Chopsticks Alley Kickstarter Campaign to help Southeast Asian Artists

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About

Chopsticks Alley Art promotes Southeast Asian cultural heritage through the creative shared expression of art by underserved Asian artists to foster greater understanding, acceptance and support among individuals with differing abilities, the LGBTQ community, and youth.

But what does it mean? It means we can help aspiring Southeast Asian artists come out of their shells and share their creativity with the world.

Why does it matter? It matters because we need artists. Imagine a world of technology without designers. Imagine a business without a logo, imagine a movie without a set, and imagine your home without art on its walls.

Art is all around us, it is in everything we use, see, and enjoy. Yet there is a voice that is significantly missing, the voice of young Southeast Asian American artists. Many of these groups came to America as refugees or immigrants. These parents experience financial struggles and do not wish to see their children experience the same plight. So the youth are not encouraged to pursue careers in the arts. They believe artists cannot earn enough money to be financially independent. Their children are encouraged to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) instead.

However, the wave of future economic prosperity lies in a workforce that is well-versed in STEM. STEAM is taking STEM to the next level. Adding Art removes limitations and connect students' learning with wonder, critique, and inquiry. Schools and corporations are realizing that we need artists to take technology and science to the next level of design and innovation.

We are grateful for having received an initial seed money from the highly respected Knight Foundation who believes in our vision. With this initial donation, we were able to establish the model to begin our art program. But, we need your help! We are asking your support to join our community and help us overcome our biggest challenge, which is to build for the long-term so artists can access the resources they need.

With the $25,000 we will:

• Secure a place

• Organize our next event/exhibit

• Offer art classes

• Offer resources for artists

• Pay stipends to artists for their work

Thank you for investing in the dreams of Southeast Asian artists.

Risks and challenges

Our biggest challenge is to get the word out to the demographic we want to feature and serve. We have identified a need through our work with local artists, but the majority do not know about Chopsticks Alley Art and the work that we do yet.

We have to keep the program going long-term so artists can access the resources they need and our communities can continue to enjoy works created by Southeast Asian artists.

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