 |
Open Dialogue IXSan Jose, California
|
Should I Be Identified as an Artist Of Color?
Participants:
Terry Acebo Davis, Northside Intergenerational Center/Asian American Women's Artists Association/Filipino Youth Coalition, San Jose, California, Sreekala Sripathy, Abhinaya Dance Company, San Jose, California, Sylvia Lowe, Chinese Cultural Center, San Jose, California, Theresa Harlan, California Arts Council, Sacramento, California, Veronica Enriquez, Cultural Worker, National City, California, Papo de Asis, Filipino American Arts/Filipino Artists Network, Los Angeles, California, Cheryl Platon, Northside Intergenerational Center/Filipino Youth Coalition, San Jose, California
Our Brainstorm:
Nomenclature: History of our names—even our nicknames
- Ancestral names
- Empowerment from knowing the meaning of your name
- Our identity can be defined through our name
- Color and Race are constructs. Is this the best method of identifying self?
Are we responding to current modes of thinking that are not our choices?
- Constructs should be world views
- Identify context through our conduct
- Changing world view-evolution
Education is Vital
How do you define Artist? Everyone is an artist—farmers, mothers, and janitors.
An Artist uses all of their creative energy. If you paint a landscape because someone asks you to, is it your creative expression?
"Self-expression is the product of all my experiences… expressions of energy"
Values of an artist are part of traditional cultures.
- We must invoke our ancestral spirits for generations to come
- Art affects everything e.g. economics, song, dance, life.
- Society's ruling class, the kings, are served by the Artist (feudal/guild system), this is still perpetuated in contemporary society.
- Our communities should reclaim our ARTS
- Art is a political, cultural, community
Traditional vs contemporary Arts
- Forms vs Essences of Art
- Affects all native backgrounds/ethnicities
- We've been told to Westernize our art form to fit in with modern American (White) culture
We Must Reclaim Our Art Forms!
Institutions are still predominantly White in their mind sets. Some white folk are still honest.
As ethnic people, we must be advocates to one another when you stand in front of any institution.
Go back to your native country, your roots, to find your soul!
- Essence: History, Values, Traditions, Rituals
- Respect! Honoring our Ancestral communities.
- Entitlement to our cultures.
"Maybe its not really about Color. As People of Color, we know it's about being human beings. It's about an individual's contributions to their community…. Still there's institutional racism…."
Don't go in like a White-anthro-tourist!
There are the Old people and then there are the Elders in our ethnic communities.
Our Oral Histories can be painful, and often go unsaid. They (our parents, uncles, aunties, godparents) only wanted to protect us from their experiences.
As members of ethnic communities our families must embrace all tribes!