The concepts chapter for the visual narrative website includes purpose, struggles & solutions, research, feedback, and the conclusion & next steps. This section is mainly about how I developed the concept for the visual narrative website.
In response to the recent rise in discrimination towards the Asian American community, I looked for ways in which I can support and advocate against the anti-Asian sentiment and misunderstandings. I sought to create more intimate and personal connections between people to cultivate further understanding and compassion.
I realized that even though I have seen documentaries and read books about Asian Americans, knowing of their experiences and truly understanding them were two different things. Even though it is obvious that I would not know what it is like to be Chinese American for example, I sometimes had forgotten how different our lives and perspectives were. Especially as a Japanese international student who is just visiting the U.S, it was not until I actively immersed myself in Asian American communities that I realized just how much I was different. Not only is "Asian American" a very large group of people but I also found it tricky to curate my project to include groups of people that I had yet to understand. Although it would be a nice challenge to try and include various cultural groups of Asian Americans, I felt that I was limited in time and connections.
Realizing my level of understanding and the position that I am in led me to be more cautious about what specific group of people I would be representing in my project. At first, I discussed my project with as many people as I could but it wasn’t until I contacted a close friend of mine and artist Miwa Neishi, that I was able to finally start molding my project. Miwa is also Japanese and we previously had conversations about art and purpose. With her support, I ended up building my project from a closer and more familiar space. This led to my project focusing more on the Japanese diaspora in the U.S. In this way, I was able to better understand and curate my project.
My first plan was to interview an old Chinese-owned store in Chinatown. I had contacted them before my project had started but received no answers. After some waiting, I realized that they must be very busy and I should move on to another plan. Since this project has a timeline, it was important to have flexibility so that I could start coding and building the project. After changing my plan from interviewing one subject/entity to recording conversations between two people, I continued to have issues when planning to get in touch with people. Some people were interested but did not have time and others would not stay in touch.
It was most helpful that through Miwa, I met Japanese American photographer HATSUE who was not only interested in my project but was able to make time and contribute to my project. Since my plan was always in the process of molding into something better, HATSUE had a significant role in shaping my project into what it is today. I met her through this project and now we have a great lasting friendship.
To advocate against anti-Asian sentiments, I wanted to focus on intimate and authentic ways I can share narratives. I wanted to avoid boxing in my subjects to serve my own purpose. In other words, I did not want to project my own expectations on them. Especially since I am not a specialist in interviews, activism, or racism, I thought that I should not be the one to ask specific questions.
This allowed me to collect narratives that are more natural and free-flowing. It was also interesting to see how different a conversation could feel depending on who people were paired with. I felt that in this way, the conversations were shaped more by the things they usually think about rather than what I made them think about.
I could not have worked on my project as well as I did if not for my mentors and friends who thought through the concepts and strategies with me. Building a conceptual project was a challenge for me and it helped to go through my ideas and concepts with another person. I was lucky to have people around me who were knowledgeable in community-based projects and documentation. During this project, I was constantly communicating with people to receive feedback and go through my thought process. Not only did it help me organize my thoughts but it was a great routine that would get me excited to move forward.
I am happy that I took this opportunity to challenge myself to develop a more community-based project. Even though I was not confident that I could create anything that would make a difference, the act of trying and being more thoughtful of concepts helped me see what is possible. I believe that this project has helped me overcome a barrier that had stopped me from creating more meaningful, personal, and community-based works out of fearing what others might think or if it would be enough. This experience has given me beautiful moments and relationships because I was both open and confident. I hope to continue working on community-based projects that are collaborative, thoughtful, and building relationships.