact | Ashley Yung, Performance Program Manager
Join Pao Arts Center for a night of performances, curated by Jane Park. Featuring a plethora of talents from a variety of disciplines, celebrating the plenitude of individuality and talent in the Asian diaspora, without explanation or apology.
Free | Suggested Donation $10
ABOUT ASIAN GLOW
Asian Glow is a performance series for the Asian diaspora in Boston, particularly for creatives seeking affinity on their stage. Asian artists often face tokenism and pressure to reference their cultural ancestry, while also being treated as monolith under the terms “Asian American” and “model minority.” Asian Glow encourages artists to be seen as individuals and perform as the majority, without explanation or apology.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Jane Park is a musician who lives in Cambridge and works at Hancock Church. She is the songwriter for local band Poor Eliza and plays violin in the New England Philharmonic. In 2018, she celebrated her EP Release Ghost Town with a 40-city East Coast/Midwest tour and created Asian Glow. In 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown put a halt to busy-ness and brought Jane to hiking and watching KDramas. She is grateful to be here on Massa-adchu-es-et and Pawtucket land, and privileged to be a part of this community.
Nora Panahi
Nora Panahi is an Iranian-American stand-up comic and drag king with a manual transmission. She has been featured in HBO's Women in Comedy Festival, the YallaPunk Arts Festival, and Jacque's Cabaret High Key. You can find her performing in and out of drag all over Boston, New York, and New England. Panahi is also a staff writer for Sabah Il-Khara, a daytime talk show for the queer SWANA (South West Asian, North African) crowd.
Felice Ling
Felice Ling is an occasionally international street performer and magician who can be found most often performing in Boston's Faneuil Hall. Internationally, she's worked the streets of the Edinburgh, Edmonton, and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. Locally, she is the executive producer of Boston's only open mic magic show -- the Boston Magic Lab -- where she is working to build a magic community that welcomes and bolsters diverse local talent. Sometimes funny, often awkward, and hopefully astonishing, this is Just Felice.
The Michael Character
The Michael Character is the long-running musical project of James Ikeda and a fluid assemblage of collaborators. Although the band's sound has changed many times across its fifteen album run (and counting), it's always basically been politically-committed, historically-minded, socially-engaged songwriting ground and stuffed into an acoustic punk hot dog casing of one sort or another. For fans of diner breakfasts, 8-ball pool, novel applications of niche performance theory, the historian's craft, and militant unionism.
TIFFY
TIFFY is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer Tiffany Sammy. TIFFY represents what it means for genres to clash and meld in 2023, preserving a bottled-up mix of dream rock, sugar pop, and coarse punk. Often boiling the terminology down to "soft punk". Her music has been featured in the FADER, Paste Magazine, NPR and Vanyaland. She actively plays throughout New England with her live band, and has been a featured artist at music festivals such as Thing in the Spring Music & Arts Festival (Peterborough, NH), Foreside Music Festival (Kittery, ME) and Somerville’s multicultural arts festival ArtBeat.
Zayde Buti
Zayde Buti is a Boston-based artist who combines music, comedy, and performance art to offer entertaining and thought-provoking social commentary. His unconventional pop songs, offbeat humor, and eccentric behavior make for captivating performances on stage, screen, and in public spaces.
COVID-19 Policy:
All visitors are required to be masked during the duration of the performance. Performers may be unmasked while performing. View more on our visitor policy.
Contact | Ashley Yung, Performance Program Manager
Join Pao Arts Center for the opening reception of its two Spring 2023 Exhibitions: Workers Statues in Chinatown by Wen-ti Tsen and Call and Response: Illustration in Uncertain Times. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the artists and learn more about their work. See below for more information about each exhibition.
Workers Statues in Chinatown by Wen-ti Tsen pays tribute to the workers who have uplifted Boston Chinatown through their essential labor over the decades. The four sets of clay models Tsen has developed for the project represent four different workers from the Chinese immigrant community: the laundryman, the restaurant worker, the garment worker, and the grandmother tending a child. Each set of figures will serve as models in the creation of life-sized figures to be cast into bronze and permanently installed in prominent public spaces across Chinatown. These statues will offer a more complex and diverse reflection of our local histories and question who is celebrated through public art in our City.
Call and Response: Illustration in Uncertain Times features illustrations and graphic designs by seven local AAPI artists who have used their craft to speak to this complicated moment. As with other kinds of labor, these artistic gestures offer critical support to the community by giving voice to different experiences and encouraging care.
Curated by: Leslie Anne Condon
Participating Artists: Deborah Johnson, payal kumar, Lillian Lee, Shaina Lu, Yuko Okabe, Sanika Phawde, Wen-ti Tsen
Opening Reception | Friday, March 31, 2023 | 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Registration is required, please register here.
Contact Leslie Condon, Visual Arts Manager, with questions Leslie.Condon@bcnc.net
Deborah Johnson (she/they) is a queer Indian-American multidisciplinary artist based in Boston, Massachusetts. She works predominantly in digital illustration and painting in gouache. She is currently completing her Master’s in Social Work at Boston College. Deborah utilizes bright and joyful colors and written affirmations to address issues of mental health, the importance of intimate friendship and the beauty of queer relationships. The emotions of joy and love are inherently political and she hopes her art provides a rest stop for individuals to reflect on those values. To learn more about Deborah’s work for the show, click here.
payal (they/them) is a multidisciplinary cultural worker, sexual and reproductive health justice advocate, and organizer whose work is rooted in the in-betweens. Currently based on Massachusett, Pawtucket, and Wampanoag territories, they invoke the power of intergenerational community building to construct tender new possibilities of being beyond borders and capital. Their illustrations, zines, spoken word pieces, and workshops have found a home across Chinatown walls and grassroots protests, in gallery spaces like the Museum of Fine Arts and international TRANS* Future Archives, and through collaborative learning spaces like the Allied Media Conference and the School of Arts and Social Justice Boston. payal's visual work weaves together folk art from their ancestral villages in Bihar with traditional Americana motifs to amplify peoples’ movements and explore the in-between spaces of trauma, coloniality, queerness, and embodiment. They are an organizer with Subcontinental Drift Boston, a monthly multilingual open mic centering South Asian diasporic voices, and with the Boston South Asian Coalition (BSAC), a transnational organizing collective fighting for labor, race, caste, and gender equity. Through creative strategies, they cultivate playful spaces that challenge the state's monopoly on Imagination so that we may all fully unearth and activate our collective power. To learn more about payal’s work for the show, click here.
Lillian Lee (she/her) is an illustrator, designer and cartoonist of Empty Bamboo Girl comics, which appears in the Sampan Newspaper. In high school, she was rejected from the art advanced placement class. It was a crushing blow. Years later, after having graduated from UMass Amherst and working in publishing and tech, she applied and was accepted to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Since then, she has worked in character design, editorial illustration and collaborated on a line of baby apparel and stationary. Currently, she lives in Boston, MA, where she was born and raised, with her husband, toddler and cat. She is also a member of a lion dance team and is a Swiftie. To learn more about Lillian’s work for the show, click here.
Shaina Lu 呂明穎 (she/her), a queer Taiwanese-American community artist exploring the intersection of art, education, and activism. Shaina has been an ESL teacher in Yunnan, a media arts teacher in Boston Public Schools, and a child-care program director in Chinatown. She loves juice. To learn more about Shaina’s work for the show, click here.
Yuko Okabe (she/they) is an illustrator and cultural worker playing at the intersection of youthful whimsy and community engagement. She holds a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Fellowships include RISD’s Maharam STEAM Fellowship with the Boston Children’s Hospital, RISD’s Leadership and Community Engagement Fellowship with DownCity Design, Enterprise Community Partners Rose Fellowship with North Shore Community Development Coalition, and the Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists. She has been awarded residencies from the Walkaway House, Pao Arts Center, and Urbano Project. Okabe’s work has received recognition from the Society of Illustrators NYC, Society of Illustrators LA, Creative Quarterly, and 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration. Collaborators include Big Cartel, Hester Street, Design Studio for Social Intervention, The New York Times, City of Boston Arts and Culture, and Light Grey Art Lab. For children’s books, she’s represented by Andrea Morrison of Writer’s House. Okabe is a proud auntie and an amateur oatmeal influencer @yukoats. To learn more about Yuko’s work for the show, click here.
Sanika Phawde (she/they) is an illustrator, educator, cartoonist and reportage artist born and raised in India and based between Providence, Boston and New York City. To learn more about Sanika’s work for the show, click here.
