Statement by AAWAA: The Right to Exist, Live, and Thrive in the United States
Dear AAWAA Members, Partners, and Supporters,
Though our biennial exhibition, Brown Palms, Yellow Balms: Reinventing Caregivers of Color has come to an end this past API Heritage Month, we want to reiterate the sentiments of AAWAA’s President that were shared during the Opening Reception:
The current Republican Administration seeks to remove, censor, and erase AAWAA’s core communities, including those who identify as Asian, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, immigrant, woman, non-binary, trans, and LGBTQIA+. We condemn the flagrantly bigoted ideologies that have spewed forth conservative policies, from Project 2025 to federal executive orders. In the face of hate, AAWAA will continue to advance the visibility and recognition of Asian women in the arts. We will continue to fight against ideologies that attack our right to exist, live, and thrive in the United States.
We encourage folks to remain informed of ongoing executive orders and legislation with the aim of combating the spread of misinformation, empowering one another with veracity, and pursuing justice for our communities against the following transgressions:
Forced Removal: Such as the Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua on March 15, 2025, a law that was last used during World War II to incarcerate more than 125,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps from 1941-1946. Most recently, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been deploying raids targeting immigrants living and working in key AAWAA communities in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and deporting them without due process to fulfill the administration’s quota of 3,000 arrests per day across the U.S.
Barred Access: Such as the Stop CCP VISAs Act banning Chinese students from the U.S., a bill that harkens back to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Page Act of 1875 that barred Chinese women from entering the U.S., the latter becoming the nation’s first restrictive immigration law.
Erasure, Censorship, and Silencing: Such as the executive orders – Ending Radical and Wasteful Governmental DEI Programs and Preferencing that has triggered the dismantling of DEI departments, programs, and policies across the nation and Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government that disregards the identities of folks who are nonbinary, trans, and/or gender-expansive.
Below, we have compiled a list of resources that will be updated on a monthly basis for your engagement. In addition, we invite you to participate and witness AAWAA’s programming that amplifies Asian American women in the arts and ensures our work is acknowledged, celebrated, and remembered:
Member Virtual Salons: Bi-monthly events that provide members with the time and space to share current projects, explore creative connections, and discover ways to support each other.
Pass It On: An initiative that captures oral histories of AAWAA’s members to steward the long-term representation of the artistic and cultural work of Asian women in the arts.
Exhibitions: Multidisciplinary art showcases that challenge what it means to be Asian-American, a woman, and an artist, enabling dialogue about the socio-political concerns of the present-day.
Let us never forget: AAWAA was founded in response to denied recognition by institutions of our founders’ work - they fought to create this organization and carved out places where Asian American women in the arts could tell their stories and experiences through artistic expression. Let us also acknowledge that our resistance is nothing new but an ongoing struggle against white supremacy, colonialism, and other systems of oppression. We will continue to pass the torch of our foremothers and ensure that our communities are not eradicated by continuing our programs aimed at increasing visibility and ensuring the documentation of Asian American women in the arts and their legacies. We vow to continue promoting our organization as a safe space for connection where our community members have the agency to live as our authentic selves and empower others.
In times of peril and helplessness, the greatest tool we have is our community: the people united will never be defeated. Please stay tuned to upcoming opportunities that support the growth of Asian American women artists, curators, and administrators. We look forward to holding space for us to reflect, respond, and rally – together.
In Solidarity,
AAWAA Board & Staff