Did someone say vegetable samosas? This past Saturday, ASPA hosted the third annual Umbrella Arts Festival, a celebration of Asian cultures. Erica Schmitt has the story.
THE SOUNDS OF THE STREETS –
[crowd nat sound]
– THE DRUMS AND THE MUSIC –
[drumming nat sound]
– AND THE PACKED ART BOOTHS, SPRAY PAINTING AND ASIAN CUISINE FILLED EVANSTON’S DOWNTOWN FOUNTAIN SQUARE THIS SATURDAY.
EVANSTON’S ASIAN, SOUTH ASIAN, PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICANS, OR ASPA HOSTED THEIR THIRD ANNUAL UMBRELLA ARTS FESTIVAL FEATURING OVER 40 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. ASPA FOUNDER AND FESTIVAL ORGANIZER, MELISSA RAMAN-MOLITOR SAID THERE ARE MANY GOALS TO HOSTING THIS EVENT.
[MELISSA] The first is to raise awareness and engagement and participation in learning about different Asian cultures within our community. There are so few spaces, events and activities that center the Asian American community. And the result of that is that there are many people who identify as Asian American who don’t actually feel like they belong in this community.
ONE OF THE MANY BOOTHS INCLUDED SINAG: FILIPINO-AMERICAN ARTISTS OF GREATER CHICAGO. GERALDINE MARTINEZ-BENZ IS AN ARTIST THAT SOLD SOME OF HER PIECES THERE.
[GERALDINE] They’re prints of my paintings. And they’re mostly big paintings, like four by four feet, three feet by five feet. And it’s made of acrylic on canvas. It’s Filipino themed and (I’m) trying to do a Filipino theme with colorful clothes in their local crowds in the Philippines.
MARTINEZ-BENZ SAID THIS WAS THE GROUP’S SECOND YEAR ATTENDING THE FESTIVAL. AND ACCORDING TO HER, THE DAY IS BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY.
[GM-B] I see a lot more Asians come out during this festival, so it brings a lot of sense of community. And I get to see a lot of other Asians and Filipinos. I didn’t even know there were a lot of Filipinos living here in Evanston until last year.
ATTENDEE JOSH LOPEZ SAID THAT SEEING THE LOCAL ART WAS A HIGHLIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL FOR HIM.
[JOSH] I think supporting local artists has been really, really fun. And also seeing how many like similarities and connections that we have. I checked out Sinag, and even just their artists and having so much in common with them and the way that they tell their stories through their art has been really fascinating and really exciting.
LOPEZ ATTENDED THE FESTIVAL WITH SELENA NOP, WHO IS NEW TO THE CHICAGOLAND REGION. SHE SAID THIS FESTIVAL WAS ONE WAY TO ACCLIMATE TO THE AREA AS AN ASIAN-AMERICAN.
[SELENA] I’m trying to figure out the Asian communities footprint here, trying to figure out different avenues to get involved and figure out like, what groups are around.
THE FESTIVAL FEATURED SEVERAL PERFORMANCES FROM ASIAN-AMERICAN GROUPS FEATURING TRADITIONAL INDONESIAN PEACOCK DANCES TO SINGERS AND POETS.
ONE OF THE PERFORMANCES WAS FROM CHUTE MIDDLE SCHOOL’S ASIAN EAGLE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF THE CLUB, JAYNE DIVERSIEV. SHE PERFORMED HER POEM TITLED ‘MADE IN CHINA,’ A COMMENTARY ON RACISM AGAINST ASIAN-AMERICANS.
[‘made in china’ performance]
THE ALLIANCE ALSO HOSTED A BOOTH, WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS COULD LOOK AT IDENTITY MAPS AND WORK ON WRITING PROMPTS. SOME OF PROMPTS COVERED TOPICS LIKE RACISM AND LISTING THINGS YOU LOVE ABOUT YOURSELF.
DIVERSIEV SAID SHE WAS GLAD THE CLUB HAD A PLATFORM TO SPREAD THEIR MESSAGE.
[JAYNE] I think that these festivals are very important, since they have to do with a lot of culture and tradition, especially with coming together with people of your community. I just feel like it’s not shared enough.
[music]
AS THE EVENT ENDED WITH COLORFUL LANTERNS TAKEN HOME AND SEVERAL PEOPLE FULL FROM VEGETABLE SAMOSAS, NOP REFLECTED ON HOW THE DIFFERENT CULTURES PRESENT REPRESENTED THEMSELVES.
[SN] What are the traditions that people choose to carry with them, as they, you know, like, educate the masses in a different country? What are they teaching people? What are they investing their time and resources in – like that’s cool to see.
LOPEZ SAID THAT WHILE THERE WERE MANY CULTURES REPRESENTED LIKE HIS OWN FILIPINO BACKGROUND AND NOP’S CAMBODIAN BACKGROUND –
[JL] There are cultures that aren’t represented here today. And I just encourage other people to look at what’s out there. And there’s a ton of festivals and a ton of activities out there in the city to take advantage of and learn something new.
FROM WNUR NEWS, I’M ERICA SCHMITT.