Wen-ti Tsen (he/him) is a painter and public artist. He was born in China, grew up in Paris and London before coming to the U.S. to study art at Boston Museum School. Since the mid-1970s, after living and traveling for several years in different countries, he has been engaged in making art that explores cultural connections: with personal paintings and installations, large-scale public art sculptures, and working with communities to express social issues in various art forms. To learn more about Wen-ti’s work for the show, click here.
Wen-ti Tsen’s work is being featured in a solo exhibition, Chinatown Workers Statues in our lobby gallery, and our Spring 2023 group show, Call and Response: Illustration in Uncertain Times.
Explore and inquire about the artistic journey and complexities of creating boundary-breaking international art.
Celebrate Lunar New Year and welcome theater artist Wang Chong (China) to Boston before the world premiere of his newest show, MADE IN CHINA 2.0, presented by ArtsEmerson. The event will share Wang Chong’s work-in-progress production of KISS KISS BANG BANG 2.0, which was recorded at Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, followed by an artist conversation between Wang Chong and Lydia Jialu Li moderated by Alison Qu of CHUANG Stage.
Free | Suggested Donation $10
Contact | Ashley Yung, Performance Program Manager
COVID-19 Policy:
All visitors are required to be masked during the duration of the performance. Performers may be unmasked while performing.
View more on our visitor policy.
Wang Chong is recognized around the world as one of Beijing’s most creative, provocative theatre directors, celebrated for his visionary experiments with classic and contemporary plays. He is the founder of Beijing-based performance group Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental. He is the most internationally commissioned Chinese theater director. His works have been performed in 20 countries. Wang’s productions include The Warfare of Landmine 2.0 (2013 Festival/Tokyo Award), Teahouse 2.0, (2018 One Drama Awards Best Little Theater Work), Waiting for Godot (live online performance), and The Plague 2.0 (virtual performance spanning 6 continents). He is currently working on his solo show Made in China 2.0 and two documentary films.
Lydia Jialu Li (they/she) Lydia’s creative gaze centers on “trauma”, “healing” and “revolution” in specific social and personal events in the feminist and Chinese diaspora experience. Assembled in unique kaleidoscopes of movement, sound, and texts, their works formulate journeys into unknown territories. Selected work include Guerrilla’s Song (CalArts), The Hidden Territories of The Bacchae (Double Edge Theatre), Little Red Book or Plural Bodies (NOW Festival, REDCAT), Rasgos Asiáticos by Virginia Grise (Center of New Performance). www.lilydia.com
ArtsEmerson is Emerson College’s professional presenting and producing organization. As part of an institution that believes in fostering creativity, passion, excellence, and inclusivity, we are using art to bring the world to Boston, and to bring Boston together.
Founded in 2018, CHUANG Stage is the first Mandarin- English bilingual, bicultural theater company nationwide; its mission is to cultivate joyful and challenging Asian American stories that pioneer new activism in the arts.
Pao Arts Center’s interactive Lunar New Year activities are back!
Experience interactive cultural activities for all ages, including: Chinese red envelope folding, Korean calligraphy, Korean dasik cookie stamping on clay, and rabbit-related crafts.
Suggested Donation $10
COVID-19 Policy:
All visitors are required to be masked during the duration of the event.
Children ages 5-12 are invited to join this interactive workshop. Parents and siblings are welcome to watch.
Sessions
11:30 AM - Noon
1:00 - 1:30 PM
2:00 - 2:30 PM
Korean Dasik cookie stamping on clay and Korean calligraphy demonstrations with The Korean Cultural Society of Boston
Red Envelope Activity with Lily Xie
Year of the Rabbit Puppet-Making with Harvard Asian American Brotherhood
Korean Cultural Society of Boston logo
Korean Cultural Society of Boston
Founded in October, 2012, the Korean Cultural Society of Boston (KCSB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and provides opportunities for the Greater Boston area to learn and engage with arts, culture, and heritage of Korea while simultaneously empowering and promoting the Korean American community.
Portrait of Lily Xie, Photo Credit: Mel Taing
Lily Xie
Lily Xie (she/her) is a Chinese-American artist and educator whose socially-engaged work explores desire, memory, and self-actualization for communities of color. In collaboration with local residents and grassroots organizers, she facilitates creative projects with a focus on public space, housing, and racial justice.
Nüwa Athletic Club
Nüwa Athletic Club
Nüwa Athletic Club, based in Boston, MA, provides an environment for Asian American girls and women to enhance their physical and emotional development through teamwork, sportsmanship and cultural activities which includes but is not limited to lion and dragon dance.
Photo of Harvard Asian American Brotherhood
Harvard Asian American Brotherhood
The Asian American Brotherhood is a pan-Asian organization from Harvard University that hosts various cultural affinity events centered around the Asian experience.
Supported by
Headshot of Leo Eguchi, Photo Credit: Justine Cooper
UNACCOMPANIED, A Classical Music Performance by Leo Eguchi
Boston-based cellist Leo Eguchi presents: UNACCOMPANIED, a performance featuring eight short new works for solo cello which explore personal stories of immigration and American assimilation. Each of the commissioned works is by immigrant and first-generation American composers tasked with tackling the question, “What does your American-ness sound like?”
Read more about the project’s development in our interview with Leo Eguchi.
Free | Suggested Donation $10
All visitors are required to be masked during the duration of the performance. Performers may be unmasked while performing.
About the Artists
Headshot of Leo Eguchi, Photo Credit: Justine Cooper
Leo Eguchi has been described as “copiously skilled and confident” (New York Times) with performances that were "ravishing" (New Bedford Standard-Times) and "played with passion and vitality" (Boston Music Intellegencer).
A native of Michigan, Leo has performed extensively across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. An active soloist and chamber musician who believes in the power of music for social change, he is the co-founder and co-artistic director of both the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival and Sheffield Chamber Players, and performs with Shelter Music Boston, which delivers classical music to homeless shelters and substance misuse recovery centers. Leo is the principal cellist of the New Bedford Symphony, a member of Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, New Hampshire Music Festival and the Portland Symphony Orchestras; and appears frequently with the Boston Pops.
A strong advocate of new music, Leo has worked closely with, and premiered dozens of solo and chamber works by many of today’s most important composers, including Jessie Montgomery, Gabriela Lena Frank, Osvaldo Golijov, Reena Esmail, William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, George Crumb, Lukas Foss, Joan Tower, Ken Ueno, Yehudi Wyner, and Daniel Bernard Roumain.
Recent performing highlights include being a prize winner at the 2021 ProCello International Cello Competition, having several GRAMMY nominated recording releases from Parma recordings, multiple concerto appearances, an artist residency and solo performances in Kabul, Afghanistan, and opportunities to share the non-classical stage with the likes of Pete Townshend, Queen Latifah, Melissa Etheridge, Demi Lovato, Brian Wilson, Kelly Clarkson, Peter Gabriel, Billy Idol, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Jonas, Josh Groban, and Audra McDonald, to name a few.
Leo is on the music faculty of Boston College, and is the Assistant Conductor of the MIT Symphony Orchestra. His degrees include a BM (Cello Performance) and BS (Physics) cum laude from the University of Michigan, and MM (Cello Performance) from Boston University, where he received the String Department Award for Excellence. Leo, along with violinist wife Sasha Callahan and cat-obsessed daughter Freya, live in Boston and spend their non-musical time appreciating the outdoors, food, and wine.
Self Portrait of James Díaz, Photo Credit: James Díaz
Called “stark, haunting elegance” with “intimate focus” by The Washington Post, the music of Colombian-born composer/sound maker James Díaz strives to create unique sonic textures, sound masses, and interactive environments. Deeply influenced by the concept of psychedelia, his music also draws from elements of graphic design, Latin-America landscapes, and photography. James is currently working on his studio album “[speaking in a foreign language]” with violinist Julia Suh.
Colombian composer/sound maker James Díaz, currently based in Philadelphia/New York, composes music that strives to create unique sonic textures, sound masses, and interactive environments. Deeply influenced by the concept of psychedelia, his music also draws from elements of architecture, Latin-America landscapes, graphic design, and photography. He was recently featured in The Washington Post‘s “22 for ’22: Composers and performers to watch this year."
Serving as the 2019 composer-in-residence for the Medellin Philharmonic, James premiered "RETRO", his concerto for orchestra and electronics.
James has won multiple international and national awards, such as the 2015 National Prize of Music in Composition from the Colombian Ministry of Culture for "Saturn Lights", his concerto for percussion trio and orchestra. His orchestral piece "Frack[in]g" was awarded the 2018 Bogotá Philharmonic Prize in Composition. Similarly, James has been a fellow at the Orchestra of St. Luke’s DeGaetano Institute, the American Composers Orchestra's Underwood Readings, the Nashville Symphony Composers Lab, the Loretto Project, the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, and the International Winter Festival of Campos do Jordao.
