We Won't Move: A Living Archive

In this episode before our mid-season break, we arrive at the ultimate question: what, for us, is the point of art? Or rather, what do we dream of when we dream of what our art could be? Join us, your podcast hosts, as we reminisce about the first moments we felt connected to art at Kearny Street Workshop. From there, we turn to our imaginations, asking ourselves what it takes to turn hopes into knowledge, into knowing what of our dreams may be possible.

Full Episode Transcript coming soon.

“Representation” is always a hot topic, so we’re bringing you our hot takes. Join us, your podcast hosts, as we reflect on the times we’ve felt moved by representation, and times when we were left wanting for more. What are the representations we hope for, for our communities and for our stories, and how do we get there?

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcript coming soon.

Heesoo Kwon, visual artist and anthrologist, joins Kazumi and Michelle to talk about Leymusoom, her autobiographical multimedia project and ever-evolving exploration of her family histories and feminist liberation. Heesoo's work converges timelines, generations, digital and physical art mediums, and asks us what's possible when we imagine and create our own utopias, as individual artists and as part of our greater community. 

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/wwm-s2-2

Season 2 returns with a conversation with Bindlestiff Studio, the country's first permanent, community based venue showcasing emerging Filipino American and Pilipino artists. Bindlestiff Artistic Director Aureen Almario and Managing Director Oliver Saria tells us the story of Bindlestiff's inception and journey, as well as how they have pivoted to directly supporting elders and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us for a rich conversation on how our creative homes become hubs for community resources and care. 

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/wwm-s2-1

Co-hosts Kazumi, Michelle, and Dara reflect and expand on the conversations recorded with our first season guests (Thea Quiray Tagle, Estella Habal, Erina C. Alejo, and Lenora Lee). What are we learning from these artists and community leaders about the role of art-making in liberation work? And in what exciting directions will the podcast move toward for season 2?

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcripts on website: kearnystreet.org

Choreographer, Dancer, and Artistic Director Lenora Lee joins Michelle, Dara, and Kazumi to discuss her dance company's current work-in-progress "And The Community Will Rise," a series of site-specific, multimedia, and immersive dance performances that incorporates the stories of community members living in Chinatowns across the country. Lenora shares about her beginnings as a dancer and artist in San Francisco and how she came into her process of working with immigrant communities to transform their experiences into dance. The performances of Lenora Lee Dance blend time, forge connection, and call attention to the ways people overcome the trauma of immigration and exclusion.

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcription here: https://tinyurl.com/wewontmove-4

Artist, researcher, and educator Erina C. Alejo joins Michelle, Dara, and Kazumi to discuss A Hxstory of Renting, a photo book published by clamshell press featuring Erina’s photography of the Excelsior, Mission, and South of Market documenting anti-displacement resilience in San Francisco, and writings by David Woo, Janet Delaney, and Jerome Reyes. Erina shares how personal and collective histories are deeply rooted in place and the ways in which we work together, and the responsibility of being an artist who archives and uplifts these stories.

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/wewontmove-3

Activist, educator, and scholar Dr. Estella Habal joins Michelle, Dara, and Kazumi to talk about the fight to save San Francisco's International Hotel in 1977, which for more than two decades had been the home of Asian-American laborers and a hub for organizers and artists. Estella shares about being a student organizer in the movement, the process of writing her book afterward (San Francisco’s International Hotel: Mobilizing the Filipino American Community in the Anti-Eviction Movement, Temple University Press), and how authentic care—for ourselves and for our communities—is necessary to intergenerational movement building.

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/we-wont-move-2

Kearny Street Workshop presents its first podcast about Bay Area Asian Pacific American arts, activism, and dreaming. Hosts Michelle Lin, Dara Del Rosario, and Kazumi Chin talk about the genesis of the podcast, the significance of "We Won't Move," and what it means to create a living archive. They sit down with curator and feminist scholar Thea Quiray Tagle to discuss her most recent curatorial project AFTER LIFE (we survive), an exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts spotlighting queer resilience and the work of artists creating radical forms of relationship and care.

Show Notes and Full Episode Transcript Here: https://tinyurl.com/we-wont-move-1