2018


2018 GRANT PROJECTS

• WORKSHOP
More than a Manicure • $15,000
Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice
Storytelling workshops led by Adhikaar and novelist Meera Nair will collect oral histories of Nepali immigrant nail technicians and produce audio pieces shared in nail salons in exchange for a free nail treatment as well as a public arts event to foster dialogue around issues of labor, beauty and immigration policy.

• EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL
Yellow Rose: Behind the Scenes Project • $10,350
Cecilia Mejia
Educational materials to accompany the release of “Yellow Rose,” a narrative feature about an undocumented Filipino girl faced with the choice of pursuing her “American Dream” or leave with her mother who is about to be deported. The kit will include interviews with DACA recipients, immigrants and social justice workers.

• PODCAST SERIES
The Bronx Refuge • $11,250
Sahra V. Nguyen
An eight-episode podcast series that documents the stories, voices and perspectives of the Bronx’s under-represented Southeast Asian American community. Episode themes include Youth Culture, Food, Activism, Uprooting, Race, and Love; a contemporary, intergenerational oral history and legacy project about and for a growing and thriving community in the Bronx.

• PUBLIC ART
AsIAm APIA Graffiti and Street Art Project • $15,000
Urbanity, LLC
A street art project to increase the visibility of poor urban APIA communities’ history and struggles, particularly those located within other, larger communities of color. The project will create graffiti and street art murals, prioritizing emerging women artists and APIA- and women-owned sites in the Bronx and Queens as well as art and political education workshops and community events aimed at building solidarity and consciousness.

• WRITING WORKSHOP
No-Name Mind: Stories of Mental Health from Asian America • $3,000
Nina Sharma
A writing workshop for female-identifying and non-binary Asian Americans that will explore what it means to convert private despair into language and action. The workshop will focus on personal essays that honor the connection between community building and self-expression. Students will generate writing that will culminate in a public presentation and a jointly authored manifesto.

• YOUTH MAPMAKING
Chinatown: Our Narrative Tours • $5,900
Alina Shen
This project works with NYC Chinatown youth to harness cartography as a tool for anti- displacement and civic action to create personal and political maps of their neighborhood. A youth-led community showcase will nurture a community of young storytellers who are politically engaged and passionate about making connections between historical research, public policy, and personal experiences.

• FILM SHORT
What is Your Soul Purpose? • $15,000
Jennifer Cho Suhr
Inspired by true events, this short narrative film tells the story of a sheltered Midwestern Korean American family that travels to Atlanta to retrieve the body of their son and brother, who has died from an opioid overdose. The film features an entirely Asian American and African American leading cast as well as people of color in key behind- the-scenes creative and production roles.

• FASHION WORKSHOP
Wear Your Values • $13,500
Ruby Veridiano
This workshop program connects the dots between women’s empowerment and ethical fashion—and the direct relationship to APIA women as garment workers, consumers and designers. In partnership with Remake, the program will develop a curriculum toolkit to engage women fashion school students ages 18-24 to create a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry that promotes gender equality.