a collection of
INTERVIEWS
featuring
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​Asian American creatives
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​Originally from or currently based in Michigan
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From a variety of creative fields: writing, visual arts, performing arts, & food
About the Project
Growing up in Troy, Michigan with traditional Chinese immigrant parents, I didn't think that a creative career (in my case, writing) was possible. This was partly because of parental pressure, partly because I simply didn't have role models who looked like me.
That changed when I came to the University of Michigan. My freshman year, I had a poetry instructor, Carlina Duan, who looked like me (a Chinese-American woman). She showed me that I could indeed be a writer. ​This experience taught me: Representation changes everything.
I created this project to provide accessible role models to other young Asian American creatives. It's a resource I would have wanted growing up. While creative representation is often concentrated in the East & West Coast, I wanted to spotlight creatives from Michigan/the Midwest to show that you can be anything you want to be, no matter where you come from.
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Explore their stories
From Guggenheim-winning poets to James Beard Award -nominated chefs to Grammy-awarded musicians, each artist has their own story to tell.
Explore the interviews in each of the 4 categories:
1) writing, 2) visual arts, 3) food, & 4) performing arts
