Community Calendar Announcements and Events for the Community
	AsianWeek Goes to School (Feature) Bill to Designate APA Serving Institutions (in National News) ‘We Are Not the Enemy’ (in Bay Area News) Ultimate Diversions: Kingdom Hearts (in Business) Yao Misses the Shot (in Sports) Photographer Thomas Chang Makes a Scene (in A&E) Emil Amok: Watermelongate? (in Opinion)

A regional roundup of events of special interest to Asian Americans

REGIONS:

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Northern California
Southern California
Rest of the West
East Coast
National


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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Call for Visual Art Projects Kearny StreetWorkshop is interested in receiving visual art project proposals from Bay Area Asian Pacific American artists of all ages for an exhibition planned for the SomArts main gallery May 2003. Proposals, which include description of the piece, concept/theme, artist statement, resume, slides, background info and a self-addressed stamped envelope, will be accepted until Oct. 15. For more info: 415-503-0520 or ksw@somarts.org.

Grants for Art The Creative Work Fund will provide grants ranging from $10,000 to $35,000 for 2003. Media and traditional artists are invited to apply. Applicant artists must have resided in San Francisco or Alameda County for at least two years; organizations must be based in these counties. Guidelines will be available Sept. 2. For more info: 415-398-4474 or www.creativeworkfund.org.

ARTS

Chen Yang Chun Watercolors The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco will present an exhibition of watercolor works entitled Infinite Harmony by Taiwanese painter Chen Yang-chun. Yang-chun captures a dreamlike quality in his female portraits and rustic landscape paintings. This exhibit will run through Oct. 13 at the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, 750 Kearny St., third floor, San Francisco. For more info: 415-986-1822 or www.c-c-c.org.

Jade Snow Wong Chinese Historical Society of America will be featuring the retrospective work of Jade Snow Wong through Dec. 22 at the CHSA Museum and Learning Center, 965 Clay St., San Francisco. Admission is free for members and $1 - $3 for non-members. For more info: 415-391-1188 or www.chsa.org.

Jun Kaneko The Montalvo Gallery in Saratoga presents On the Edge and In the Round: Ceramic Sculptures of Jun Kaneko, an exhibition of ceramic sculpture, wall slabs and drawings by one of the foremost ceramic sculptors of our time. The exhibit runs through Sept. 15. For more info: 408-961-5813.

New Sculptures Takada Gallery at 251 Post St., fifth floor in San Francisco will have an exhibition of aluminum alloy and stone sculptures along with related drawings on paper by Japan-resided artist, Seiji Kunishima. The exhibit will run Sept. 3 - 28; a reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. For more info: 415-956-5288.

Ruth Asawa: Completing the Circle Asawa’s accomplishments will be highlighted in the exhibition Ruth Asawa: Completing the Circle, on view through Sept. 22 at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak streets, Oakland. The retrospective spans more than 40 years of her work. For more info: 510-238-2200 or www.museumca.org.

Same/Difference S.F. Camerawork presents this special exhibition that calls attention to the unique, subjective experiences that mark hotel rooms, in opposition to the stark sameness of the hotel space. Thomas Chang will show two images from his “Decadence” series, exploring the often absurd efforts of “four-star” hotel proprietors to decorate every inch of their commercial space. The exhibit runs until Sept. 6, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. at Hotel Triton, located at 342 Grant St., San Francisco. Tickets: $4 - $6. For more info: 415-863-1001 or www.sfcamerawork.org.

Womyn’s Intuition In conjunction with the exhibition Parallels and Intersections: Art/Women/California, 1950-2000, the San Jose Museum of Art is organizing a series of lectures among which Hung Lui will be featured as one of the most pivotal female figures in California’s recent art history. She will speak Sunday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. Tickets: $5 and $10. For more info: 408-291-5386 or www.sjma.com.

Yun-Fei Ji Headland Center for the Arts invites New York drawer/painter Yun-Fe Ji to the Project Space. His work has the appearance of the traditional Chinese landscape of his native country. However, a closer look will reveal things that don’t belong, such as hamburgers, ferris wheels, machine parts and basketball hoops. The exhibit will run through Sept. 16 at 944 Fort Barry, Sausalito. Ji will give a talk Thursday, Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. Admission is free. Guests can attend a family-style dinner at 6 p.m. before the presentation. Dinner is $12 per person. For more info: 415-331-2787 x28.

