The Bay Area's Hub for Asian Pacific American Community Arts Since 1972
11/15/16
Like many of you we've been struggling to process the results of last Tuesday's election. One thing we're always asking ourselves is what can we as an arts organization really do? We are fortunate to be surrounded by so many artists who care greatly about their communities and want to affect change within them and we want to reaffirm our commitment to you and our dedication to creating spaces for your art.
People argue whether art is inherently political. At its core, art is access to the imagination, and our ability to imagine is often threatening to others. When someone wants to control you, that's what they hope to repress— that ability to see beyond what is being defined for you. For us, to imagine is to resist.
We believe in the power of imagination, not for the sake of vague or fantastical proclamations but to envision a more just world, to articulate a path towards achieving this vision. We can imagine what our communities will look like, what our best selves can be. We can find ways to name our experiences and our selves. And those musings can be a beginning that leads to courageous acts.
We will continue to find better and more creative ways to stay true to our mission of turning community members into artists and artists into community members. We will remain vigilant in creating and encouraging spaces that are welcoming to all the intersections of our communities. We will continue serving you as artists and supporters of the arts. And if ever we fall short of that, we will listen, we will be accountable, and we will revise.
What we do is just one small part of the bigger picture, but we want to do it as best as we possibly can. We hope to be a place where you go to create, build, and, yes, imagine— so that the weight of our dreams may be equal to the weight of our actions.