Asian Artists in State Are ‘Making Waves’ Yet Still Largely Neglected

Powerful. Fractured. Rich. Neglected.

These are all words that respondents to the statewide survey “Making Waves,” released just last month, used to describe the Asian American Pacific Islander art ecosystem they observed in their own communities and across Massachusetts.

The report delved into 150 AAPI artists’, leaders’, and community members’ perspectives on the vitality of art — and its creators ­— who are by nature part of the diaspora in America. Sponsored by the Asian Community Fund, the questionnaires reveal challenges faced by artists, community insights, and potential courses of action to support and preserve AAPI art. Respondents varied across ethnic and age groups, largely reflecting population densities within Massachusetts; with regard to age, approximately 30% of respondents were under 40 years old, with the oldest survey taker being 82.

One notable theme across the responses was a collective feeling of concern that the community shared. This concern mainly stemmed from two sources: funding and isolation.

Funding

Respondents were asked to rank five separate statements using 20 points, allowing for variance from the average value of four points to illustrate the relative importance of the subject. In the “Challenges” section of the questionnaire, the “lack of reliable and sustainable funding sources for AAPI arts and culture activities, events, organizations, and programs” earned a striking 5.6 points, a large margin above the other statements. Worth noting is this answer was also the most contentious; some participants assigned it 10 points (out of 20), while others only gave two, reflecting the divisive nature of how much funding people think art deserves.

Yet what isn’t contentious is how unreliable funding harms the artists who depend on it. The survey recognized that “today, the infrastructure to support AAPI artists and cultural workers remains fragile.” This fragility often looks like erratic supply, leaving organizations uncertain about their futures: Some participants share that each year they are “uncertain if organization will make it due to funding.”

Moreover, a lack of specific spaces for AAPI art to be practiced in, like studios and rehearsal rooms, also contribute to systemic impermanence. Even when resources are distributed to the community, representation is uneven; the report acknowledges that as “the systems that shape public narratives often fail to reflect the full complexity and diversity of the AAPI experience.” Respondents confirm: The unreliable nature of resources, and systemic underinvestment in art, act as the “biggest threat to the art community’s survival, growth, and preservation.”

The biggest impact of irregular funding and representation is losing visibility.

When underrepresented AAPI art groups disappear from public view for monetary reasons, the community loses what is often one of few sources of cultural exposure.

“AAPI communities in particular have a deep level of invisibility constantly ingrained and imposed on us,” one respondent shared, adding that “rts reinforce placemaking…. that we belong in and contribute to our wider communities.”

Many artists, especially those from underrepresented groups, are also facing the drain of traditional culture as knowledgeable elders age. The report lists many places where this drain has reached critical levels: Lowell’s Cambodian ceramicists, Worcester’s Lao oral poetry practitioners (of which only three remain), and Boston Chinatown’s opera makeup artists. This issue is attributed to low levels of engagement, both within the AAPI community and outside of it; as one elder warned: “These arts survived war and displacement—don’t let them die from neglect in America.”

Isolationism

Respondents’ second biggest concern involved a lack of solidarity amongst groups. At the 2023 AAPI Arts & Culture Summit, the report divulges, the word most commonly used by attendees to describe the AAPI arts and culture sector was “fractured,” and the words most commonly used to describe where attendees would like the AAPI arts and culture sector to be in the future were “collaborative” and “mainstream.”

Though the respondents acknowledged that the Massachusetts AAPI community had a wealth of talent (awarding it 5.53 points), they lamented that this talent was often exercised in isolation. Indeed, organizational relationships, cross-cultural endorsements, and communal exhibitions of AAPI stories, cultures, and struggles were rated by community members as much rarer.

“While talent abounds in the AAPI arts and culture community in Massachusetts,” one respondent wrote, “greater connection points and organizational support are still needed.”

A lack of AAPI unity often leads to logistical issues. One respondent found that as a result of fractured organization within AAPI art, there isn’t really “anyone (or any organization) at the forefront of advocating for policy.”

Yet identifying this gap indicates a growing potential for solvency; respondents overwhelmingly saw the opportunity to unite, changing the current narrative surrounding AAPI art to highlight the collective diversity of the sector, which can give it the attention it needs to take off.

The Future

Thus, hope, if not already infused in the community, is on the horizon. Many survey respondents were optimistic about the rising growth of AAPI populations in the state, aiming to leverage more voices to increase bargaining power when calling for more resources for the arts and culture sector. Others identified new solutions to existing problems, such as grassroots advocacy, community event calendars, and more AAPI leadership in the state art ecosystem.

Throughout these observations, the report highlights why AAPI art is necessary to bolster and maintain. Both the report and its respondents recognize the direct correlation between practicing art and a feeling of belonging. One survey taker shared, “Olelo Hawaii (native language and Mo’olelo (stories) is how my culture continues to live. Hence, arts and culture, they are lauhala, the two hands that weave together. Both are vital for my existence and future as an AAPI person.”

Amid divisive times, many participants also emphasize the importance of fighting for mainstream awareness to showcase how AAPI groups contribute to the success of the overall community. Diversity is not just important, they want to highlight, but essential to the state’s wellbeing.

But participants were also the least confident, out of all the possible avenues of increasing visibility, in the potential of a broad-scale public awareness campaign. Garnering mainstream awareness, becoming a regular part of peoples’ day-to-day lives, is recognized as one of the community’s greatest struggles. Many respondents contended that “there needs to be more creative ways to insert AAPI arts & culture in mainstream events, like the Lowell Folk Festival and other regional and national festivals.”

But this view is not shared by all. Other survey takers shared that they worry that a preoccupation with “mainstream” audiences takes away from the integrity of the art produced, and shifts the focus away from the communities and cultures AAPI art is meant to represent.

What’s vital to many of the survey responders is that AAPI communities harness the growing wave for collaborative success.

Thus, the report is branded as a call to action. It finds that though the AAPI arts and culture community is “growing and thriving, driving local economies, and shaping the identity of our neighborhoods and cities,” it needs consistent efforts to stay that way. And to the respondents, readers, and AAPI community at large, the survey has a message: We are artists, tradition-bearers, organizers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and storytellers.