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Staff Update: 2012 Smithsonian Mentoring Program

17 Dec

Participants of the 2012 Smithsonian Mentoring Program with Secretary Clough. Click for more photos.

Krista Aniel joined the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) in June 2009, as the Program Assistant (Outreach), shortly after graduating from Georgetown University with her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree emphasis in Social and Public Policy. She organizes public programs and special events by coordinating activities with appropriate divisions throughout Smithsonian museums  and is a buyer for APAC with a full range of procurement tasks.  In addition, Krista serves on more than a dozen Smithsonian inter-unit councils and  strategic planning committees and is the unit internship coordinator.  Krista also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities from Brigham Young University.

As a Mentee in the 2012 Smithsonian Mentoring Program, Krista was competitively selected to receive nine months of leadership and professional development training with twenty-nine other peers from across the Institution. Krista describes her experience in the following words:

The 2012 Smithsonian Mentoring Program has greatly enriched my professional development by teaching me how to build a successful career path. I enjoyed interacting with my mentor Joan Boudreau, Museum Curator of the Graphic Arts Collection at the National Museum of American History, and networking with experienced professionals on a monthly basis. I had the unique opportunity to attend formal trainings, behind-the-scenes tours of museums and the National Zoo, and leadership development meetings that featured Secretary Wayne Clough and other senior staff. I am grateful that APAC supported me through this extraordinary experience and hope that the mentoring program will continue to inspire and develop future leaders.

Beyond Bollywood Q&A with Masum Momaya

21 Sep

Click to download the PDF of this issue.

The following text is from the September 2012 issue of India Review, a publication of the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C.

In September 2013, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program will open Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. Beyond Bollywood will celebrate the history, art, and culture of Indian immigrants and Indian Americans, and showcase the vitality of the Indian diaspora.

Dr. Masum Momaya succeeded Dr. Pawan Dhingra as the new curator of the Indian American Heritage Project in June 2012. She was earlier a curator at the International Museum of Women and engaged in curatorial work for the Indo-American Heritage Museum. She is also a recipient of a National Science Foundation Research Fellowship.

In a candid conversation with India Review (IR), Dr. Momaya talks about Beyond Bollywood and the future plans of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

IR: What can people expect to see when they visit Beyond Bollywood?

MM: Something amazing, I hope. The exhibition will highlight the defining vibrancy of the Indian-American community: sights, colors, energy, tastes, and diversity. While much of the exhibition will feature iconic images, music, art and artifacts to tell stories about innovation and achievement, it will also recognize our struggles as a community and our many civic and political contributions to the United States; this is an aspect of American history that is not well known by the general public.

IR: Will the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program organize events around the exhibition?

MM: Absolutely. Beyond Bollywood is the starting point for a larger conversation about the Indian American experience. From 2013-2014, we are planning a wide variety of public programs — an Inside the Actors Studio conversation with an Indian American actor, a film screening, dance and music performances, a book reading, a demonstration and tasting with an Indian American chef, a hip hop/spoken word evening, a comedy night, and hopefully much more.

IR: Will Beyond Bollywood travel or do you have to come to Washington, D.C.?

MM: After a one-year tenure at the Smithsonian, Beyond Bollywood will travel to venues across the country for 3-5 years. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) will organize the tour of the traveling version of the exhibition. In addition to the more than 7 million visitors who will see the exhibition at the Smithsonian, we estimate that an additional 100,000 people will be able to experience Beyond Bollywood when it tours across the nation. The exhibition will also have an interactive website.

IR: How can our readers be a part of this effort?

MM: We are still raising funds for the exhibition and looking for supporters. And we are looking for photographs! We are crowdsourcing the story of Indian Americans and asking Indian Americans across the country to share their story. We recently launched a campaign to collect family photos. I hope people will be willing to be part of this effort at collective storytelling and upload their photos to our Facebook page or send them to IndianAmerican@si.edu. Photos should include the submitter’s name or family’s name, the year that the photo was taken, and the occasion.