His music has been performed by orchestras such as the WDR Sinfonieorchester, Basel Sinfonietta, National Symphony of Colombia, American Composers Orchestra, Medellin Philharmonic, Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Bogotá Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and EAFIT Symphony, and by ensembles such as Longleash, Yarn/Wire, Sō Percussion, Unheard-of//ensemble, Efferus Quartet, Apply Triangle, Quartet121, Camará Ensamble, ZOFO, and National Sawdust Ensemble.
Similarly, as collaboration with filmmaker/producer Leticia Akel Escárate, his film music has been presented at the SIFF Seattle International Film Festival ShortsFest, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Madrid FCM-PNR Festival, Cinemaissí Festival (Finland), and the Huesca, Quito, Sao Paulo, and Santiago international festivals.
James is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at the University of Pennsylvania as a Benjamin Franklin fellow.
Head Shot of Milad Yousufi, Photo Credit: Virginia L. S. Friere
Milad Yousufi was born in 1995 during the civil war in Afghanistan. At that time the Taliban were ruling Afghanistan, and music was completely banned. At the age of two he started drawing. He drew the piano keys on paper and pretended to play.
Milad Yousufi is a pianist, composer, conductor, poet, singer, painter and calligrapher. Yousufi’s work is deeply inspired by his country and culture.
When the Taliban rule was lifted after a period of five years, the arts flourished in Afghanistan, and Yousufi took advantage of every opportunity to learn and study music and art. By the age of 12 he was teaching painting and was able to attend the one and only music school in Kabul. After only three years of formal piano training, Yousufi was one of four students accepted into a music program in Denmark; He was also chosen to represent Afghanistan at various music festivals in The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Germany. He placed third in the International Golden Key competition in Frankfurt, Germany.
Upon his return to Afghanistan, Yousufi concentrated on teaching piano, theory, and a course of music notation program (Sibelius) at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.
In 2011 The Afghan Youth Orchestra was formed. Yousufi was the pianist and then became the first Afghan conductor and arranged music for their performances.
In 2013 the Afghan Youth Orchestra made a U.S. tour playing sold-out concerts in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and New England Conservatory where he performed as a pianist.
Upon moving to the United States, Yousufi was awarded a full scholarship to attend Mannes School of Music as an undergraduate and studied piano with the world-renowned pianist Simone Dinnerstein. Yousufi had the opportunity to study jazz piano and improvisation with Uri Caine, orchestration with Rudolph Palmer, music arrangement with Jacob Garchik and Matt Haimovitz and film music with Micheal Bacon from the Bacon Brothers.Yousufi has graduated from Mannes School of Music in spring 2020 and currently pursuing masters degree in composition under Dr. Dalit Warshaw's mentorship at Brooklyn College. Yousufi has had the opportunity to compose for The New York Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, premiered at Lincoln Center; Refugee Orchestra Project; Kronos Quartet, premiered in Carnegie Hall; Worcester Music, South High Community School Brass Band, Terezin Music Foundation, premiered in Boston Symphony Hall. Refugee Orchestra, premiered at the Barbican Center in London, Pianist Yael Weiss for 32 Bright Clouds: (Beethoven Conversation Around the World), Winsor Music, Trio Solisti, Burncoat High School Orchestra, Worcester Chamber Music Society, Upcoming commissions include The VISION Collective, Cellist Leo Eguchi, Choral piece for Old Ship Church, Musaics of the Bay and Raleigh Civic Symphony Orchestra. Milad Yousufi is on the directory board of Musaics of the Bay, The VISION Collective, and an ambassador for Arium TV. Yousufi is a faculty member at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
Yousufi has a dream to make a difference in the future of music and culture in Afghanistan.
Head Shot of Kenji Bunch, Photo Credit: Erica Lyn
Kenji Bunch is one of America’s most engaging, influential, and prolific composers. Through an expansive blend of classical and vernacular styles, Bunch makes music that’s “clearly modern but deeply respectful of tradition and instantly enjoyable.” (The Washington Post) Deemed “emotional Americana,” (Oregon ArtsWatch) and infused with folk and roots influences, Bunch’s work has inspired a new genre classification: “Call it neo-American: casual on the outside, complex underneath, immediate and accessible to first-time listeners… Bunch’s music is shiningly original.” (The Oregonian) Hailed by The New York Times as “A Composer To Watch” and cited by Alex Ross in his seminal book The Rest Is Noise, Bunch’s wit, lyricism, unpredictability, and exquisite craftsmanship earn acclaim from audiences, performers, and critics alike. His interests in history, philosophy, and intergenerational and cross-cultural sharing of the arts reflect in his work. Varied style references in Bunch's writing mirror the diversity of global influence on American culture and reveal his deft ability to integrate bluegrass, hip hop, jazz, and funk idioms. Rich, tonal harmonies and drawn-out, satisfying builds characterize Bunch’s work and easily lend themselves to dance and film. Over sixty American orchestras have performed Bunch’s music, which “reache(s) into every section of the orchestra to create an intriguing mixture of sonic colors.” (NW Reverb) As the inaugural Composer in Residence for the Moab Music Festival (2021), Bunch composed Lost Freedom: A Memory in collaboration with and starring actor George Takei as the narrator of his own writings, interwoven with chamber ensemble. Other recent works include commissions and premieres from the Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Lark Quartet, Britt Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Music From Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, Eugene Ballet, Third Angle New Music, Grant Park Music Festival, and 45th Parallel (2020 Composer in Residence). His extensive discography includes recordings on Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, RCA, and Naxos labels among others. Also an outstanding violist, Bunch was the first student ever to receive dual Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in viola and composition from The Juilliard School and was a founding member of the highly acclaimed ensembles Flux Quartet (1996-2002) and Ne(x)tworks (2003-2011). Bunch currently serves as Artistic Director of Fear No Music, directs MYSfits, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s conductorless string orchestra, and teaches viola, composition, and music theory at Portland State University, Reed College, and for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.
Self Portrait of José Luis Hurtado, Photo Credit: José Luis Hurtado
Winner of a 2020 John Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Mexican born-American composer José-Luis Hurtado’s music has been performed across continents by ensembles and soloists such as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, JACK Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble ICE, Talea Ensemble, Earplay Ensemble, Juilliard Ensemble, New York Miniaturist Ensemble, Seattle Chamber Players, Iowa CNM Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort,The Ikarus Chamber Players, SEM Ensemble, Sigma Project Sax Quartet,The North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra, Interensemble, Concorde Ensemble, Quinteto Latino, Ensamble 3, Ensamble Ónix,Versus 8 Percussion Quartet, Orquesta Uninorte, Orquesta Sinfónica de Guanajuato, Orquesta Sinfónica de San Luis Potosí, Camerata de las Amérícas, CEPROMUSIC Ensemble, Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Quatuor Molinari, Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien, Stephen Drury, Émile Girard-Charest, Lora Kmieliauskaite,Tony Arnold, Garth Knox, Claire Chase, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and the Arditti String Quartet among others.
He has been the recipient of the Kompositionspreis der Stadt Wolkersdorf (Austria), the Harvard University Green Prize for Excellence in Composition (USA), the Rodolfo Halffter Ibero-American Composition Prize,The Adelbert W. Sprague Prize (USA),The George Arthur Knight Prize (USA), the Micro-Jornadas de Composición y Música Contemporánea Prize (Argentina), the Julián Carrillo Composition Prize (Mexico), El Premio Estatal de Composición del Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea de Michoacán (Mexico), the José Tocavén Lavín Medal in recognition of his artistic trajectory, 2nd prize in the Troisieme Concours International de composition du Quatuor Molinari (Canada), 2nd prize in the Ariel Piano Composition Competition,Third Prize Winner of the National SCI/ASCAP Composition Competition, and finalist of The Earplay Composition Competition,The Look & Listen Festival Composition Competition and The Jeunesses International Composition Competition (Romania). Grants and Fellowships include those from the National Endowment for the Arts of Mexico, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (USA), Ibermúsicas, the American Music Center, and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (Italy). He has just been named member of the prestigious Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte grant in recognition of a distinguished artistic trajectory.The SNCA is a government supported program that converges the most renown artists of Mexico, including writers, visual artists, dancers, film makers, and composers.
