Here are the five inaugural recipients of 2023 The Very Asian Foundation’s Creators Grant
The Very Asian Foundation is thrilled to announce the selection of five outstanding grantees as recipients of the inaugural Very Asian Foundation Creators Grant. Each grantee will be awarded a one-time $1,000 grant to support their creative projects, representing various artistic disciplines and backgrounds. By supporting these talented individuals, The Very Asian Foundation hopes to create a positive impact on the lives of these creators and the communities they represent, shining a light on their stories.
The five grantees for the inaugural Very Asian Foundation Creators Grant are:
Chris Deng: Deng is a Chinese American oral history storyteller and writer in New York.
“It’s through storytelling that we’re able to retain parts of our collective history and remember the ways our community has been disenfranchised, strategically targeted and harmed,” they said. “It is also through storytelling that we can hold onto our strength, joy, and resilience – for collective action and change in our community,” Deng said.
Isabel Lu: Lu is a Chinese American painter, muralist and communications specialist. They are based in North Carolina.
“As an asexual, gender non-conforming, Chinese American born and raised in North Carolina, I rarely heard stories by queer Asian voices and creators growing up. Therefore, I never felt like my experiences and identity was worthy of sharing with the world,” they said. “However, during my art residency at the Durham Art Guild these last 6 months, I have met and collaborated with so many Asian Americans with unique and beautiful stories. But the American South still lacks a creative collective or space specifically for Asian American artists.”
Super Smack (J.D. Ricafort)
Super Smack: J.D. Ricafort is a Filipino pop music artist who goes by the stage name “Super Smack.” He lives in Arizona.
“For anyone who’s ever been made to feel too ethnic, too short, too round-faced, too different– these are the people I make music for,” Super Smack said. “I became a music artist so that I could claim my spotlight and show others that they can claim their spotlight too,” he said.
Casey Seo: Seo is a Korean and Filipino furniture restorer and maker who resides in New York.
“My life experience has allowed me to build a skill set in a field that I enjoy and am talented at. I've only recently had the self awareness and emotional tools to allow myself to pursue it,” he said. “I'm thrilled to be living a life where I show up as my whole self and get to do what I want to do instead of just what I feel obligated to do.”
Virada Chatikul is a Thai author and speaker. She lives in California.
“As a traditional artist and cultural practitioner, I have often embodied stereotypes that mainstream Asian American stories want to avoid and overlook,” she said. “I believe that increased visibility for Asian American creatives like myself [to be] able to connect our past with the needs of future generations is needed - not only to represent one “type” of Asian experience, but that old Asian wisdom is needed [to] shift modern lifestyle and work towards social and environmental harmony.” Chatikul said.
Mentors include:
To be determined
