Outgoing NWAAT Artistic Director Judi Nihei introduces the Home Symposium.

Right: Playwright Chay Yew speaks to an audience member, while choreographer Loke Soh Kim busies herself.

Also in attendance was actress Julyanna Soelistyo, featured actor in the recent run of Golden Child by David Henry Hwang.

NWAAT Symposium on Home

NWAAT HOLDS INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM AND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

On Sunday, July 27, 4 pm - 6 pm at the Nippon Kan Theatre,The Northwest Asian American Theatre held "Home," a symposium to explore the issues addressed in the development of a collaborative work by artists from Asia, Asian artists based in the U.S. and Asian/Pacific Islander American artists.

Taking the word "home" as their starting point, the artists explored, through their work, issues related to cultural identification issues arising from the Asian diaspora. Participating artists (also resident artists in the second of three residencies in NWAAT's International Artists Collaboration Program) included Deirdre delaCruz, writer/performer, Seattle; Loke Soh Kim, choreographer/dancer, Penang, Malaysia; Zai Kuning, performance/installation artists, Singapore; Susie Kozawa, sound designer/performer, Seattle; and Chay Yew, playwright/director, Los Angeles.

Participating scholars include York Wong, Evergreen State College; Richard E.T. White, Cornish College of the Arts Theatre Department; Lorraine Sakata, University of Washington Department of Music, Ethnomusicology Program; and Maria Root, University of Washington Ethnic Studies Department.

The symposium included a demonstration by the artists of their works in progress and a roundtable discussion featuring both the artists and scholars, moderated by Mayumi Tsutakawa.