He is currently working on commissions for bassonist Ben Roidl-Ward, bass clarinetist Gleb Kanasevich, saxophonist Philipp Stäudlin, CRAS Danish Guitar Ensemble, flutist Camilla Hoitenga, German percussionist Magdalena Meitzner, cellist Leo Eguchi, Spanish Vertixe Sonora Ensemble, and an interdisciplinary concertante piece for a child pianist, string orchestra, percussion, and fixed media supported by the John Guggenheim Foundation. Premieres and performances of his pieces during 2021, 2022, and 2023 are taking place in Lithuania, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Mexico,Argentina, and the US.
His second CD portrait, which features NY based Talea Ensemble performing six of his most recent compositions for large ensemble of 16 members, will be released at the end of March of 2021 under the prestigious Kairos recording label. Many of his works can be heard on ATMA Clasique (Canada), New Focus Recordings (USA), Con Brio Records (USA) and Urtext (Mexico). His music is published and distributed by Babel Scores, a french publisher specialist in new music.
In addition to his compositional career, he is highly active as a pianist and music advocate. He is the pianist of Low Frequency Trio (Contemporary Bass clarinet, double bass, and piano ensemble), founding member of áltaVoz (Latin- American composers collaborative in the U.S), founder and curator of La Mansion de la Cantante Muda (an interdisciplinary festival of contemporary music, film, and storytelling at the Leonora Carrington Museum in Mexico), and former director of The Harvard Group for New Music.
Hurtado holds degrees in piano performance and composition from Conservatorio de las Rosas (Morelia, Mexico), a Master of Music in Composition from Universidad Veracruzana (Xalapa, Mexico) and a Ph.D. from Harvard University where he studied under Mario Davidovsky, Chaya Czernowin, Magnus Lindberg, Brian Ferneyhough and Helmut Lachenmann.
Hurtado is currently Associate Professor of Theory and Composition at the University of New Mexico where he also founded, directs and curates the Music from the Americas Concert Series.
Head Shot of Shaw Pong Liu, Photo Credit: Robert Torres
Violinist and composer Shaw Pong Liu engages diverse communities through multidisciplinary collaborations, creative music and social dialogue. Her project Code Listen, which she started as City of Boston Artist-in-Residence in 2016, uses songwriting and performances to support healing and dialogue around violence, racism, and police practices, in collaboration with the Boston Police Department, teen artists, family members surviving homicide and local musicians.
Ongoing projects include the song-sharing project Sing Home which she leads as Artist-in-Residence at the Pao Arts Center in Boston’s Chinatown, and composing music for Conference of the Birds, an international multimedia collaboration with choreographer Wendy Jehlen's Anikaya Dance Theatre and dancers from 8 countries.
Previous projects include Sunbar, connecting Bostonians with sunlight, warmth, and each other during cold winter months, with the vision of a future mobile solarium; What Artists Knead, a series of breadmaking parties across five neighborhoods in Boston for artists to bake bread and discuss their ideas for Boston's creative future; Water Graffiti for Peace, a series of outdoor Chinese water calligraphy sessions inviting public play and conversations about peace; A Bird a Day, exploring birdsong, sunrises and composition (resulting in a site-specific composition for 18 solo string players in three tiers of balconies); and Soldiers’ Tales Untold, a musical-narrative production mixing veterans’ stories, live music, and audience dialogue about war. In addition to violin, she also performs as a vocalist, erhu (Chinese violin) player, and even performed as an aerialist (aerial silks with Whistler in the Dark theatre company’s production of “Tales From Ovid”).
Shaw Pong is is a founding member of Play for Justice, a network of musicians and artists in Boston supporting social justice causes. Her compositions have been commissioned by Silkroad Ensemble for the Freer-Sackler Museum, Anikaya Dance Theatre, A Far Cry, Lorelei Ensemble, and pianist Sarah Bob. As a violinist she performs with groups including Silk Road Ensemble, MIT’s Gamelan GalakTika, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Ludovico Ensemble, and Castle of Our Skins. She has worked as a teaching artist with Yo-Yo Ma's Youth Music Culture Guangzhou, the New England Conservatory of Music, the Urbano Project, Celebrity Series, Cantata Singers, Young Audiences, and is a founding faculty at the Cuerdas Oaxaca strings chamber music festival in Mexico.
A graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a Masters in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, Shaw Pong was an Expressing Boston Public Art Fellow in 2014-15; artist-ethnographer for Boston's cultural planning initiative, Boston Creates in 2015; one of three Artist-in-Residence for the City of Boston's first Artist-in-Residence program in 2016; and 2017-18 Artist-in-Residence at the Pao Arts Center in Boston Chinatown. She is a 2018-19 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow.
Head Shot of Earl Maneein, Photo Credit: Max R. Sequeira
Earl Maneein was born and raised in Queens, NY. He began studying classical violin at age four. Later, he discovered extreme music in October of 1989 at an all ages show in the basement of Our Lady of Lourdes in Queens Village. There he saw the hardcore band No Redeeming Social Value and was accidentally punched in the face by a “SHARP” skinhead in the mosh pit. He has never been the same since.
He received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Queens College and a Master of Music Degree from the Mannes College of Music in New York City, where he studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet.
Earl has made a career for himself by wearing different hats. As a composer, he has received commissions from Rachel Barton Pine (international concert violinist), Tito Muñoz (music director of the Phoenix Symphony), Masumi Rostad (violist of the Pacifica String Quartet), The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, The Dance Theater of Harlem, The Francesca Harper Dance Company, and Zentripetal Duo.
Earl also regularly composes for his two projects, the experimental grindcore-improvisatory-jazz-metal duo Black Heart Sutra, and his new music/hardcore crossover string quartet SEVEN)SUNS, whose first full length album, "For The Hearts Still Beating", was released on Party Smasher Inc. in June 2017.
Earl’s violin concerto "Dependent Arising" received its World Premiere by Rachel Barton Pine with Tito Muñoz conducting the Phoenix Symphony in April of 2017. It is scheduled for more performances for the 2018-19 season with the Orchestre Symphonique Bretagne in Rennes, France and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
Praised by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo as a “kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries”, Earl’s expertise in extreme music is much sought after by musicians in the hardcore/metal community and beyond. Among the artists Earl has collaborated with as a metal and hardcore specialist are Janet Biggs (visual artist), Blake Fleming (original drummer of The Mars Volta), Jessica Pimentel (Orange is the New Black, Alekhine’s Gun), the bands Blood Has Been Shed, So Hideous, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Earl and his string quartet SEVEN)SUNS were featured prominently on The Dillinger Escape Plan’s final album, “Dissociation”, released at the end of 2016.
As a freelance violinist and violist Earl is comfortable and skilled in varied styles including but not limited to classical, bluegrass, orthodox Jewish music, jazz and rock.
Earl tours as a featured player of Vitamin String Quartet.
He has recorded and played with such varied artists and groups as Albert Hammond Jr. of the Strokes, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Avraham Fried, Florence+The Machine, Jay-Z, Mordechai Ben David, Paul Weller of The Jam, Rhianna, The Roots, and Sean Lennon, among others.
Earl has played on countless commercial recording works including: the 2010 Monster.com Superbowl ad; incidental music for the Nickelodeon show Team Umizoomi; and “Rising Sun”, the theme song for the WWE wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura.
Earl lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife (and SEVEN)SUNS cellist), Jennifer and their daughter.
Head Shot of Kareem Roustom, Photo Credit: John Robson
Syrian-American Kareem Roustom is an Emmy-nominated composer whose genre crossing collaborations include music commissioned by conductor Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, arrangements for pop icons Shakira and Tina Turner, as well as a recent collaboration with acclaimed British choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh. Roustom has been composer-in-residence at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, and with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen in Germany. For the 2021-2022 season Roustom will be composer-in-residence with the Mannheim Philharmonic.
Roustom’s music has been performed by ensembles that include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Boulez Ensemble, the Deutsch Oper Berlin, The Crossing choir, Lorelei Ensemble, A Far Cry, and at renowned festivals and halls such as the BBC Proms, the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Verbier Festival, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and others.
Roustom has received commissions from the Malmö Symphony Orchestra (Sweden), the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Düsseldorfer Symphonkier, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Grant Park Music Festival, the Daniel Barenboim Stiftung, the Pierre Boulez Saal, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, the Royal Philharmonic Society & Sadler’s Wells Theatre (London), A Far Cry & Lorelei Ensemble and others. Roustom’s music has also been recorded by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester (Berlin), and the Philharmonia Orchestra (London). Upcoming performances of Roustom’s music during the 2021 – 2022 season include the Mannheim Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, and at the Grange Festival in Hampshire, England. The Chicago Tribune wrote that Roustom is “a gifted and accomplished artist, one of the most prominent active Arab-American composers,” BBC Radio3 described Roustom’s music as “among the most distinctive to have emerged from the Middle East”, and The New York Times described it as “propulsive, colorful and immediately appealing.” The Guardian (London) wrote that Roustom’s music is “arrestingly quirky and postmodern…music with lots of personality.” Roustom holds the position of Professor of the Practice at Tufts University’s Department of Music in Boston. More details available at www.kr-music.com.
