Basement Workshop

Basement Workshop was an Asian-American political and arts organization in New York City active from 1970-1986.[1] It was created during the Asian American Movement and acted as an umbrella organization to writers, visual artists, dancers and choreographers, and activists. It published Bridge Magazine and sponsored exhibitions and after school programs. Artists such as Tomie Arai, Fay Chiang, Larry Hama, Jessica Hagedorn, Jason Kao Hwang, Nina Kuo,[2] and Chris Iijima were involved. Basement Workshop spawned numerous other organizations, including the Asian American Dance Theater, Asian American Arts Centre, Asian CineVision, Godzilla Asian American Arts Network, and Museum of Chinese in America[3].

History

Basement Workshop grew out the research of a group of young urban planners at Columbia University on the demographics of Manhattan's Chinatown.[4] They established a space on Catherine Street in Chinatown, and later relocated to a loft on Lafayette Street.

In 1972, Basement Workshop published the arts book Yellow Pearl, inspired by the album "Grain of Sand." The square format portfolio included poetry, song lyrics, and visual art.[5] Basement Workshop also published Bridge magazine and ran a youth program, gathered resources(at that point very limited) on Asian American history, and offered silkscreening, choreography, photography, and film workshops.[6]

References
  1. Chang, Alexandra (2009). Envisioning Diaspora. Timezone 8. pp. 24–29. ISBN 988175223X.
  2. hyun Offline (2006-07-06). "Caught Between Worlds: Artist Nina Kuo". Asiance Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  3. "A Brief History of the Art Collectives of NYC's Chinatown". Hyperallergic. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  4. "Yung, Danny - Selected Document - artasiamerica - A Digital Archive for Asian / Asian American Contemporary Art History". artasiamerica.org. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
  5. Chang, Alexandra (2009). Envisioning Diaspora. Timezone 8. p. 25. ISBN 988175223X.
  6. "A Brief History of the Art Collectives of NYC's Chinatown". Hyperallergic. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
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