You’ve probably seen the posters: clad only in sunglasses and a tactfully-positioned sign, a well-muscled man perches jauntily on the sundial. Columbia’s Asian American Alliance is hosting its annual show CultureSHOCK on Friday night—and this year’s theme is “Exposure.”
It’s a slightly different image from the scene found Tuesday night in Roone Arledge Auditorium, where the group’s 30 board members met to hammer out the last of the show’s details. As they assigned chores and finalized choreography, board members were careful to dispel some of the myths they anticipate have circulated about CultureSHOCK.
“It’s not a culture show,” AAA President Calvin Sun, CC ’08, said. “It’s a showcase.”
The distinction, Sun claimed, lies in connotations.
“A culture show is basically lion dancing, the Ho-Heup drum troupe—all that stuff, and what goes on in Asia,” he remarked. “We have very modern acts—Asian-Americans in spoken word, Asian-Americans in hip-hop, Asian-Americans in a rock band—things that are very much influenced by growing up in this country.”
The focus on performing arts is linked to the event’s theme.
“What have we not seen Asian-Americans do?” Sun asked. “Exposure. Let’s expose Asian-Americans in areas where they haven’t broken through yet.”
Despite what organizers point to as a lack of Asian-American representation in the public image of performance art, the planning effort introduced AAA scouts to a bevy of local talent.
“I’m always surprised,” said AAA Social Chair Laura Chin, CC ’10, who headed the CultureSHOCK planning. “We start with one person at the Bowery Poetry Club, and we come out having met five artists.”
On a budget that Chin pegged at $4,000—and which may vary after fundraising—the group has hired attractions including the spoken-word artist Kelly Tsai, hip-hop duo Magnetic North, and the world-music and hip-hop-oriented Stone Forest Ensemble.
“We work with a lot of artists to bring their honorariums down from $3,000 for 15 minutes to $300,” she said.
In a show that will be bookended by dinner and an afterparty, with tickets costing $10, other performers include CU Bhangra, Raw Elementz, and the University of Pennsylvania’s South Asian a cappella group Penn Atma.
“The Triple-A show brings out a different part of Asian-American identity and ways of expression that’s not really seen in the mainstream,” said Aretha Choi, BC ’10 and AAA’s vice-chair.
“Even though the audience only sees a show,” Chen said, “for the board, it’s an identity exploration. There’s a lot of thought and politics that goes into this show.”
The same goes for its advertising, which Chin said has raised a few eyebrows.
“It raises a lot of interesting questions,” Chin said of the poster. “What’s it like to see an Asian-American on a poster looking good, looking not like you’d expect from the stereotype, not in glasses and a button-down?”
Organizers hope it’s intriguing enough to draw in an audience wider than the one drawn to more academic events.
“I think all the culture shows are important in terms of bringing light to all the different cultural groups on campus,” said Michael Lo, SEAS ’10 and a participant in event’s fashion show.
“We have so many Chinese shows or Korean shows,” Henry Lin, SEAS ’10, said, “but not many ‘just Asian-American’ shows.”
Lin is also involved in the fashion show and, suddenly, after a shout from the somewhat-frenzied board meeting, serving food.
Asked if she was participating in the show itself, Chin said her only involvement lay in “a few speeches.”
“It’s not about us,” she explained. “It’s about our mission.” She thought a moment, then added, “Oh, and I might play the tambourine.”
mary.kohlmann@columbiaspectator.com