Asian in Aotearoa

To mark and celebrate 1 YEAR of uncensored conversations with Asian creatives, this special mini episode features a round up of snippets and all 19 guests to date. THANK YOU for listening and of course, a huge thanks to all guests so far. In order of appearance: Amanda Grace Leo Tanya Barlow Abhi Chinniah Gemishka Chetty Helen Yeung Gwendolyn Lin Aiwa Pooamorn Sam Low Jem Yoshioka Geoff Ong Grace...

Kishan the Jinn is an independent South Asian artist and producer, born and raised in Aotearoa. Self-taught in his art, his music captures the core elements of R&B and hip-hop, created while wearing his culture without shame. In this episode, you’ll hear about his recently released debut album (listen below), his relationship to music, heritage and just more about him. Follow Kishan: @kishanth...

Sarita Das is a Bangaladeshi-Pākehā queer, gender diverse Somatic Sex Educator who dabbles in art occasionally and looks forward to it being warm again so they can swim in the moana. We recorded this convo before lockdown and Sarita shares about their background, tough conversations, consent, art, sex and at around the 25-minute mark Sarita guides a little somatic practice, which I highly recommen...

Marwin is a Filipino-born, New Zealand-raised, Creative and Personal Trainer living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. He enjoys asking himself the hard questions and didn’t shy away from any of mine. The following is what happens when two Cancers record during Cancer season - we talk about boundaries, shame, fear of rejection, self-compassion, and some cool stuff Marwin is working on. LINKS Follow Mar...

Nathan Joe is a Christchurch born Chinese-Kiwi, an award-winning playwright and performance poet. He is the curator of DIRTY PASSPORTS and the director of upcoming play YANG/YOUNG/杨 (23-30 July at Basement Theatre). Nathan shares about his creative journey, expression of identity and labels, taking up space, relationships, romance, and what’s on the horizon for him. Follow Nathan: https://instagr...

Shana AKA Valere, is a Filipino songwriter, producer, soon-to-be-mother based in Kirikiroa, Hamilton. Her music blends soul and synths and she’s currently touring. This was a really fun chat. Shana shares about her journey to New Zealand, her music, her creativity, fear, family and more @valeremusic ☕️ SUPPORT the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/asianinaotearoa FOLLOW @asianinaotearoa on Instagram VIS...

Alyssa is a Filipino-New Zealander filmmaker and theatremaker who is dedicated to telling stories that bring marginalised voices to the forefront and inspire social change. She shares about her work, the fear of failure, self-tending, marriage, success, and her post-grad study which, since recording, Alyssa has actually pressed pause on - but I’ve kept our chat about this in because a) it’s intere...

Hazel (榛) is an artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. They use their skills in makeup, spfx and body art to creatively direct and tell stories. In this uncensored convo, Hazel shares about growing up in China as a nonbinary child, healing, self-expression, creating art and friendships. Their show “Now You See Me” is a photography story not to be missed: an immigrant only-child, finding their place in...

Marc is a queer Bisaya graphic designer, illustrator, zine maker and amateur farmer currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland and is on an ongoing journey of decolonisation and indigenisation. In this uncensored convo, Marc discusses his journey exploring the precolonial culture and heritage of the Bisaya region, his creative work, family, ancestors/being a good ancestor, spirituality, racism, a...

Grace Ko is Taiwanese-Chinese, in her 20s and enjoying the world through dancing, conversing, thinking really hard, barely thinking at all, making jewellery, painting, playing the piano, and finding joy and connection in her community. We talk about breakups, self-reflection and discovery, friendships, social norms and pressure, family and more. Note: there’s mention of racial violence when Grace...

Geoff Ong is a Malaysian-Chinese singer/songwriter, producer, photographer, videographer, and giant nerd, based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. In this episode, we talk about Geoff’s background, him getting a scholarship to go to Berklee, synchronicity, the music industry, being open to opportunity and more. @geofffong / geoffong.com ☕️ SUPPORT the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/asianinaotearoa FOLLOW...

Jem is a Japanese New Zealander creating comics that tell stories about identity, place and the powerful ways we connect to one another. Jem and I are connected in how our grandmothers were nuclear bomb survivors and moved to New Zealand. We caught up for the first time over Zoom and Jem shares about her family, heritage and privilege, as well as her creative work. @ jemyoshioka / Circuits & V...

Recorded in front of a live audience at yölkfest (a cool, inspiring Pan-Asian creative event), I invited Amanda Grace Leo from episode 1 back to continue our uncensored conversation. Amanda is Kiwi Singaporean, Peranakan-Chinese, an actor, jazz singer, face painter and friend - who is also writing New Zealand’s first Asian cabaret. We talk about: Body-stuff. Pleasure. Representation. Being visible...

Sam is a Chinese-Kiwi who grew up literally in a noodle factory in Fiji. He’s one of the top coffee pros in the world, a Chinese gastronomy enthusiast and if you’re into food and coffee, you’re probably already following him on Instagram (or you should be anyway). In this convo, we talk about Sam’s background and his passions, along with body image, tattoos, dating and more. @_sam_low_   ☕️...

Aiwa is a Thai-Chinese mother, writer, theatre-maker, performer and poet based in Auckland. With Gemishka Chetty (featured a few episodes back!), Aiwa co-created Creative Creatures, an arts collective featuring Asian women. We discuss Aiwa’s background, Tinder, poetry, family and life. @creativecreature_s / @mama_aiwa ☕️ SUPPORT the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/asianinaotearoa 👉 FOLLOW @asianinaot...

Gwen is a Chinese-New Zealander, creative producer, director, and story-listener. A participant in Helen Yeung’s Asian Feminist Project, we met in person at an Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga workshop. We talk about racism (⚠️ CW/TW), being unapologetic, finding your voice through storytelling, serendipitous connection and Gwen’s creative work including yölk . Listen to Gwen & Alyssa’s p...

Helen is a Hong Kong-Chinese researcher, community organiser, zine-maker, illustrator, plant auntie, lover of noodles and a bit of everything else. We talk about Helen’s research work (including Asian Feminist Project Aotearoa), Migrant Zine Collective , Asian-New Zealand identity and “fitting in”, love, activism, academia and more. ☕️ SUPPORT the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/asianinaotearoa 👉 FOL...

Gemishka Chetty is South African-Indian and a poet, artist, writer and performer – who, with her creative partner Aiwa Pooamorn, brought shows like Go Home Curry Muncha and Have you ever been with an Asian womxn? to life. In Episode 4, Gemishka talks about cultural appropriation and decolonisation, along with sex, festishisation, representation and racism. ☕️ SUPPORT the podcast: https://ko-fi.co...

Tanya is a fat-positive, Singaporean-Pākehā babe and interdisciplinary artist.  In Episode 2, we talk about healing from traumatic experiences, fatphobia, diversifying our feeds, finding our voice, being present for others and ourselves.  Content Warning: a reminder that this podcast is uncensored, and know that in this episode we discuss physical, verbal and emotional abuse so please sk...

In this episode, we have an uncensored conversation around language, dating, consent, connecting with our bodies and MOTHERLAND - New Zealand's first Asian cabaret that Amanda is in the process of creating. ☕️ SUPPORT the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/asianinaotearoa 👉 FOLLOW @asianinaotearoa on Instagram asianinaotearoa.com ___ ABOUT THE PODCAST Hosted by Jenna Wee, Asian in Aotearoa (New Zealand)...