Support Francisco Garcia's book project: Darker than Blue.  A collection of his photographs of jazz and spoken-word artists in the Bay Area, Chicago, and New York.

We thank all of the supporters of our work

Asian Improv aRts commissions and presents projects that are reflective of the BIPOC communities through the lens Asian American

This interdisciplinary performance project is a collaboration between composer/saxophonist Francis Wong and dancer/choreographer Lenora Lee. This project was originally to be performed in historic public spaces in Chinatown - St. Mary’s Square and the Ping Yuen Housing Projects. St. Mary’s Square is the location of several iconic structures, namely, a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, first provisional president of the Republic of China, a plaque honoring Chinese Americans who gave their lives in World War I and World War II; and more recently, a memorial to the Comfort Women in World War II. The Ping Yuen Housing Projects were the first high-rise public housing projects built in the US and were meant to house Chinese American veterans of World War II.

Unfortunately due to the pandemic we would not be able to organize live in person performances in these spaces. As an alternative, we filmed the music ensemble performing the score for the work at SOMArts Cultural Center and Lenora Lee Dance company members in St. Mary’s Square and in front of the Ping Yuen Projects. We took these elements and then made the short film series you see here. We structured the series into six chapters covering these six stories:

• Chapter I: Joseph Pierce, a Chinese American veteran of the American Civil War
• Chapter II: For the 140,000 Chinese from China who served as a laborers on the Western Front of World War I.
• Chapter III: For the Chinese and Chinese Americans who served in the China Burma India Theater of World II.
• Chapter IV: Salute to the Fallen for the Chinese Americans honored in the abovementioned plaque in St. Mary’s Square
• Chapter V: Dreamwaters/Peace for the Comfort Women
• Chapter VI: El Pueblo Unido, celebrating the contributions of BIPOC communities to peace and social justice

Primary funding for this project came from:
   

Chapter I: Joseph Pierce, a Chinese American veteran of the American Civil War

Chapter II: For the 140,000 Chinese from China who served as a laborers on the Western Front of World War I.

Chapter III: For the Chinese and Chinese Americans who served in the China Burma India Theater of World II.

Chapter IV: Salute to the Fallen for the Chinese Americans honored in the abovementioned plaque in St. Mary’s Square

Chapter V: Dreamwaters/Peace for the Comfort Women

Chapter VI: El Pueblo Unido, celebrating the contributions of BIPOC communities to peace and social justice

View the Full Playlist:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/9572587

Asian Improv aRts seeks a part-time development consultant to work on ongoing fundraising and operational needs!

Position: Development Consultant
Reports to: Administrative and Artistic Director
Application Process Opens: Now
Position starts: Immediately
Accepting applications until: Until ideal candidate is matched

Candidates must have an established background in coordinating nonprofit donation strategies, grantwriting, reporting and compliance, and staff/volunteer leadership. This position is temporary with the possibility of becoming long term.

This role involves organizing mid to large scale fundraising initiatives, working with the administrative team, board members, managing our annual and seasonal fundraising campaigns, and building relationships with donors, admin team, supporters, and volunteers. The development associate will also work on implementing major giving and planned giving fundraising strategies.

Qualifications
Our ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years of fund development experience, preferably in the education and nonprofit fields. Candidates should also be familiar with CRM nonprofit software, donor databases and other fundraising technology to use in their daily job duties. Previous arts development experience is preferred.  Finally the ability to professionally multitask is a key trait the organization is looking for.

Development Consultant Key Responsibilities

• Planning and evaluating fundraising campaigns and activities.
• Managing the organization’s fundraising income programs.
• Identifying and stewarding prospective donors.
• Recruiting and training fundraising support and volunteer leaders.
• Staying on top of fundraising trends and the nonprofit community.

• Communicating with donors and staff via email, phone or social media.
• Answering donor and staff inquiries in a timely fashion.
• Using prospect research tools and your donor database to build donor relationships.
• Creating solicitation materials for the fundraising team.
• Grant writing, reporting and compliance

Early submissions are encouraged. Please send application materials (resume, cover letter, references, pay rate request) to [email protected]  & [email protected].

