On May 10, 2014, over 500 people joined the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center for A Day in the Life of Asian Pacific America, capturing over 2,000 photos and videos on a single day. Check out our experiment in envisioning the APA experience.
LessEvery 4th of July, we celebrate what Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the early 19th Century: the birth of America’s improbable and fascinating experiment in democratic life. Aim High: Teens playing a game of basketball. - Khrystal Phoenix
On July 4th, 2014, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presented an experiment in cultural democracy – the first crowdsourced gallery of the Asian Pacific American experience around the world as lived on one day. A young girl flashes a peace sign at Duoc Su Temple. - Dean Wong
We chose the 145th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railway; an unprecedented national project that relied heavily on Chinese labor, but whose Asian history was excluded from its visual documentation in the iconic picture of the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah. Connecting America by rail is an integral part of the Asian American story. In Hemet there are still several Asian American businesses near the old rail lines. - Bryan Thao Worra
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center issued a call to populate the online world with Asian Pacific American representations of life on a day when Asian Pacific American experiences were historically spectral. City Super: Shopping for fresh food is an activity that takes place every day. In Chinatown of San Francisco, this scene is a reminder of the active nature on a busy street. - Wilton Wong
Asian Pacific America is without borders. It exists after your flight has left the gate, when you are in unfamiliar land, and beyond the digital grid. Seeking bird self. -Dao Strom
Our heritage informs our lives – from the life-changing instances to the mundane. Even when it’s not at the front of our minds, it lies deep in our souls.
We express our passion through the way we fill our days – whether we are running toward our dreams or struggling to survive.
We engage in ritual to be larger than any individual self. Together, we celebrate, mourn, and give thanks.
Community is convergence. We are defined by those who surround us. We are reflections of each other.