Asian American Cultural Affairs

Take me to the Calendar


Asian American Cultural Affairs is committed to working closely with students, faculty, and staff, and its student organization to advocate for Asian American interests, concerns, and needs. The office also provides resources for individual empowerment and success; builds community; and creates social, cultural, and educational programming for and about the Asian American experience.

The office works to provide you with a place for exploration of identity issues, opportunities for mentoring, and the development of leadership skills, while supporting your personal and academic achievements, especially regarding student contributions to the arts and media.

For us, Asian-American can mean many things: Southeast Asian, West Asian (Arab or Middle-Eastern), South Asian, East Asian, Pacific Islander, Central Asian, Hapa and those who identify as multi-racial. We want students to understand that Asian and the Pacific Islands stretches from the Philippines to Palestine, and Hawa’ii to the United States. 

We hope as we define ourselves we are able to share our experiences as a collective and move forward as a diverse generation of evolving artists, innovators, and educators!

Calendar Highlights

 
FEAST
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Multicultural Affairs Conference Room, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor
Join Columbia's office of Asian American Cultural Affairs for a lunch to kick off our celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This is your chance to break bread and discuss your interests and issues of the day with Asian Pacific American faculty & staff. All Columbia students, faculty, and staff are welcome!

Seating is limited – first-come, first-served.

RSVP to rgupta@colum.edu by Monday, April 2.

Asian Student Organization – A2 Art Fair Prep Meeting
Thursday, April 5 | 5:30 p.m.
Multicultural Affairs | 618 S. Michigan Ave./4th floor
The Asian Student Organization (ASO) meets today to prepare for A2, its annual art fair to be held April 12, 2012.

The People’s Crisis: North Korea’s Refugees
Thursday, April 5, 2012
6:00pm – 8:00pm
916 S. Wabash
Join us as we screen the documentary The People’s Crisis, followed by a discussion and Q & A session with members of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), the only full-time grassroots organization in North America devoted to the North Korean humanitarian and refugee crisis. This organization provides protection and aid to North Korean refugees hiding in China and, utilizing a modern-day underground railroad through Southeast Asia, rescues refugees and helps them to reach freedom. LiNK provides a way for the international community to take part in bringing about effective change.

Presented by the International Student Organization (ISO) and co-sponsored by Asian American Cultural Affairs and the Asian Student Organization (ASO).


Cultural Excursion: Kavi Gupta Gallery
Friday, April 6, 2012
3:00pm – 5:00pm
Meet at Multicultural Affairs Conference Room, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor
Get an inside look at the contemporary art world through the eyes of a Chicago pioneer. Kavi Gupta opened his namesake gallery in 1999 and helped create a thriving arts district in the West Loop. He now represents artists like Theaster Gates, Curtis Mann, Angel Otero, Melanie Schiff, and Tony Tasset. This Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event includes a tour of the gallery and a Q&A with owner Kavi Gupta.

We will meet at the Multicultural Affairs office (618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor) at 3:00pm and take the bus from there to Kavi Gupta Gallery (835 W. Washington).

Reservations required – email rgupta@colum.edu by Wednesday, April 4.



Cultural Excursion: Big in Bollywood
Monday, April 9, 2012
5:30pm – 7:45pm
Meet at Multicultural Affairs, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor
The 17th Annual Asian American Showcase features this playful documentary following the Bollywood saga of American-born actor Omi Vaidya as he is plucked out of obscurity to co-star opposite “the Tom Cruise of India” in 3 IDIOTS, the biggest blockbuster in the history of Indian cinema. We will meet at the Multicultural Affairs office (618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor) at 5:30pm and take the bus from there to the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State St.)

Seating is limited – first-come, first-served.

RSVP to rgupta@colum.edu by Thursday, April 5.


A2 Art Fair - ROOTS: Branching Out through Culture
Thursday, April 12, 2012
12:00pm – 9:00pm
Stage Two, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 2nd floor
Join us we celebrate the work of Columbia College Chicago’s Asian Pacific American community and the Asian Student Organization!
12:00pm – 5:00pm: Visual art exhibition
5:00pm – 6:00pm: Reception
6:00pm – 9:00pm: Performances


Gender Fusions 8: Gayme On featuring the Nara Movement
Saturday, April 14, 2012
6:00pm – 10:00pm
Stage Two, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 2nd floor
Gender Fusions, Columbia’s mind-blowing, genre-busting night of queer performances and community dialogue, features the Nara Movement, a collective of teaching artists working with immigrants for community development through popular education, performing scenes from Louie Pascasio’s original play Charlie.

Presented by the Office of LGBTQ Culture & Community.


Young Sun Han: Making the Personal Public
Monday, April 16, 2012
3:00pm – 4:30pm
Multicultural Affairs, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor, Multipurpose Studio
Join us for a discussion with Korean-American/Kiwi artist Young Sun Han, the runner-up on Season 2 of Bravo’s reality competition “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.” Han will address making the intimate/personal very public, a recurring theme in his work that was amplified by the reality TV experience.

A global citizen whose photography, installation, and performance art work has been exhibited and sold around the world, the SAIC graduate was named one of the country's top ten emerging artists to watch by the New Zealand Herald's Canvas magazine. Han considers himself as much a philosopher as an artist, using his art as a way to visually demonstrate his beliefs about the human experience, sexuality, intimacy between strangers, and the merging of life and art. He recently launched his artist book, sooner later, at Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, and Printed Matter, NYC, to benefit Life Funds for North Korean Refugees.

Co-sponsored by the Office of LGBTQ Culture & Community.


Theatre of the Oppressed: Decolonization of the Body
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Multicultural Affairs, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor, Multipurpose Studio
Join us for an interactive exercise in exploring classism and power structures that affect immigration policies. A departure from the conventional sit-down lecture, this workshop uses an experiential approach to pinpoint and hopefully solve these problems. It is based on the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed, an organizing tool for communities in struggle that develops skills of observation, self-reflection, and cooperative group interaction. Led by Chicagoan Je Nepomuceno, a Filipina musician, activist, and teaching artist and founder of the Nara Movement Project.


APA Heritage Month Celebration featuring Bop Alloy
Thursday, April 19, 2012
7:30pm – 9:00pm
Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash, 1st floor
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with Jazz Hop artists Bop Alloy (MC Substantial and producer Marcus D). Heavily influenced by Japanese hip hop producer and DJ Nujabes, this up-and-coming duo defines its sound with baritone vocals, fluid flows, and honest lyrics over hypnotic melodies and pounding drums.

RSVPs on Facebook or to rgupta@colum.edu are appreciated.


Independent Hip Hop with Bop Alloy
Friday, April 20, 2012
11:00am – 12:30pm
Multicultural Affairs, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 4th floor, Multipurpose Studio
Join us for a special workshop with Jazz Hop artists Bop Alloy. MC Substantial and producer Marcus D will lead a discussion of hip hop history, independent hip hop in the Asian market, and their experience working with influential Japanese DJ and producer Nujabes.

RSVPs on Facebook or to rgupta@colum.edu are appreciated.


12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates featuring the Dalai Lama
Wednesday, April 25
11:45am – 2:00pm
Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan Ave.
Select members of the Asian Student Organization and One Tribe Scholars will attend the last day of this international event to learn about peace and human rights from world leaders including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Jayantha Dhanapala, and Tawakkol Karman.