This weekend, May 28-29, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presents “Crosslines: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality,” a free event in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building. All the performances, workshops, demonstrations, interviews, and other events involved make for a wonderfully packed two-day schedule of experiences.
With 40+ scholars and artists participating, the event is described as a “creative convening of artworks, performances and dialogues that explore identities in intersection” and recognizes intersectional identities as “those formed through artistic, cultural and historic encounters across race, class, gender, sexuality and more.” Visit the event’s website for complete details and to RSVP. Here are a few of the artists and scholars from the outstanding Crosslines roster:
Anjal Chande & Nico Slate: Dance Performance and Talk
Dance artist Anjal Chande will debut a new work about transnational solidarity between activists of India’s independence movement and America’s civil rights movement. The work is informed by conversations with Professor Nico Slate, author of Colored Cosmopolitanism: The Shared Struggle for Freedom in the United States and India.
Zohra Saed & Kai Krienke: Poetry Workshop
Poet Zohra Saed and Kai Krienke will be setting up an archive immersion of the works of Langston Hughes and Jean Senac.
Archive Immersion: Lost & Found Series V Featuring Chapbooks on Langston Hughes and Jean… https://t.co/AiPuAAfUWE pic.twitter.com/59i6cb3tXL
— Zohra Saed (@ZohraSaed) May 23, 2016
Annu Palakunnathu Matthew: The Virtual Immigrant
Professor and artist Annu Palakunnathu Matthew has an installation at the Smithsonian for Crosslines called “The Virtual Immigrant,” which draws on the experience of call center workers in India, who virtually live between cultures without leaving their country of origin.
Avi Gupta: Photography @brownisgood
Read photographer Avi Gupta’s interview with A Creative DC to find out more about his work, including There is Here and the ongoing In One’s Element and about his piece called “Heritage” which is part of the Crosslines exhibition.
What do you see looking at this photo? Avi Gupta saw a US flag. His photos in #CrossLines: https://t.co/bsdPwRqnWn pic.twitter.com/66JGSlomZp
— Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (@SmithsonianAPA) May 11, 2016
The People’s Kitchen Collective: Kitchen Remedies
Based in Oakland, California, the PKC works at the intersection of art and activism as a food-centered political education project with members Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, Jocelyn Jackson and Saqib Keval. They are collecting the stories of healing foods and invite people to share their stories of healing on May 28-29 at the Smithsonian.
Frank Chi: “Letters From Camp”
In this moving short from filmmaker and activist Frank Chi, Muslim American children read aloud letters from young Japanese Americans in World War II incarceration camps along with present-day survivors of those camps. At the LA Times, Sonali Kohli writes about the history of the letters, the participants in the film, and one mother’s reasons for allowing her son to take part in the film.
Find the full schedule and roster of artists and scholars plus information on guided tours at the Crosslines website. RSVP there too if you plan on attending this weekend events.
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Pavani Yalamanchili is an editor at The Aerogram. Find her on Twitter at @_pavani, and follow The Aerogram at @theaerogram and on Facebook.