Head Shot of Frank Duarte, Photo Credit: Wes Kreisel
Frank Duarte (b. 1992) is an American composer, songwriter, conductor, writer, and poet. His music, inspired by his upbringings, transcends conventional boundaries creating a programmatic approach full of luxuriant emotion, perception of color, and a palette of sonorities that make it organic and innate. Recipient of two Global Music Awards, Duarte has been granted two ASCAP Plus Awards and has had works performed throughout the United States (Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, North Carolina, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan, Utah, Virginia), Japan (Kyoto, Seto, Nagoya), Greece, and the Republic of Colombia by professionals and secondary, collegiate, and community ensembles.
His music has been featured throughout universities including in seminars and conferences at Ball State University, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Universidad of Cauca, and recitals and concerts at California State University, Northridge, Eastern Connecticut State University, Fullerton College, Henderson State University, Michigan State University, Mills College, Snow College, Texas Tech University, and the University of North Texas among others. His music has also been featured by Composers Circle and the online radio station Kinetics Radio. The Green Band Association, an organization that sponsors Japanese bands to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade, programmed his works three times in 2012, 2014, and 2017 for their charitable benefit concerts. His compositions have also been featured in books, journals, and academic papers.
Born in Southern California, Duarte was primarily raised by his Indigenous Mexican (Zapotec) maternal family in Santa Ana, California, located within Metropolitan Los Angeles. Duarte earned Associate of Arts degrees in Music and History and degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies, emphasizing in Science and Mathematics, Arts and Human Expression, and Social Sciences from Fullerton College. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from California State University, Northridge, and a Master of Music Degree in Composition from Butler University. Duarte attended Texas Tech University and was a doctoral student in composition. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student in Composition at Michigan State University as an awardee of a Michigan State University Fellowship.
His previous mentors and teachers have included Anthony Mazzaferro, Michael Colburn (Conducting), and Liviu Marinescu, Milen Kirov, Michael Schelle, James Mulholland, and Jennifer Jolley (Composition). He previously served as an Instructor of Record, teaching composition at Texas Tech University. His works are published or distributed through Murphy Music Press, Tolliver Music Company, and ADJ•ective New Music. Duarte is a member of ADJ•ective New Music Composers' Collective and Landscape Music, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and an alumnus of Beta Theta Pi.
Image Courtesy of Boston Asian American Film Festival
“Convergent Waves: Boston” by Lenora Lee Dance, in collaboration with Pao Arts Center, celebrates the contributions of activists and non-profit leaders, reclaiming space by eliciting stories of community agency, resilience, and transformation. Inspired by rich narrative, this work represents a powerful call for community oriented development in the face of rapid change, making a collective statement for the preservation of community as neighborhoods across the country inhabited for generations face cultural erosion, loss of businesses, and displacement through gentrification. “Convergent Waves: Boston” highlights successes in preserving the cultural fabric and accomplishments of these communities.
The Convergent Waves: Boston film screening is a part of the 2022 Boston Asian American Film Festival “Boston Chinatown Artivism” day, co-presented by Pao Arts Center. Learn more about the film festival and the see the full schedule here.
Ticket Prices: $5 - $15
Emerson Paramount Theater
Film Screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with all four directors of the day’s films: Xinyan Fu, Curtis Chan, Kenneth Eng, and Lenora Lee.
Headshot of Lenora Lee, Photo Credit: Hien Huynh
Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) integrates contemporary dance, film, music, and research and has gained increasing attention for its sustained pursuit of issues related to immigration, incarceration, global conflict, and its impacts, particularly on women and families. LLD creates works that are both set in public and private spaces, intimate and at the same time large-scale, inspired by individual stories as well as community strength, at times crafted for the proscenium, or underwater, or in the air, at at times are site-responsive, immersive, and interactive. For the last 14 years, the company has been pushing the envelope of large scale multimedia and immersive dance performance that connects various styles of movement and music to culture, history, and human rights issues. Its work has grown to encompass the creation, presentation, and screening of films, museum and gallery installations, civic engagement, and educational programming.
Murals: August 26 - October 28, 2022
Live Performances: September 8, September 15, September 24
Exhibition Opening: September 22
This fall, see, hear, create, and connect. Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities.
Performances will happen rain or shine! In case of inclement weather, performances will be at Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany Street. Masks will be required indoors.
Enjoy lively murals and installation by: Anna Dugan, Maria Fong, Amanda Beard Garcia, Ashley Jin, Victoria Lai, Katelyn Lipton, Ponnapa Prakkamakul, Jenny Tran, Nell Valle
Create your own self-paced tour:
APM coffee: 99 Kneeland St, Boston, MA 02111, Coffee is always beautiful, Amanda Beard Garcia
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC): 38 Ash Street, Boston, MA 02111, A Soft Place to Land, by Ashley Jin
Crave Chinatown: 75 Kneeland St, Boston, MA 02111, Wing to Wing, Victoria Lai and Jenny Tran
Liuyishou Hotpot Boston: 702 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111, Tigers Hot Pot Together, Nell Valle
Happy Lamb Hotpot Boston: 693 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111, Mga Babae Ngayon At Kahapon - Women Today and Yesterday, Anna Dugan
Dumpling Cafe: 695 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111, Intergenerational Persistence, Maria Fong
Q Restaurant: 660 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111, Together Everywhere, Ponnapa Prakkamakul
WakuWaku: 2 Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111, In the Clouds, Katelyn Lipton
Coffee is always beautiful by Amanda Beard Garcia at APM coffee (99 Kneeland St, Boston, MA 02111)
“Small moments of comfort and joy make a community special: like picking up coffee in an unfamiliar spot that quickly becomes your morning go-to; running into an old friend on your way to the park; gathering at abundant round tables with family; visiting your favorite local bakery to order a treat that’s been mastered over decades. Pockets of home away from home.”
A Soft Place to Land by Ashley Jin at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) (38 Ash Street, Boston, MA 02111)
“Since a key part of BCNC’s mission is to support local families, I wanted to speak directly to the community they serve about what makes Chinatown special. Through conversations with Red Oak youth and Youth Center interns, it was clear they valued the delicious and cheap eats from the neighborhood. They also talked about Chinatown’s importance because of the tight knit community, resources for new immigrants, and activism against gentrification. For the final image, I aimed to incorporate these themes of food as nourishment, and a common thread that ties a community together to empower social change. I also couldn’t resist honoring one Red Oak student’s enthusiastic request to make a mural with “lots of flowers and butterflies!” Just as butterflies and flowers have a symbiotic relationship to feed and grow, the people and resources in Chinatown need each other to create a more resilient community for all.”
Wing to Wing by Victoria Lai and Jenny Tran at Crave Chinatown (75 Kneeland St, Boston, MA 02111)
“Wing to Wing is a collaborative mural created by Victoria Lai and Jenny Tran that gained inspiration from the symbolic meaning of cranes in many cultures across Asia. Some cranes, depending on the species, are migratory birds. Throughout different parts of Asia, cranes represent happiness, longevity, youth, and good fortune. The basis of Chinatown is a community that arrived from different regions of Asia- the unity of cultures and people. Those who came far from the familiarity of their homeland built a new home for generations to come, many of whom find safety within Chinatown. No matter where they fly to and stand together, the community will thrive.“
Tigers Hot Pot Together by Nell Valle at Liuyishou Hotpot Boston (702 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111)
“Tigers Hot Pot Together celebrates the vibrant community in Chinatown and the Year of the Tiger. Chinatown has always been like coming home for many people including myself. It has given us a sense of belonging. It’s exciting going out for hot pot with friends. The smell and taste of the broth and food that’s been made with gentle care are comforting and unforgettable. I wanted to capture the feeling of love, community, and joy with my tiger characters. Their warmth and excitement for hot pot and for each other signify the beauty and the coming together of this community. Chinatown has faced hardships, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This and other forms of art serve as symbols of the hope and resilience we have. This place means something. This place is a home and we’re here to stay.”