MUSIC

Asian American Jazz 2002 The 21st annual Asian American Jazz 2002/San Francisco presents two free performances, three featured performances and two community discussions exploring the theme, The Spirit of Improvisation. Malachi Favors Maghostut, Bobby Bradford, William Roper, Tatsu Aoki and Francis Wong are among the featured performers. The festival will run Sept. 20 - Oct. 5 in San Francisco’s Japantown. Admission: $12 - $15. For more info: 415-353-5732 or www.asianimprov.com.

Gansu Duhuang Art Academy China’s premiere performing arts troupe, the 60-member Gansu Duhuang Art Academy, makes its American debut next month in the Bay Area. The company will present two programs, the dance-drama The Heavenly Horse, and a special program featuring the choreography and music of Ancient Tunes of Dunhuang. Performances will take place Saturday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m. at Flint Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino, and Tuesday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m. at the Calvin Simmons Theatre, 10 -10th St. (at Oak) in Oakland. For more info: 650-259-2100 or www.nanhai.com.

When the Stars Begin to Fall The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, conducted by Artistic Director Jadine Louie, will perform music in observance of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The show will take place Tuesday, Sept. 17, 8:15 p.m. at Bethany United Methodist Church, located at 1268 Sanchez St. (at Clipper), San Francisco. An East Bay concert will take place Sunday, Sept. 22, 2 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1658 Excelsior St. (near 38th and MacArthur), Oakland. Admission is free. For more info: 415-554-0402.

READINGS AND LECTURES

Jacinto and Reyes Reading Poet and educator Jaime Jacinto’s work Heaven is Just Another Country is an unsentimental but fiercely emotional work traverses history, identity and memory. He and poet/essayist Barbara Jane Reyes will read from their works Tuesday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m. at the Intersection for the Arts, located at 446 Valencia St. (between 15th and 16th streets), San Francisco. Admission: $5 - $15 sliding scale. For more info: 415-626-2787 or www.theintersection.org.

THEATER

Dance Like a Man Maitri presents Primetime Theater Company's Dance Like a Man. Directed by Lillete Dubey, this play is a story about Jairaj, Ratna and Lat who reveal the darker secrets of family relationships and conflicts. This performance will show Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m. at Smithwick Audiorium, Foothill College, Los Altos. Tickets cost $15 - $100. For more info: 408-739-8949 or tickets@maitri.org.

Fringe Festival Exit Theatre presents the 11th annual San Francisco Fringe Festival Sept. 4 through 14 at Exit Theatre and Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy St. and 277 Taylor St., respectively. Bring Your Own Venue performances will be staged in various locations in downtown San Francisco, the Mission district and South of Market. Tickets cost under $8. For more info: 415-931-1094 or www.sffringe.org.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Acting Classes A new session of Acting Dojo, acting classes with Dom Magwili, begins Monday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Classes are held at the Hollywood Japanese Cultural Institute at 3929 Middlebury St. (near the old East West Players and LACCC), Los Angeles. There will be an emphasis on scene work supported by improvisation and acting classes. The session runs six weeks; tuition is $180. For more info: 323-298-2905.

FILM AND VIDEO

Spirited Away The Black Moon has announced the U.S. premiere of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film Spirited Away, which will be shown at the Egyptian Theatre on Sept. 10. The American Cinematheque has scheduled a live appearance of Miyazaki after the screening. Screening starts at 7:30 p.m. For more info: www.theblackmoon.com.

READINGS AND LECTURES

Poetry Slam The 11th annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, in cooperation with the Balagtasan Collective, is proud to present the fourth annual FPAC Poetry Slam, Sept. 8, at Point Fermin, San Pedro. Interested poets/spoken word artists are requested to mail or drop off all necessary materials by Sept. 1 to Fil-Am Arts, attn: Johneric Concordia/Carlo Medina, 3200 West Temple St., Los Angeles. For more info: 818-599-9737 or pan_literaryarts@yahoo.com.

Si Thep: The Artistic Link Between India and Thailand Dr. Chirapravati will discuss the ancient site of Si Thep, located in northeastern Thailand, where Buddhist and Hindu imagery dating from the fifth to the 11th centuries has been discovered. The discussion on the Si Thep sculptures will take place Sept. 6, 7 p.m. at the Norton Simon Museum Theater, located at 411 West Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Admission is free to members. For more info: 626.449.6840 x405 or www.nortonsimon.org.

