What Can We Do?
What Can We Do? (WCWD?) is a micro grant program that supports AAPI artists and their community care projects in New York City. It was created in response to the sharp increase in anti-Asian hate and violence during the pandemic which caused many people to experience grief, anxiety, and fear. WCWD? empowers artists and gives them a chance to find their place in the ecosystem of care through their talents and community connections.
This program is presented by the Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Special thanks to Council Members Christopher Marte and Sandra Ung.
Applications are now open! Deadline: February 20, 2023 at 11:59 pm EST. Learn More.
Project: A six-week training in Wing Chun, a Chinese self-defense form, open to community members. The training took place from August 6-September 10, 2022 in the backyard of Baxter St. Camera Club in Chinatown, Manhattan.
Photo by Tommy Kha
Project: A two-hour workshop with Asian heritage, female-identifying individuals where participants shared impactful personal experiences with each other and then contributed to a group timeline of meaningful moments in each other’s lives. The workshop is a part of “Untitled Landscape,” an ongoing human-connecting project that aims to map out the landscape of a human life. The workshop took place on September 18, 2022 in the Garment District, Manhattan.
Photo by Tom Matthew Wolfe
Project: “The Blu Room” is a one-man multi-lingual, multi-cultural theatrical act presented in a late-night talk show format on topics like the generational gap, anti-Asian hate crimes, beauty standards, mental health, and empowerment. A live performance of the show took place on Friday, September 23, 2022 at 7:00 pm at Prime Produce in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan.
This project is made possible with support from Prime Produce.
Photo by Dennis Kwan
Project: A two-part Zen meditation workshop – the first part of the workshop introduces the basics of meditation, the second part deepens the practice and offers participants time to reflect on how practice has helped them. The workshop was organized for the staff of Communities Resist on September 16, 2022 and on September 30, 2022 at Marsha P. Johnson State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Photo by Beowulf Sheehan
Project: A 1.5 hour dance workshop for the AAPI community exploring community and self care through dance and play. This workshop welcomed participants of all experience levels and took place on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 from 6-7:30 pm at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Photo by CONFIDANZ
Project: A sketch/short film in Hoisan and Cantonese, subtitled in English, around emotional/mental health. There was an in-person viewing party for folks to engage with the material and each other on Sunday, September 25, 2022 from 11am-12:30pm ET at The Market Line on the lower level of Essex Market in LES, Manhattan.
This project is made possible with support from The Market Line.
Photo by Peter Konerko
Project: “Start with My Name” is a sewing workshop that invites participants to share their name through embroidery. Each embroidery is sewn onto a community quilt so we as Asian Americans can be seen and known by one another. The workshop happened on Thursday, September 15, 2022 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Museum of Chinese in America in Chinatown, Manhattan. Karen will continue to hold workshops, please follow her Facebook page to learn more.
This project was made possible with support from Fiskars.
Project: A public workshop of Buried Ruins, a full-length play with a cast of all Vietnamese and/or AAPI artists, centered on healing and processing generational trauma, as well as, living in a society that fetishizes and enacts violence against women and femme bodies. The workshop took place on Friday, September 30, 2022 at 3pm ET at the 59E59 Theatre in Midtown, Manhattan.
Photo by Sub/Urban Photography
Project: A letter writing workshop inviting community members to write letters to loved ones took place on August 27, 2022 at the ROAR Festival at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, Manhattan, and on October 9, 2022 at the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita, Manhattan.
Photo by David Straange
Project: “All That We Hold” is a piece choreographed by Noah and his collaborator, Audrey Thao Berger, that explores the longing to understand our ancestors through movement, narrative and music. They performed this piece at Arts On Site in NoHo, Manhattan. They invited the audience to reflect on the same questions they pondered when creating the work.
Photo by RJ Lewis
Project: A ‘zine of photographs taken over the past year capturing the joy of community members coming together for various events in Chinatown, Manhattan. The first 50 copies sold out; please follow Cindy on Instagram for updates on where to find future prints.
Photo by Michael Stewart
Project: A storytelling pop-up book workshop serving youth, with the goal to help them tell their stories, express their truth, and take pride in their culture and identity The workshop took place on Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 3:30pm at the Chatam Square Library in Chinatown, Manhattan.
This project was made possible with support from the Children’s Museum of the Arts.
Project: Dana Leon of TEKTONIKmusic.org led a healing music session for the AAPI community affected by domestic and public acts of violence in partnership with Womankind. The session took place online on September 12, 2022.
Photo by Zoe Zhang
Project: An interactive piano performance and workshop for the senior community at Hamilton-Madison House. The performance featured Chinese folk tunes, music of living Chinese composers, and some Western classical pieces sprinkled in. It took place September 21, 2022 at the Hamilton-Madison House in LES, Manhattan.
Photo by Douglas Gorenstein
Project: DRAWN TOGETHER is an array of exquisitely detailed line drawings depicting historical New York City Chinatown businesses, landmarks and community organizations.
A portion of the proceeds from this exhibition goes back to these Chinatown businesses and to the Chinatown Mural Project, a not-for-profit dedicated to bringing culturally appropriate large-scale murals to the NYC Chinatown area and beyond.
The drawings will be shown at Pearl River Mart Gallery in SoHo, Manhattan from September 10 – December 28, 2022. There was an opening reception on Saturday, September 10, 2022 from 1-3pm ET attended by community members and representatives of the businesses featured in the drawings.
Project: “Embodying Pleasure as Resistance” is a workshop focused on nurturing our inner child through play and community care. The workshop took place on Friday, September 30, 2022 from 6-8:30pm at the A4 offices in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
Photo by Justin Kim
Project: A custom quadriptych mural project painted in partnership with SAYA in Elmhurst, Queens. The mural represents timeless themes highlighting the diverse communities and unique qualities around Queens that SAYA calls home. This project aims to provide a visual identity of their own through joyful positive art in their headquarters space. The project took place over the course of a week in September 2022.
Photo by Louie Herman
Project: Giving Space/Changing Space – In the busy immigrant neighborhood of Jackson Heights, how do we give space with, to, and for each other? How do we change public spaces to support community wellness? In this interactive art experience, Anjali Deshmukh and Purvi Shah explored how we – as children, as women, as new immigrants, as life-long New Yorkers – give and change space, how we are a part of a larger whole, and how we change the whole through the light of our presence and participation.
The workshop happened on Saturday, September 17, 2022 from 6-7:30pm at Travers Park in Jackson Heights, Queens (near 34th Avenue sidewalk benches).
