2003
Spring
Woman Warrior Festival
The second Woman Warrior Festival, this year's theme was Asian Women in America: Creating our own Identity and featured a full-day of workshops and lectures, as well as performances, a film screening, and a visual arts exhibit. Highlights included: a keynote address by famed choreographer Baayork Lee on women in theatre; a reading/discussion by Helie Lee, author of Border Crossing and the State of North Korea; a lecture by Chivy Sok of the University of Iowa on human trafficking and child prostitution; a safe sex workshop by Coya Paz of I Heart My Clit; a panel discussion on interracial relationships; performances by comedian Supna Kumar, dancer Mei Kuang Chen, and Anna Fermin (as part of the City of Chicago's Miles of Music).
Later in the week, the Center presented an evening of music featuring the finest talents in Chicago: Mia Park, Jenny Choi, Michelle Cross and Yoko Noge.
Woman Warrior Awards:
The second Woman Warrior Festival, this year's theme was Asian Women in America: Creating our own Identity and featured a full-day of workshops and lectures, as well as performances, a film screening, and a visual arts exhibit. Highlights included: a keynote address by famed choreographer Baayork Lee on women in theatre; a reading/discussion by Helie Lee, author of Border Crossing and the State of North Korea; a lecture by Chivy Sok of the University of Iowa on human trafficking and child prostitution; a safe sex workshop by Coya Paz of I Heart My Clit; a panel discussion on interracial relationships; performances by comedian Supna Kumar, dancer Mei Kuang Chen, and Anna Fermin (as part of the City of Chicago's Miles of Music).
Later in the week, the Center presented an evening of music featuring the finest talents in Chicago: Mia Park, Jenny Choi, Michelle Cross and Yoko Noge.
Woman Warrior Awards:
Lifetime Achievement
Baayork Lee is a Broadway producer, director, choreographer/dancer and an author. Ms. Lee began taking dance lessons at the age of 3 in her hometown of New York City. At the age of 5, she was chosen to be in the original production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “The King & I”. Years later, she appeared in “Flower Drum Song”. She originated the role of Connie in the legendary show A Chorus Line and has directed
all the foreign "Chorus Line" companies.
Business Award
Helen Lee is the President of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a successful business woman, the owner of King Wah Restaurant and Catering. Among her many honors, she was chosen by Crain's Chicago Business as on of the 100 Most Influential Women in Chicago.
Community Service Award
Pat Matsumoto was the Assistant Commissioner and Director of Communications for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, supervising graphics and publishing. She serves as a Director of the Japanese American Service Committee and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. She was also a member of the advisory council that launched the Asian American Institute and in the 1980s served as Chicago press secretary for the Presidential Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.
Creative Arts Award
Philippine-born Anna Fermin immigrated to the U.S. with her family at a young age. She trained in piano, voice and violin. Moving to Chicago in 1989, Fermin added the acoustic guitar to her repertoire, penned her first song in 1994 and immediately started showcasing her songwriting at local open mics and coffee houses where her voice established itself as powerful and emotional instrument all on its own.
Baayork Lee is a Broadway producer, director, choreographer/dancer and an author. Ms. Lee began taking dance lessons at the age of 3 in her hometown of New York City. At the age of 5, she was chosen to be in the original production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “The King & I”. Years later, she appeared in “Flower Drum Song”. She originated the role of Connie in the legendary show A Chorus Line and has directed
all the foreign "Chorus Line" companies.
Business Award
Helen Lee is the President of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a successful business woman, the owner of King Wah Restaurant and Catering. Among her many honors, she was chosen by Crain's Chicago Business as on of the 100 Most Influential Women in Chicago.
Community Service Award
Pat Matsumoto was the Assistant Commissioner and Director of Communications for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, supervising graphics and publishing. She serves as a Director of the Japanese American Service Committee and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. She was also a member of the advisory council that launched the Asian American Institute and in the 1980s served as Chicago press secretary for the Presidential Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.
Creative Arts Award
Philippine-born Anna Fermin immigrated to the U.S. with her family at a young age. She trained in piano, voice and violin. Moving to Chicago in 1989, Fermin added the acoustic guitar to her repertoire, penned her first song in 1994 and immediately started showcasing her songwriting at local open mics and coffee houses where her voice established itself as powerful and emotional instrument all on its own.
The Mythical Being of Desire: Shirin Neshat, Shahzia Sikander, Chiho Aoshima
As part of the Woman Warrior Festival 2003, the Center and the Glass Curtain Gallery proudly presented the art of Shirin Neshat (Iran), Shahzia Sikander (Pakistan), and Chiho Aoshima (Japan)
in The Mythical Being of Desire. This group exhibit explores cultural and sexual conflict, resistance, misrepresentation and exploitation that results from the distance between genders which creates separation among human beings. All three artists directly or indirectly address the conditions and perceptions of women both within and outside of their respective societies and the community at large through the traditions and cultures of their birthplaces.
Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat creates eloquent black and white narratives that address issues pertaining to Islamic culture, in particular the traditional gender roles in the patriarchal, fundamentalist society of post-revolutionary Iran. Shahzia Sikander transforms the genre of Indo-Persian miniature
paintings by juxtaposing contemporary forms with the miniatures to create fantasies that combine art historical, mythological, religious, and personal imagery. Chiho Aoshima combines the techniques of computer-based digital illustration, the aesthetics of Japanese manga and anime, and the stylistic conventions of the 18th Century Japanese prints to create a whimsical world of doe-eyed girls, hybridized nature, and candy-colored landscapes that is not so cute or innocent, but seductive.
As part of the Woman Warrior Festival 2003, the Center and the Glass Curtain Gallery proudly presented the art of Shirin Neshat (Iran), Shahzia Sikander (Pakistan), and Chiho Aoshima (Japan)
in The Mythical Being of Desire. This group exhibit explores cultural and sexual conflict, resistance, misrepresentation and exploitation that results from the distance between genders which creates separation among human beings. All three artists directly or indirectly address the conditions and perceptions of women both within and outside of their respective societies and the community at large through the traditions and cultures of their birthplaces.
Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat creates eloquent black and white narratives that address issues pertaining to Islamic culture, in particular the traditional gender roles in the patriarchal, fundamentalist society of post-revolutionary Iran. Shahzia Sikander transforms the genre of Indo-Persian miniature
paintings by juxtaposing contemporary forms with the miniatures to create fantasies that combine art historical, mythological, religious, and personal imagery. Chiho Aoshima combines the techniques of computer-based digital illustration, the aesthetics of Japanese manga and anime, and the stylistic conventions of the 18th Century Japanese prints to create a whimsical world of doe-eyed girls, hybridized nature, and candy-colored landscapes that is not so cute or innocent, but seductive.