Support composer musician Jon Jang's newest recording called CAGES: A Way to Interrogate History featuring the Jon Jangtet and poet Paul S. Flores.

From Artist Jon Jang:

Please support my new recording project CAGES: A Way to Interrogate History.

The recording of this new work features a collaboration with spoken word artist Paul Flores and my ensemble, the Jon Jangtet. This recording project is a continuation of our practice to tell and share our stories and histories through collaboration connecting music with spoken word.

What’s significant about collaborating with Paul Flores is that we developed a new and different kind of collaboration in spoken word and music.  In this new work called CAGES, Paul Flores, who grew up in Chula Vista 3 miles away from the Border, not only shares stories about incarceration of Latinos in this country but also stories about my grandfather’ history as a paper son, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, and my wife’s Japanese American family history of being incarcerated in concentration camps during World War II.

My vision of making art is to advance an American in transformation. Please support this vision and recording by making a donation by clicking here: DONATE

If you make a donation of $10,000, you will be credited as Executive Producer on the CD recording

If you make a donation of $5,000 or more, you will be credited as Producer on the CD recording.

If you make a donation of $1,000 or more, you will be credited as Associate Producer on the CD recording

If you make a donation of $500 or more, you will be credited as Collaborator on the CD recording

Rare in person and virtual performance by Purple Gums featuring the legendary Bobby Bradford, William Roper, and yours truly with special guest Genevieve Lim. We are celebrating the late composer Glenn Horiuchi’s birthday! In addition to her own works, Genny will read from Horiuchi’s collection of writings Zen of Glenn. Sunday, February 27, 2022, at Bird and Beckett. In person limited to 20 so it’d be a good idea to reserve in advance. Click here for info:

https://birdbeckett.com/purple-gums-2-27-22/

1-415-586-3733
[email protected]

We hope your 2022 has been off to a great start and you and your loved ones are staying safe, healthy, and connected. With Lunar New Year upon us, all of us at Asian Improv aRts want to take some time to share with you words of gratitude and excitement for this past year and the next to come.

COMMUNITY POWER

The first leg of our 35 year anniversary fundraising campaign has been a resounding success! In only 60 days, we have been able to raise over $25,000 with contributions from 78 donors, reminding us of the power of art and community. Thank you! Our goal is to reach at least $35,000 by June 30 and with help from supporters like you, we are absolutely confident we can get there and beyond.

NEW PROGRAMS

Behind the scenes, we’ve been envisioning for the future and this year will see the launch of two brand new programs:

1. A national co-commissioning program which will bring together selected artists from across the country and artistic disciplines, to create new innovative, multidisciplinary works; and
2. A grassroots fellowship program developing the next generation of emerging artists by connecting them to mentorship and guidance from established artists in their fields

We will be announcing our inaugural cohorts for both programs later this year, so keep on the lookout!

A NEW ERA

As we look forward, we are leaning into a new national direction that will bridge artists and arts organizations across the country to nurture a rich, collective voice that reflects and gives back to local communities. Save the date for the first event of this new era! 

EXPANSIONS // HORIZONS

Asian Art Museum
June 30, 2022

Come celebrate 35 years of Asian Improv aRts with a multidisciplinary evening of music, dance, and film across two unique programs featuring an intergenerational lineup of AIR artists from the Bay Area, Chicago, and Los Angeles and meet the next generation of emerging artists in these fields, as we look forward to the future with radical imagination.

