Friday, February 2, 2024 | 6pm to 7:30pm
25 West 43rd Street, 10th Floor, Room 1000
between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan
Asian Americans are the fastest growing group in the United States and include approximately 50 distinct ethnic groups, but their stories and experiences have often been sidelined or stereotyped. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects offers a vital window into the triumphs and tragedies, strength and ingenuity, and traditions and cultural identities of these communities. Edited by Theodore S. Gonzalves, the book invites readers to experience both well-known and untold stories through influential, controversial, and meaningful objects. Thematic chapters explore complex history and shared experiences: navigation, intersections, labor, innovation, belonging, tragedy, resistance and solidarity, community, service, memory, and joy.
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects features vibrant full-color illustrations of objects that embody and engage with Asian Pacific American issues, including the immigrant experience, the importance of media representation, what history gets officially documented vs. what does not, and so much more. Objects include:
- Name tag for Challenger astronaut Ellison Onizuka
- Photograph of Hollywood actress Anna May Wong
- Hello Kitty bento box
- Stella Abrera’s ballet shoes, pancaked to match her skin color
- Caravan’s Thailand: Songs for Life album
- Sewing kit of internment camp survivor May Ishimoto
- Nam June Paik’s Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii
- The Devanagari typographical font patented by Hari Govind Govil
Theo Gonzalves will be joined by book contributors Saisha Grayson and Grace Yasumura.
Purchase Book: https://apa.si.edu/apa-101-objects-book/
