slt x amwa art potluck
slt x amwa art potluck
september 10, 2019
written by bianca nozaki-nasser
this week amwa and sustainable little tokyo partnered to throw an art potluck for all artists and arts instigators. we gathered together at the jaccc and asked folks to bring a dish and/or artwork to share. this potluck is a part of a larger program art4fsn, a 15 month-long free community art program as a part of our fight to save first street north!
nancy ueymura sharing her inspiration to bring people together with food and art.
this artist potluck was dreamed up by nancy ueymura, a long time little tokyo resident and artist who recently fought the evictions of herself and other low-income tenants in the neighborhood. little tokyo has a long history as a contested site of resistance of struggle for the japanese, black, latinx, and other asian communities who have and continue to call this place home.
our potluck group was intergenerational and ranged from individual artists living in little tokoyo to organizing groups from across the city. we spent the night talking about the rich and complicated socio-political history of little tokoyo, collaging and drawing for amwa’s upcoming research driven project, sharing our different art practices, and, of course, eating together!
we were especially happy to host folks from ArtUP Hawthorne! c.l. flores shared with the group the many ways they are using arts and culture programing to connect and build power with young folks in their community in hawthorne. these moments of learning from and sharing are one of the things that amwa loves most about hosting these types of community gathering events.
we are so grateful to have been able to kick off the little tokyo art potluck series here at the jaccc and hope to gather there again in the future for art, food, and building community power.
—
Sustainable Little Tokyo is a community-driven initiative working to ensure a healthy, equitable, and culturally rich Little Tokyo for generations to come. SLT began in 2013 as a multi-day community vision effort and has evolved into a holistic, neighborhood-wide campaign to promote the environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability of Little Tokyo. See all of their upcoming program on their website - http://sustainablelittletokyo.org/events