Mga Babae Ngayon At Kahapon - Women Today and Yesterday by Anna Dugan at Happy Lamb Hotpot Boston (693 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111)
“What makes a community special? The women of today and yesterday. None of us would be here without the sacrifices and strength of the women who came before us. Asian women today carry on the legacy of our mothers and grandmothers and so on, while continuing to evolve the roles our ancestors once held into what it means to be an Asian woman today. Each face is a woman in the Chinatown community who carries these nuanced ties to their ancestors, to their fellow women, and to themselves. I invite women in the community to picture themselves among the women painted and to celebrate themselves as part of a larger powerful legacy.
Featuring the faces of: (L-R) Amanda Beard Garcia, Anna Dugan, Sophia Chen, Ashley Yung, Cynthia Yee, and Alison Qu”
Intergenerational Persistence by Maria Fong at Dumpling Cafe (695 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111)
“Intergenerational Persistence is a window mural paying homage to Chinatown garment factory workers, to their families, and to the delicious 小笼包 (soup dumplings) available at the mural's site, Dumpling Cafe. Organized immigrant women in the garment industry were instrumental in Boston Chinatown's activist history, fostering worker solidarity and mobilization around community issues. Through persistent effort, generations of Chinatown residents can thrive. 水滴石穿”
Together Everywhere by Ponnapa Prakkamakul at Q Restaurant (660 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111)
“This mural is inspired by Chinese Dragon Dance as a symbol for community. Historically, local villagers gather annually to do a dragon dance to entertain a rain deity for rainwater and good harvest. Nowadays, even without a dragon dance, it still takes a village to make good food. The stitching and sewing details reflect on the history of the place which used to be a part of the Leather District. The design of this mural is to celebrate and honor the people that make food for us. These people include the ones who farm, fish, harvest, deliver, cook, and serve - especially restaurants in Boston Chinatown. Community gatherings can also be seen inside Q Restaurant, since hot pot is a communal dining experience. Eating hot pot creates a sense of sharing, togetherness, and trust.”
In the Clouds by Katelyn Lipton at WakuWaku (2 Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111)
“People often overlook the diversity of birds, and different species blend together to the untrained eye. Many are migrants and symbolize the beauty of crossing boundaries. The birds pictured are the national birds of Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Japan - Blue Magpie, Magpie, Red-crowned Crane, and Green Pheasant. Chinatown acts as a meeting place for generations of immigrants of all backgrounds to connect and celebrate their different cultures. People often come from different places, and their shared experiences of migration and building a new home bring them together in this unique neighborhood.”
Residence Lab Activation at Tufts Community Common 186 Harrison Street
Interact with artwork by Residence Lab 2022 participants Amanda, Xingyao, Yanna, Victoria, Peiqiong, Niq, Ann, Allison, and Winnie that respond to the theme, “Radical Inclusion.” Residence Lab is a partnership between Pao Arts Center and Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) to empower and train artists and residents to collectively preserve the Chinatown community through creative and artistic space activation. This year’s installation is supported by Tufts University.
Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park
Performers: shiori_kubrick, Orca Bones
Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park
Performers: Maddie Lam, Shaw Pong Liu, and Maple Leaf Senior Dancers
Opening Reception | GHOST ROOTS: A New Ganggangsullae
Through GHOST ROOTS, Multi-disciplinary Artist Soyoung L. Kim explores the possibilities of a future of solidarity, care, and celebration through the stories of two Asian American women.
Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park
Performers: Alex Wan’s Group, Anju, Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy
Endurance Streets, Opening Day \ Chinese Historical Society of New England and Tisch College’s Program for Public Humanities at Tufts University
Endurance Streets 堅韌的街道: Resilience and Response in Boston’s Chinese Community is a two-part bilingual installation of public-facing window panels at Two Boylston Street and 116 Harrison Ave (corner of Kneeland Street). Join CHSNE for a meet and greet!
Amanda Beard Garcia (she/her) is a multiracial, second generation Chinese American and a muralist, illustrator, and graphic designer based in Dracut, MA. Amanda is co-founder and principal of Likemind Design, a custom mural and design studio with a mission to elevate the brands of small, independently-owned businesses “just like us.” When she's not creating, you can usually find her wandering rock concerts, home-improving, and being trailed by her pets Pica and Mei-Mei.
Anna Dugan, also known as artist Annadidathing, is a mixed race Filipino American mural artist based out of Salem, MA. Anna's work celebrates her heritage, navigates the complexities of identity as a mixed race person, and creates space for vulnerable & honest discussion on the concepts of identity, growth, community, and mental health. Anna dives into these complex themes through vibrant colors, patterns, storytelling, and modern folk art inspired styles.
Maria Fong is an artist from Berkeley, California. A 2021 graduate of the BFA program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Maria works in hand drawn and stop motion animation, drawing, performance art, and bookmaking. Maria's collaborative artworks explore racialized and politicized spaces, community building, and participatory storytelling.
Ashley Jin is a Chinese-American artist based in Somerville, MA. She works primarily in drawing and printmaking, and blends prose and image to explore memory, growing pains, and Asian-American identity. She currently studies at Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and is interested in the ways that art can leverage coalition building in marginalized communities. In her free time, Ashley enjoys reading, cooking, listening to music, and asking people if they identify more as avocados or onions.
I'm Victoria Lai and a junior Illustration student with a minor in Animation. I'm a 2022 ResLab artist that also volunteers at multiple non-profit organizations such as Rise Up Animation and Asian Queens in Animation, where I create social media graphics amplifying BIPOC voices and strengthening bonds within these communities. Currently, I'm working as a freelance character designer in animation, who hopes to continue creating characters to share underrepresented stories and experiences across the globe. In my free time, I enjoy making earrings and necklaces by giving new life to old pieces of jewelry I've collected over the years!
Katelyn Lipton is a Korean American artist who uses her art as a tool of expression, healing and manifestation. She explores the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world often depicting her admiration of birds. Lipton’s art practice also celebrates her Korean heritage, as symbols and motifs from Korean folk art influence her work.
Ponnapa is an artist and landscape architect based in Massachusetts. Her work overlaps between fine art and landscape design focusing on the relationship between human and the surrounding environment. Ponnapa holds a Master’s agree in Landscape Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. She was a Residence Lab artist in 2019 and co-created a design for “Where We Belong” with ACDC’s A-VOYCE youth in 2021. Her work has been featured in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and the Provincetown Banner. Ponnapa currently is a member at Kingston Gallery and a registered landscape architect at the interdisciplinary design firm, Sasaki.
I am a Vietnamese-American artist who is based in Boston. Currently, I am studying graphic design and have an interest in illustration and painting. What drives my passion for design is hearing about the experiences of others in relation to each piece.
Being a Chinese-American adoptee and having grown up in a predominantly white suburb, Chinatown has always felt like home to Nell. The rich history, culture, and food has comforted her while navigating bustling Boston and learning about her culture. She loves dim sum with friends and trying different bubble tea drinks. Her favorite now is lychee green tea with white pearls from Gong Cha.
Nell is a Boston-based illustrator who graduated from MassArt with a BFA in illustration and minor in creative writing. She is currently attending Lesley University for her Master’s in Art Education while working freelance illustration.
Alex Wan’s Group is a Boston based band performs in Boston, NYC, LA, Hong Kong. Featuring Alex Wan (Guitar/Vocals), Yukiko Fujii (Bass/Vocals), Ted Wan (Guitar/Vocals), Brian Calabro (Drums)
Anju is a singer, songwriter, producer, and performer shaped by the people and places in Minnesota and Massachusetts. Their music conjures imaginary lovers, scents of citrus, and visions of hairy brown skin under the sun. Anju was highlighted by NPR’s All Songs Considered as an outstanding Tiny Desk Contest entrant, and they were commissioned by South Asian American Digital Archive to create original music for a sound tour of immigrant history in Philadelphia. They are currently teaching piano, violin, and guitar to young musicians and working on their debut full-length album. You can connect and follow their journey @anjutunes on social media and www.anjutunes.com.
Maddie Lam's cloudy indie music is straight from and to the heart. She bravely bares her soul on the stage, a no-frills solo act that captivates with pure presence and honesty. Her songs are carefully constructed and delivered with a delicate vulnerability, taking us cathartically through a difficult subconscious, never losing their tranquil grounding. Born and raised by immigrant parents in the Greater Boston Area, she cultivated softness and truth telling to heal our collective wounds.
Orca Bones is a Boston-based multilingual indie rock band that writes and plays original songs in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Since their formation in 2021, Orca Bones has been playing their unique blend of surf punk, shoegaze, and math rock all around Boston. Their first EP is in the works and forecasted to release on all streaming platforms this autumn. Orca Bones are Jujube K. Wong and Chris Canieso.
