Asians in Art

We caught up with one of India's most acclaimed independent film actors and directors, Tannishtha Chatterjee, following the New York premiere of her latest film, Full Plate — her second feature as director, starring Kirti Kulhari, Sharib Hashmi, Indraneil Sengupta, and Monica Dogra. Trained as a Hindustani classical vocalist and a graduate of India's prestigious National School of Drama, Tannishth...

In this deeply personal conversation on the Asians in Art Podcast, we sit down with Radhika Vekaria — Grammy-nominated British Indian–East African vocalist, composer, sensory artist and speaker whose work explores the transformative power of sound. Drawing on Sanskrit narratives, Vedic hymns and the science of sound, her music bridges thousands of years of tradition with the contemporary world. He...

The Village Voice has called her work "enormously powerful, alternately voluptuous and frenetic." maura nguyễn donohue has spent over 30 years as one of New York City's most distinctive voices in avant-garde dance performance — as a choreographer, curator, producer, and advocate for the art form. She is now Chair of Dance at Hunter College, one of the city's leading public colleges. Born in Vietna...

In this episode we sit down with Perry Yung, a veteran actor, musician, and activist who embodies the essence of "Be water". The Oakland, California-native who grew up idolizing Bruce Lee, the martial artist renowned for his iconic quote, has navigated his career with remarkable flexibility and an open embrace of change. Originally destined for a career in modern dance after winning a scholarship...

Multi-award winning playwright, director, and translator, Aya Ogawa knows what it's like to live in many worlds and in between. Born in Tokyo and based in Brooklyn, their work centers women and non-binary perspectives and uses the stage as a space for exploring cultural identity and the immigrant experience. In this conversation, Aya opens up about the deeply personal journey behind their Obie Awa...

Wen-Ting Wu is a drummer, composer, and educator from Taiwan, now at the heart of New York City's jazz scene. From the moment she felt the swing, she followed it — across genres, across oceans, and deep into the spiritual heart of the drum. She has performed at some of New York City's most iconic venues — including Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club, Smalls, Smoke, and at large festivals across...

Growing up Filipino American in rural Alaska, Ariel Estrada learned early that he existed at the edges. Raised in a strict Asian household, he carried those pressures with him when he set his sights on New York's acting scene, only to find new walls waiting: class barriers, industry gatekeeping. Searching for empowerment, he spent twenty years inside a brutal martial arts cult before finding his w...

We couldn't fit everything into the main episode — so here's the bonus from the conversation where Tharanga Goonetilleke talks about her role as teacher, valuing her creativity and why issues should never have the final say on pushing artistic boundaries.

Tharanga Goonetilleke is one of opera's most distinctive voices — and one of its most thoughtful minds. We talk to her about her origins, the teachers who changed everything, taking her gift and passion to global audiences on stage, in TED talks and in classrooms, and a question that sits at the heart of art: what is the point of artistic expression? Artwork courtesy of Tharanga Goonetilleke Learn...

Peter Lin is a Taiwanese-American trombonist, producer, and educator based in New Jersey & New York City. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and raised in northern New Jersey. His parents love classical and Christian rock music. So how did he find his way into jazz? In this episode of Asians in Art, we unpack Peter's story – from school band to quartet – exploring what jazz means to him, hi...

Tom Hanks called him “Mr. Badass”. He’s been described as a “bro-ish menace” as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice and an “actor of the first order” as Prince Hal in Henry IV I. This episode of Asians in Art features the award-winning actor, writer, and narrator David Lee Huynh. He talks about the challenges of growing up in Louisiana as a child of Vietnamese immigrants to acting in Shakespeare pla...

What have our guests been up to since we last spoke with them? From books to music awards to exhibitions, we give you the latest. Follow us: Instagram: @aiashow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php ?... Music: Justin Jen Video Editor: Szewah Chin Social Producer: Karuna Shinsho Producers: Szewah Chin, Karuna Shinsho Exec Producers: Szewah Chin, Karuna Shinsho

It's said that history is written in stone, but playwright Lauren Yee finds it in the ordinary, whether in the groove of a Cambodian psych-rock record, at a basketball game in Beijing 1989 or in 1990s post-Soviet Union. San Francisco-born Yee has made a career of exploring the crossover of the personal and the political, finding humor in the heart of great historical change. In this episode of Asi...

How has acting changed? What does it mean to be an Asian American working actor? In this episode, actors Jo Mei and Kenneth Lee discuss a life devoted to acting, the essence of acting and the drive for greater representation of Asian Americans in movies, television, and theater productions. Kenneth Lee is an accomplished actor and advocate known for his versatility across major international stage...

For this episode of Asians in Art, we spoke with interdisciplinary artist Xyza Cruz Bacani at her most recent installation, The Diaspora is Home, at Flux IV in New York. At the age of 19, Xyza travelled from Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya to join her mother in Hong Kong, to work as a nanny for an affluent family. Bacani started taking casual photographs after purchasing her first digital single-lens refle...

Nancy Matsumoto is an award-winning author who writes about agroecology, food sovereignty, the vibrant world of food and drink, and Japanese American culture and history. Her latest book, Reaping What She Sows: How Women Are Rebuilding Our Broken Food System , shares the stories of female changemakers who are innovating shorter and more transparent food supply chains that prioritize sustainability...

A big thank you to Michael Parloff and the Parlance Chamber Concerts for providing us with the footage of Seth Morris on flute and Mariko Anraku on harp, playing the Cadenza from the first movement of Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto . And a big heartfelt thanks to Alexis Spieldenner at Bravo Niagara , for providing us with the footage for Kimiko's Pearl, composed by Kevin Lau, featuring Mariko An...

Asians in Art kicks off with British-Chinese film director Po Chih Leong, a pioneer who has charted his own distinct film making path, and whose films helped reshape Hong Kong’s cinematic landscape. Throughout his career, Leong has used drama and comedy to explore the cultural tensions between East and West and the resilience of humanity amid violence and chaos. Join Karuna, Szewah and Po Chih as...