The cover of this year’s print issue of The Amp is designed by the Palestinian American artist Samia Halaby. It features the word “Palestine” written in Arabic, repeated in a mandala-like arrangement without beginning or end—a simple but declarative continuum. This cover, we felt, echoed the deeply held solidarity many of our writers have voiced this past year.

For many Asian Americans, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the institutional censorship of its protesters has raised a foundational question: To what end has this identity been cultivated? Over 40 years after Asian American Arts Alliance first coalesced to ensure greater AAPI representation in art and culture, it has become imperative to ask not just whether we see ourselves but how we see ourselves.