STRONG ROOTS

Asian Improv aRts is rooted in the Asian American movement and no matter how far our branches grow (which they have and will keep doing), we will always be connected to the soil of our communities that have nourished us. This is exemplified in the press coverage we’ve received across different platforms. Here are some of the highlights from this past year:

1. Jon Jang’s CAGES in “21 Stories of Strength to Close Out 2021” by Mother Jones
2. Lenora Lee Dance on the cover of and inside the California Arts Council’s DREAM magazine
3. Asian Improv aRts in Bay Area community newspaper, Nichi Bei Weekly

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb 6 | Ways to Interrogate History w/ Jon Jangtet and Paul Flores | 6pm & 7:30pm SFJAZZ (201 Franklin St, San Francisco)

Feb 27 | Zen of Glenn: Glenn Horiuchi Birthday Retrospective w/ Bobby Bradford, Genny Lim, and Francis Wong | 5-7pm @ Bird and Beckett Books (653 Chenery St, San Francisco)

April 21 - 23 | World Premiere of Convergent Waves: Boston w/ Lenora Lee Dance | 7pm & 8:30pm @ Pao Arts Center (99 Albany Street, Boston, MA)

April | Jon Jang in the East Bay

June 9 | World Premiere of Convergent Waves: SF w/ Lenora Lee Dance | 6pm & 7:30pm @ Asian Art Museum (200 Larkin Street, San Francisco)

June 26 (subject to change) | Japan Day Festival w/ GenRyu Arts | Details coming soon @ Japantown, San Francisco

June 30 | EXPANSIONS // HORIZONS | Program A: 6-7pm & Program B: 7:30-8:30pm @ Asian Art Museum (200 Larkin Street, San Francisco)

Sept 1 - 11 | World Premiere of In the Movement  w/ Lenora Lee Dance | Thursdays-Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm @ ODC Theater (3153 17th Street, San Francisco)

As we end this lunar cycle, we want to say thank you from our hearts for all of your support in all the ways - material, financial, and spiritual. Without you, what we do would not be possible. Wishing you a happy new year full of health, connection, prosperity, and care! 

​​KUNG HEI FAT CHOI! / GONG XI FA CAI!

CHÚC MỪNG NĂM MỚI!

SAEHAE BOK MANI BADEUSEYO!

SELAMAT TAHUN BARU!

MANIGONG BAGONG TAON!

SURSEDEY CHNAM THMEY!

Introducing 

945

A project of Asian Improv aRts SF in collaboration with Lenora Lee Dance (LLD), API Cultural Center (APICC), and the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC).

AIR/SF is pleased to announce that we have secured a Chinatown storefront space under the auspices of CCDC at 945 Clay St., between Joice Alley and Stockton St. We are also pleased to have received a Creative Spaces Grant from the SF Arts Commission in order to formulate a 3 year plan for improvements and programming.

Our goal with 945 is to “hold space” for artistic and cultural creativity driven by the community of artists and activists who have gathered around the body of collaborative work between AIR/SF, LLD, APICC, and CCDC over the last decade. This work includes commissioning and premiering of musical works, immersive dance performances, other interdisciplinary forms, as well as the production of recordings and films, organizing school and community site arts education, and of course, creative place-making in several districts of San Francisco.

Our vision for 945 is for it to be a place for artists and cultural activists to work; to build pieces, brainstorm concepts, work on day to day planning and implementation, engage with community members, and share artistic work in the intimate setting of a storefront space. We plan to organize this activity through a Resident Artist Program, Resident Curator Program, and Technical Assistance Incubator.

Help us to reach out 2019 goal to keep the space accessible to the community please donate HERE:

$10,000 Executive Producer

Your name will be included on our Donor Wall at the Executive Producer level

website donor recognition page

Special invitation to Grand Opening VIP Reception

2 Complementary tickets to AIR, APICC & LLD performances

$5,000 Artistic Director

Your name will be included on our Donor Wall at the Artistic Director level

website donor recognition page

Special invitation to Grand Opening VIP Reception

2 Complementary tickets to AIR, APICC & LLD performances

$3,000 Composer

Your name will be included on our Donor Wall at the Composer level

website donor recognition page

Special invitation to Grand Opening VIP Reception

2 Complementary tickets to AIR, APICC & LLD performances

$1,000 Artist

Your name will be included on our website donor recognition page

Special invitation to Grand Opening VIP Reception

2 Complementary tickets to AIR, APICC & LLD performances

$500 Collaborator

Your name will be included on our website donor recognition page

$100 Patron

Your name will be included on our website donor recognition page