THEATER

Live, Laugh, Love East West Players announces its 37th anniversary season of plays, including three world premieres (one of which is a new adaptation of a Shakespearean classic) and a cult musical favorite. The season’s theme celebrates life with laughter and love. Plays open Sept. 11 and run through Oct. 6 at the David Henry Hwang Theater, located at 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles. For more info: 213-625-7111 or www.eastwestplayers.org.

Queen of the Remote Control East West Players presents Queen of the Remote Control. Written by Sujata G. Bhatt and co-directed by Bhatt and Tim Dang, this serio-comedy is seen through the eyes of a 17-year-old South Asian American girl, Shilpa Shah, who longs to break out of the Valley and get to New York. The play takes place during the fizziness of the Silicon Valley Bubble Year, 1999, just before NASDAQ crashed and the Brave New World of the Internet Revolution flattened into the Layoff Land of today. The performance will show Sept. 5 - Oct. 6 at the East West Players, David Henry Hwang Theater, Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles. Admission: $10 - $50. For more info: 213-625-7000.

REST OF THE WEST

ARTS

Do-Ho Suh Seattle Art Museum presents the work of contemporary Korean Artist Do-Ho Suh as he uses suspended diaphanous silk and nylon architectural installations to reconstruct space and explore identity. These works will be on display through Dec. 1 at SAM, located at 100 University St., Seattle. For more info: 206-654-3255 or www.seattleartmuseum.org.

EAST COAST

ARTS

AsianLens AsianLens is pleased to present August 2002 Photo Exhibit, an exhibition of photographs by 12 emerging and established APA artists to be held at Chambers Fine Art in Manhattan’s Chelsea area. The exhibition will be shown until Sept. 7 at the Chambers Fine Art, 210 11th Ave. (between 24th and 25th streets), second floor, New York. For more info: 917-861-9386 or www.asianlens.com.

Bohnchang Koo Bohnchang Koo’s first American retrospective will open to the public on Nov. 6 at the Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, in Salem, Mass. The exhibition will feature 28 photographs, representing a broad spectrum of Korean photographer’s work. Bohnchang Koo: Masterworks of Korean Photography will remain on view through Feb. 18, 2003. For more info: 978-745-9500 or www.pem.org.

Munakat Shiko A retrospective exhibition devoted to Munakat Shiko, who was known to his Japanese contemporaries as an iconoclast and is often considered the 20th century’s most influential artist of the woodblock print, will debut at the Philadephia Museum of Art through Nov. 10. The museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For more info: 215-763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.

Salvaged Stories Salvaged Stories presents the Museum of Chinese in the Americas’ unique collection of Chinatown artifacts salvaged from bachelor apartments, closing businesses and neighborhood dumpsters. This exhibit will run through October at MoCA, 70 Mulberry St., second floor, New York. For more info: 212-619-4785 or www.moca-nyc.org.

FILM AND VIDEO

Quitting Quitting, the new film by Zhang Yang, opens in New York on Sept. 13 at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas (30 Lincoln Plaza) and the Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St. between Fifth and Sixth avenues), followed by a national release through Sony Pictures Classics. Quitting is a true story of a family’s determination and hope when faced with a crisis. A young Chinese film star has an emotional breakdown and locks himself in his apartment, does drugs and listens to tapes of his favorite rock music over and over again. His parents move to Beijing to rescue him. For more info: 212-586-7281.

NATIONAL

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Call for Papers Essays are invited for a collection, tentatively titled Yellow Peril, Model Minority or Karate Kid: Critical Perspectives on Asian American and Asian Diaspora Children’s Literature. Queries are welcome at any stage; one- to two-page abstracts are due on Oct. 21, and completed essays (5,000 - 6,000 words, MLA format) are due on Feb. 20, 2003. Send abstracts to Dolores de Manuel, English Department, Nassau Community College, 1 Education Dr., Garden City, NY 11530. For more info: 516-572-8154 or demanud@sunynassau.edu.

Photography Contest The International Library of Photography will award over $60,000 in prizes this year in the International Open Amateur Photography Contest. Photographers from the San Francisco area, particularly beginners, are welcome to try and win their share of 1,300 prizes. The deadline for the contest is Sept. 30. The contest is open to everyone, and entry is free. For more info: 410-363-4800 or www.picture.com.