Violinist, erhu player and composer Shaw Pong Liu activates dialogue, community-building and healing through listening-based creative collaborations. As City of Boston Artist-in-Residence she created Code Listen, collaborating with mothers who’ve lost sons to homicide, Boston police officers, and teen artists to share stories and create original music for healing and dialogue. Other projects include Sing Home, a community songsharing project in Boston’s Chinatown and Traces, an oral history-based composition exploring residents’ stories in Providence, RI.
shiori_kubrick is a Boston-based Jpop band that draws influence from online Japanese internet culture and indie music. Their music seeks to provide western audiences with an authentic Jpop experience while also delivering a message of hope.
Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy
Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy of Malden & Quincy, MA, is a world-class representative of the Wah Lum Kung Fu of U.S.A., a kung fu system that has roots in Greater Boston for almost 50 years, with robust national and international presence and recognition. The Wah Lum Malden & Quincy Academy has been established for more than 15 years and serves as an anchor for healthy mind, body, spirit, and community development for all ages. Members of Wah Lum Malden & Quincy are not only passionate about promoting the arts of Chinese cultures in dragon dance, lion dance, kung fu, and tai chi, but also committed to meaningful and impactful community and civic leadership.
Maple Leaf Senior Dancers is a group of senior dancers who take weekly dance classes at Pao Arts Center. Their last performance was for Pao Arts Center’s “Nurturing Our Voices” event in winter 2021.
PRESENTING
PLATINUM
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EVENT PRESENTERS
Dr. Elaine Li Shiang and the MeiMei Dumpling Company
BENEFACTOR
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RESTAURANT PARTNERS
Become a Sponsor: Click here or contact Sophia Chen for more information.
In collaboration with Greenway Conservancy, Pao Arts Center and Curator Leslie Anne Condon curates this summer 2022 outdoor performance series which celebrates the cultural power that flows through AAPI communities across the Asian diaspora, in ways that vocalize both struggles and joys. Featuring live performances by Boston-area spoken artists and performers who draw upon a wide range of artistic styles, cultural traditions, and languages from AAPI communities and beyond, the event series activates artist Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong’s YEAR OF THE TIGER installation in Mary Soo Hoo Park. Through their words, dance, creative gestures, and songs, each artist brings greater visibility to our interconnected histories and current realities while offering more playful and empowering visions of our collective future.
Saturday, August 13 | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Performances featuring: Tamiko Beyer, Micah Rose, Juk Sing, and The Flavor Continues.
Free + Suggested Donation $10, Donations go to support Pao Arts Center’s arts and cultural program.
This event is the final of the VISIONS/VOICES: YEAR OF THE TIGER performance series. Through a partnership with the Greenway Conservancy, Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong has been commissioned to create an artwork celebrating the Year of the Tiger, as part of an annual project honoring the Chinese Zodiac on The Greenway. Her upcoming artwork, YEAR OF THE TIGER, is a community pavilion and a site-specific public artwork composed of vibrantly colored seating, podiums and sprawling floor motifs. As both stage and seating, YEAR OF THE TIGER creates a new, intergenerational hub to gather outdoors, perform or engage in public programs. Pao Arts Center is proud to partner with the Greenway to bring public events to Mary Soo Hoo Park.
See the full performance schedule.
About The Artists:
Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong is a New York-based artist working at the boundary of art and architecture. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Cheryl received her B.A. in Art and Italian at UC Berkeley and her Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP. Her work has been commissioned by the NY State Thruway Authority, NYC Parks Department, City of Inglewood, City of Calgary and by the Washington DC Government.
About our Partner:
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
The Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston. The Greenway welcomes millions of visitors annually to gather, play, unwind, and explore. The Greenway Conservancy is the non-profit responsible for the management and care of The Greenway. The majority of the public park’s annual budget is generously provided by private sources.
The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program brings innovative and contemporary art to Boston through free, seasonal exhibitions that engage people in meaningful experiences, interactions, and dialogue with art, each other, and the most pressing issues of our time. Past Greenway exhibitions can be viewed on the Conservancy’s website.
Contact: arts@bcnc.net, 617.863.9080
In collaboration with Greenway Conservancy, Pao Arts Center and Curator Leslie Anne Condon curates this summer 2022 outdoor performance series which celebrates the cultural power that flows through AAPI communities across the Asian diaspora, in ways that vocalize both struggles and joys. Featuring live performances by Boston-area spoken artists and performers who draw upon a wide range of artistic styles, cultural traditions, and languages from AAPI communities and beyond, the event series activates artist Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong’s YEAR OF THE TIGER installation in Mary Soo Hoo Park. Through their words, dance, creative gestures, and songs, each artist brings greater visibility to our interconnected histories and current realities while offering more playful and empowering visions of our collective future.
Saturday, July 16 | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Performances featuring: Cynthia Lin, Lani Asuncion, Subdrift Boston, and Adobo Fish Sauce.
Free + Suggested Donation $10, Donations go to support Pao Arts Center’s arts and cultural program.
This event is the third of the VISIONS/VOICES: YEAR OF THE TIGER performance series. Through a partnership with the Greenway Conservancy, Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong has been commissioned to create an artwork celebrating the Year of the Tiger, as part of an annual project honoring the Chinese Zodiac on The Greenway. Her upcoming artwork, YEAR OF THE TIGER, is a community pavilion and a site-specific public artwork composed of vibrantly colored seating, podiums and sprawling floor motifs. As both stage and seating, YEAR OF THE TIGER creates a new, intergenerational hub to gather outdoors, perform or engage in public programs. Pao Arts Center is proud to partner with the Greenway to bring public events to Mary Soo Hoo Park.
See the full performance schedule.
Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong is a New York-based artist working at the boundary of art and architecture. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Cheryl received her B.A. in Art and Italian at UC Berkeley and her Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP. Her work has been commissioned by the NY State Thruway Authority, NYC Parks Department, City of Inglewood, City of Calgary and by the Washington DC Government.
About our Partner:
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
The Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston. The Greenway welcomes millions of visitors annually to gather, play, unwind, and explore. The Greenway Conservancy is the non-profit responsible for the management and care of The Greenway. The majority of the public park’s annual budget is generously provided by private sources.
The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program brings innovative and contemporary art to Boston through free, seasonal exhibitions that engage people in meaningful experiences, interactions, and dialogue with art, each other, and the most pressing issues of our time. Past Greenway exhibitions can be viewed on the Conservancy’s website.
Contact: arts@bcnc.net, 617.863.9080
The Ghost of Keelung, a Radio Play Presentation
Written by Jamie Lin
Directed by Audrey Seraphin
In the present, a woman visits her family home in Taiwan to appease an ancestral wrong. Back in 1956, a young woman begins working at a bar for American sailors and falls for one of them with dire consequences.
Location: YEAR OF THE TIGER installation at Mary Soo Hoo Park on The Greenway
Performance Time: Saturday, June 25, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Language: English with Mandarin and Hokkien
Pricing : Free, suggested donation $10
About Found in Translation
“Found in Translation” is a play-reading and community workshop series through Winter 2021 to Spring 2022 that amplifies the power and complexities of being multilingual, immigrants, or identifying as AAPI in Greater Boston.
About the Playwright
Jamie Lin
Jamie Lin (she/her) is a Taiwanese-American theater artist who is psyched to watch her script come to life with this incredible team! Previously, she had the distinct pleasure of playing AAPI icons Sulu (Gender-Swapped Star Trek, PMRP) and Rose Tico (Jedi the Last, The Opposite of People), as well as directing Radial Gradient for Samuel-Lancaster Productions. Jamie hosts the monthly cooking/comedy show, Cook it Right!, on 2MBStudios and writes and performs sketches with Friend Club. Both on and offstage, she's passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, and noodles.
Audrey Seraphin (Director)
Audrey Seraphin is director, actor, civil servant, and lifelong Massachusetts resident. She serves Boston City Hall as the Director of SPARK Boston, Mayor Wu's volunteer civic engagement council for 20 to 35 year old Bostonians. Recent directing projects include Company at Clark Musical Theatre; Muthaland, an online production from Samuel-Lancaster Productions; and The Rooster & The Magnet, Episode 5 of Camp Strangewood, a live streamed anthology from Sparkhaven Theatre.
