The 2022 Visions/Voices, organized in collaboration with Sheila Novak and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, celebrates the cultural power that flows through AAPI communities across the Asian diaspora in ways that vocalize both struggles and joys. Visions/Voices features live outdoor performances by Boston-area artists and performers who draw upon a wide range of artistic styles, cultural traditions, and languages from AAPI communities and beyond. Each event activates artist Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong’s YEAR OF THE TIGER installation in Mary Soo Hoo Park.
Live music, movement, spoken word, and even an audio play filled the park in Chinatown in summer 2022. The 2022 Visions/Voices outdoor performance series was produced in collaboration with the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Pao Arts Center, and Curator Leslie Condon.
All photo credits: The Chinatown Project
VISIONS/VOICES on the Rose Kennedy Greenway
YEAR OF THE TIGER PERFORMANCE SERIES
New Narratives: Our Past and Present
Saturday, July 16, 2022 – 3p to 6p
Curated by Leslie Anne Condon
Performances featured Cynthia Lin, Lani Asuncion, payal kumar, and Adobo Fish Sauce.
Translation Support by Chu Huang and Alison Qu
Learn more https://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/events/new-narratives-series-our-past-and-present/
VISIONS/VOICES on the Rose Kennedy Greenway
YEAR OF THE TIGER PERFORMANCE SERIES
New Narratives: Present and Future
Saturday, August 13, 2022 – 3p to 6p
Curated by Leslie Anne Condon
Performances featured Tamiko Beyer, Micah A. Rose,
Juk Sing, and The Flavor Continues.
Translation Support by Chu Huang and Alison Qu
Learn more https://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/events/new-narratives-present-and-future/
Throughout our shared histories, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) cultural workers have utilized our creative voices to amplify our community stories and buoy our spirits, especially amid the most difficult of times. The July and August segments of Visions/Voices this past summer were inspired by the original 2020 New Narratives storyteller series and developed in partnership with the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Pao Arts Center. Like the rest of New Narratives, Visions/Voices celebrates the cultural power that flows through AAPI communities across the Asian diaspora in ways that vocalize both our struggles and our joys.
Curatorial Statement and Image Gallery
Each Visions/Voices outdoor performance took place at Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong’s “Year of the Tiger” installation at Mary Soo Hoo Park and featured performances by Boston-area spoken-word poets, dancers, visual artists, singers, and musicians, who draw upon a wide range of artistic styles and cultural traditions from our AAPI communities and beyond. Whether through their words, dance, creative gestures, or song, each artist brought greater visibility to our interconnected histories and current realities, offering more playful and empowering visions of our collective future.
Boston Chinatown is a neighborhood shaped by a long and complex history of political turmoil and resistance. Local activists like Mary Soo Hoo were instrumental in the development of the Chinatown we know today, including the art and arts programming that now activate its streets, buildings, and parks throughout the warmer months. By bringing these public dialogues to Mary Soo Hoo Park, one of Chinatown's most prominent gathering spaces, New Narratives: Visions/Voices aims to honor the legacies – and sew future generations – of community activists like Mary Soo Hoo and connect the community voices of the past with the present.
The outdoor performance series invited audiences to consider how our individual and community identities are shaped by our community narratives. How do they influence our collective understanding of our past and present? How can we more boldly dream and imagine better futures? How can our present efforts contribute to more just and equitable futures in solidarity with other communities, especially other immigrant communities of color? Leslie Anne Condon, Curator July & August Visions/Voices