Mic check! Are you a writer? Mouth to Mouth is a space for QTPOC and rising migrant artists to perform their work.
Inspired by Asia Society Museum’s current exhibition Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence that explores banned books and the history of censorship in China, this month’s Mouth to Mouth Open Mic invites writers and performers to explore their relationship to freedom of expression.
Co-hosted by AAWW’s Kay Ulanday Barrett and Jimena Lucero, Mouth to Mouth provides a safe community space for QTPOC and rising migrant artists to perform their work. This month’s Mouth to Mouth was curated by Bushra Rehman and features powerhouse, world-renowned LGBTQ poet and spoken-word artist Staceyann Chin.
After the Open Mic, there will be a book signing for “Crossfire: A Litany for Survival” which collects Chin’s empowering, feminist-LGBTQ-Caribbean, activist-driven poetry for the first time in a single book. The museum stays open late from 6–9 p.m., offering free admission, exhibition tours, drink specials, late-night shopping at AsiaStore, and—for this month only—AAWW’s signature Mouth to Mouth Open Mic series!
Free admission! Cash bar.
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STACEYANN CHIN is a poet, actor, and performing artist. She is the author of the new poetry collection “Crossfire: A Litany For Survival,” the critically acclaimed memoir “The Other Side of Paradise,” cowriter and original performer in the Tony Award-winning “Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway,” and author of the one-woman shows “Hands Afire,” “Unspeakable Things,” “Border/Clash,” and “MotherStruck.” She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes, and her poetry been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post. She proudly identifies as Caribbean, Black, Asian, lesbian, a woman, and a resident of New York City, as well as a Jamaican national.
KAY ULANDAY BARRETT is a poet, performer, and cultural strategist. K. has featured at The Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Princeton University, Tucson Poetry Festival, NY Poetry Festival, The Dodge Poetry Foundation, The Hemispheric Institute, and Brooklyn Museum. They are a 2x Pushcart Prize nominee and received fellowships/residencies from Lambda Literary Review, VONA/Voices, The Home School, and Macondo. They are guest editor for Nat.Brut and guest faculty for The Poetry Foundation. Their contributions include: Academy of American Poets, The New York Times, Asian American Literary Review, PBS News Hour, F(r)iction, VIDA Review, NYLON, The Huffington Post, Them., Bitch Magazine, Apogee, and more. Their first book, “When The Chant Comes” was published by Topside Press in 2016. Their second collection “More Than Organs,” will be published by Sibling Rivalry Press, Spring 2020. See their work at Kaybarrett.net or on social media: @brownroundboi
JIMENA LUCERO is a poet, artist, and actor from Queens. She is a Pink Door fellow and you can find her writing in EOAGH, Colorbloq.org, and more. Jimena has performed her work at the Brooklyn Museum, Poetry Project, and Flux Factory. She is currently working on her first poetry manuscript.
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Exhibitions on View
Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence, through January 5, 2020
Through painting, installation, photography, and video, Xiaoze Xie traces the history of banned books in China.
Wang Dongling: Ink in Motion, through January 5, 2020
The first public presentation of a large-scale calligraphy work created for AsiaSociety Museum by Wang Dongling, one of the most celebrated living calligraphers from China.
In Focus: Lakshmi, through January 5, 2020
This exhibition explores the importance and worship of Lakshmi, a beloved goddess who is part of the complex Hindu culture that originated in India.