Yitong Zhu (Cast)
Yitong Zhu is a rising senior at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Born and raised in China, she is so excited to share a different perspective while studying in the US. Yitong is an actor, dancer, and puppeteer; she attended the 2020 Winter Intensive at Double Edge Theater and will be attending the O’Neill Puppetry Conference this summer. Previous credits include Organic (New Rep), Untold, New Music & Puppet Theater (Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble), Somewhere (something wonderful) (Trinity College, Hartford CT), Body Map, Beyond Walls (Boston Conservatory at Berklee). Yitong would like to thank AATAB for this great opportunity! @yitongzhu9
Channing Rion (Cast)
Channing Rion hails from Houston and grew up privately tutored, traveling with her family across the U.S. and worldwide—often to her mother’s homeland of South Korea. Before graduating from Harvard 'with a BA in psychology, she enrolled in drama classes that sparked an interest in acting. During summers in Cambridge, she taught hundreds of students from China, honing their social confidence through theatre. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Dramatic Arts at Harvard, producing original music, and publishing an upcoming historical fiction series for kids set in Boston during the American Revolution.
Karla Lang (Cast)
Karla Lang is delighted to perform in her second Found in Translation production, having also appeared in A DEAL earlier this spring. Favorite roles include Waverly in THE JOY LUCK CLUB (Umbrella Stage Company), Helena in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Hovey Players), April in COMPANY (Longwood Players), and Texas/ “Two Ladies” in CABARET (Milton Players). She has also performed with Reagle Music Theater and Concord Players, and she sings with the New World Chorale.
Malachi Rosen (Cast)
Malachi Rosen is thrilled to be a part of The Ghost of Keelung! Malachi is an actor born and raised just north of Boston and is a graduate from Marymount Manhattan College’s BFA acting program, class of 2020. Recent productions include Patrick Barolow’s The 39 Steps, Carol Curchill’s Love and Information, and Brian Friel’s Translations.Malachi thanks the cast, crew and production team for making The Ghost of Keelung production possible and hopes you enjoy the show!
malachirosen.weebly.com.
Jude Torres (Cast)
Jude Torres (he/him) is an LA-born/Boston-bred actor, singer-songwriter, composer, musician, and voiceover artist who has worked with Company One, ART, Speakeasy Stage, Fresh Ink, New Rep, AATAB, and Boston Playwright’s Theatre. Jude is the DEI Director at The Footlight Club and is in his final semester of graduate school at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, where he pursues an MS in Speech-Language Pathology. He plans on juggling his artistic career with being a voice specialist while advocating for more equitable healthcare and artistic systems. Much love to the cast, crew, KB, and as always, Goku the Cat.
Dylan C. Wack (Cast)
Dylan C. Wack is thrilled to be making his Found in Translation debut with GHOST OF KEELUNG. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Theater in the Open, New Repertory Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, and Sparkhaven Theatre, among others. He holds a BFA from Boston University and a Certificate in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He can next be seen in Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, performing for free on the Boston Common, starting July 20th. Originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts, Dylan resides in Brooklyn. dylancwack.com | @dylanwack
This event is the second of the VISIONS/VOICES: YEAR OF THE TIGER performance series. Through a partnership with the Greenway Conservancy, Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong has been commissioned to create an artwork celebrating the Year of the Tiger, as part of an annual project honoring the Chinese Zodiac on The Greenway. Her upcoming artwork, YEAR OF THE TIGER, is a community pavilion and a site-specific public artwork composed of vibrantly colored seating, podiums and sprawling floor motifs. As both stage and seating, YEAR OF THE TIGER creates a new, intergenerational hub to gather outdoors, perform or engage in public programs. Pao Arts Center is proud to partner with the Greenway to bring public events to Mary Soo Hoo Park.
See the full performance schedule.
About the Partners
Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston is a social collective that empowers and connects Pan-Asian theatre artists in the Greater Boston area.
CHUANG Stage is the Mandarin-English bilingual, bicultural theater company in Boston, MA that cultivates boundary-breaking stories that bridge the world.
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
The Conservancy has sole responsibility for managing all aspects of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, including horticulture, programming, public art, maintenance, and capital improvements.
Found in Translation is made possible by a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation and the ReOpen Creative Boston Grant from Boston Culture Council.
This project is also supported by Ralph Lauren, Niantic, Inc., The Kresge Foundation, and National CAPACD.
Photo Credit: Jessica TranVo, A Ride Into Space…(detail), Digital Collage
Join Pao Arts Center, Curator Leslie Anne Condon, and artists Yanni Niki Li, Ponnapa Prakkamakul, Micah Rose, Jessica TranVo, and Tran Vu as we celebrate the opening of The Collective Imaginary on view at our gallery from May 27 - July 22, 2022.
Due to COVID-19, we are limiting the number of visitors allowed in our gallery at a time. Please register early to reserve your space!
The Collective Imaginary is part of New Narratives curated by guest curator Leslie Anne Condon and first exhibited in 2020 through Unbound Visual Arts.
Participating Artists: Yanni Niki Li , Ponnapa Prakkamakul, Micah Rose, Jessica TranVo, and Tran Vu.
Friday, May 27 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Free + Suggested Donation $10, Donations go to support Pao Arts Center’s arts and cultural program.
Gallery Hours:
Wednesdays 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Thursdays 1:00 - 7:00 pm
Fridays 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays: Closed
Leslie Anne Condon is a Boston-area multidisciplinary artist and independent curator, interested in Critical Race Art History and issues of representation within the arts. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in English and a minor in the Fine Arts. She briefly attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts as a Diploma student and earned her Post Baccalaureate in Fine Art 3D from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2011.
Unbound Visual Arts (UVA) is a unique Allston-Brighton-based non-profit art organization. We serve the Greater Boston community with impactful educational programs and exhibits to encourage learning, engagement, and change.
Contact: Leslie Condon, 617-863-9080 x 2017
New Narratives Series Present and Future
Saturday, August 13 | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Performances featuring: Tamiko Beyer, Micah Rose, Juk Sing, and more
In collaboration with Greenway Conservancy, Pao Arts Center and Curator Leslie Anne Condon curates this summer 2022 outdoor performance series which celebrates the cultural power that flows through AAPI communities across the Asian diaspora, in ways that vocalize both struggles and joys. Featuring live performances by Boston-area spoken artists and performers who draw upon a wide range of artistic styles, cultural traditions, and languages from AAPI communities and beyond, the event series activates artist Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong’s YEAR OF THE TIGER installation in Mary Soo Hoo Park. Through their words, dance, creative gestures, and songs, each artist brings greater visibility to our interconnected histories and current realities while offering more playful and empowering visions of our collective future.
Read More About the Partnership
New Narratives Series: Our Past and Present
Saturday, July 16 | 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Performances featuring: Cynthia Lin, Lani Asuncion, Subdrift Boston, and Adobo-Fish-Sauce
Past Events:
Pao Arts Center 5th Anniversary Community Celebration and YEAR OF THE TIGER Opening
May 14 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Five years ago, BCNC and Bunker Hill Community College came together in a visionary collaboration to open Pao Arts Center, Chinatown’s first arts, cultural, and education center.
On May 14th, gather to experience live performances celebrating 5 years of creativity and culture at Pao Arts Center. Featuring the opening of YEAR OF THE TIGER installation by Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong and performances by: Wah Lum Academy, Jennifer Lin and dancers, BHCC student and alumni musicians, Minhua Chen, Elgin Lee, Ba Pham, Patricia Seun, Yu Wang, Chen Chen, Chavi Bansal, IJ Chan, Flora Hyoin Kim Han, and Anju.
The Ghost of Keelung, a Radio Play Presentation
Written by Jamie Lin, Directed by Audrey Seraphin
June 25 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
In the present, a woman visits her family home in Taiwan to appease an ancestral wrong. Back in 1956, a young woman begins working at a bar for American sailors and falls for one of them with dire consequences.
Language: English with Mandarin and Hokkien
July 16, 2022 | 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Performances featuring: Cynthia Lin, Lani Asuncion, Subdrift Boston, and Adobo-Fish-Sauce
About The Artists:
Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong is a New York-based artist working at the boundary of art and architecture. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Cheryl received her B.A. in Art and Italian at UC Berkeley and her Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP. Her work has been commissioned by the NY State Thruway Authority, NYC Parks Department, City of Inglewood, City of Calgary and by the Washington DC Government.
About our Partner:
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
The Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston. The Greenway welcomes millions of visitors annually to gather, play, unwind, and explore. The Greenway Conservancy is the non-profit responsible for the management and care of The Greenway. The majority of the public park’s annual budget is generously provided by private sources.
The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program brings innovative and contemporary art to Boston through free, seasonal exhibitions that engage people in meaningful experiences, interactions, and dialogue with art, each other, and the most pressing issues of our time. Past Greenway exhibitions can be viewed on the Conservancy’s website.
Contact: arts@bcnc.net, 617.863.9080
