Reception a Success!
Thursday's opening reception for the 16 Square Blocks exhibition was a complete success, bringing in hundreds of people from all over the Chinatown/International District neighborhood, as well as neighborhoods from all over the city. The Block Watch participants showed up in numbers to watch their video and view the images of their proud work in the community. Uncle Bob showed up to hear his beautiful version of Frank Sinatra and watch the video about Bush Gardens--a place he loves dearly. My parents and friends, my greatest supporters and fans, also showed up to share in this wonderful experience. The space looks amazing after weeks of hard work, 3 sleepless nights, and frantic rushing up through the first hour of the exhibit's opening. Thank you to the many, many people who helped me put together this ridiculous endeavor, for the many hours of painting, for the hundreds, if not thousands of emails and phone calls, and for opening your hearts and sharing your stories. I have learned so much about our wonderful community, and have been rewarded by being able to share this with the world. Thank you again to everyone:
(In no particular order, other than when I remembered)
Todd Jannausch: Exhibition preparation and carpentry Hart Boyd: Donating a computer and helping out with exhibition setup Mom & Dad: Mounting 60 portraits for 12 hours, and not sleeping yesterday Amanda Michelle: Proofing the press release Tim Matsui: My mentor and for donating the projector for the exhibition Jon Sparks: Driving me everywhere, picking up the keg, and scrubbing the floor for 5 hours Jonathan Chen: Putting me in contact with the gardeners, and sharing your story Noelle Beckman: For sitting with me for two weekends Yukiko Hida: Washing windows is your thing! Rhys Yamada: My A/V Tech and adhesive materials master Kelli Thoumsin: Sequencing and hanging all the images in the exhibition Amy Huang: Cooridnation with ACRS, and putting the project in the International Examiner Xiangping Chen: Translation Joyce Pisnanont: Everything! Everything! For being my staunch supporter Michael Clements: For a giant bucket of paint Howard Dong: Donating the property on King Street Elisa Huerta-Enochian: Painting the exhibit space, and framing all of the images Melinda Mizuta: A great support at ACRS and coordinating the hundreds of releases Frank Bacungan: For putting me in touch with Gil Karen Jackel: Opening the food bank everyday and sharing your story with me Quang Nguyen: Assisting with the property search Beth Ku: Coordinating communication at Nihonmachi Terrace Kathy Hsieh: Guidance in the SOA&CA smART ventures process Gina Hess: Guiding me through the mounting process Michelle Kumata: Lending me a remote and your constant support at the Wing the Wing Luke Asian Museum: Marketing and promotion for JamFest Cassie Chinn: Connecting me with the Wing Susan Woo Lee: Your constant support and connecting me with the community Woody: Light installation and last minute materials Jamil Nunes-Atabaki: Installing the low-voltage lighting Bernardo Flores: Providing extensive information about your church Timothy Louie: Donating fortune cookies to the reception and allowing me to shoot in your factory Sean Almeida: Amazing web and graphic design. Great collaboration Juan Aguilera: Support in printing at PCNW Heather Dwyer: Advice and guidance from 4Culture Andy Ngo: Translation Ching Chan: Translation Nic Li: Translation for "I Pledge Allegiance" Wendy Lee: Translation Luciana Santos: Translation Jaehan Park: Translation Everyone who participated: Thank you soooo much!
Thank you to everyone for your continuous support of my work. I would not be able to do this without your help!!