Introducing Amy “Emiko” Hever, Senior Advancement Officer

14 Aug

Amy “Emiko” Hever

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program welcomes Amy “Emiko” Hever to the team as the new Senior Advancement Officer.   Ms. Hever will lead the Program’s fundraising efforts during a national fundraising campaign.  She will report to the Director, Dr. Konrad Ng.  Ms. Hever has over 13 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, having served in the areas of arts and culture, health and human services and scientific research.  She brings particular knowledge and experience in the areas of philanthropy, museum management, marketing and communications, and finance.  Ms. Hever’s prior positions include:  Executive Director of the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center in Boynton Beach, FL; Director of Advancement at the Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, FL; and Director of Development for the Cathedral Foundation in Newark, NJ.  Ms. Hever spent part of her elementary and middle school years in Tokyo, and holds a B.A. in History and East Asian Studies from Binghamton University.

A message from Amy:

“It is a distinct honor to be here in Washington, D.C. and join the Smithsonian Institution.  The Asian Pacific American Program has an important mission worthy of tremendous support.  I am excited by the opportunity to join such a talented team, dedicated to putting their ‘passion into action’ in the most innovative ways.  The Program is such an important part of the Smithsonian experience.  I am proud to play a role in realizing the work of the Asian Pacific American Program.”

Introducing Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis, Initiative Coordinator

13 Aug

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program is delighted to welcome Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis as APAP Initiative Coordinator.  Lawrence is editor-in-chief of the Asian American Literary Review, a PhD student and instructor at the University of Maryland-College Park, and longtime volunteer for the program.

A message from Lawrence:

“I am thrilled and honored to join the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.  In my work as an editor, writer, student, and scholar, I’ve looked to draw lines between communities, to connect the arts and academia, students and community organizers, artists and activists, scholars and writers‹to open new channels of exchange and collaboration. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of the arts and cultural history, always intertwined, to bring meaning and direction to our collective lives.

As Initiative Coordinator I will be overseeing the development of a
nationally touring exhibition about Asian Pacific American cultural
history.  The first of its kind, and a project many years in the making,
the exhibition is a community project.  It takes a village to raise an
exhibition, one might say, and I owe a great debt of gratitude to the many
wonderful folks who have served and continue to serve as advisors and
contributors.  The exhibition is also a community work in the sense that
it tells our story, an expansive, inclusive story.  Hopefully it is an
opportunity, a lasting resource and departure point for storytelling,
historiography, and community building.  We greatly look forward to
sending it out into the world in 2013.”

Curator Masum Momaya Joins the Indian American Heritage Project

17 Jul
Masum Momaya

The Asian Pacific American Program is delighted to welcome Dr. Masum Momaya as Curator for the Smithsonian Indian American Heritage Project.  Dr. Momaya brings a wealth of experience as a researcher, educator, curator, writer and advocate to this role, beginning more than 20 years ago as a teenager organizing youth service projects in the Indian American community.

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Dr. Momaya was a curator at the International Museum of Women and engaged in curatorial work for the Indo-American Heritage Museum.  Her professional work, which includes exhibitions, publications, podcasts, lectures, and workshops, uses multimedia technologies and artistic representations to document the experiences of minority communities around the world.

Dr. Momaya earned a doctorate in Human Development and a master’s degree in Education from Harvard University, a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Feminist Studies from Stanford University, and pursued advance studies in the University of Oxford’s Development Studies Program.  She is a graduate of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and a recipient of a National Science Foundation Research Fellowship.

Dr. Momaya will be continuing the work of the former curator, Dr. Pawan Dhingra, who accepted the position of Chairman and Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at Tufts University.  Dr. Dhingra will continue to be part of the Indian American Heritage Project in his new role as Senior Advisor.

Message from Dr. Momaya:

I am honored to join the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and continue the groundbreaking work in presenting the history, struggles and contributions of the Indian American community.  Dating back to 1790, the experiences of Indian Americans in the United States are as multifaceted and vibrant as the story of our nation itself, and this is what we will share with visitors when the exhibition opens at the Smithsonian and then travels to museums, libraries, community centers and other public spaces throughout the country.

Ultimately, the reach and impact of HomeSpun depends on the contributions and energy of community members. If you know of any objects or recordings you consider significant to the Indian American story, please let me know. And, please consider making a tax-deductable donation to HomeSpun. This initiative depends greatly on resources from individuals!

Pawan Dhingra’s Latest Book

18 Jun

Life Behind the Lobby by Pawan Dhingra

By Aaron Sayama, Summer 2012 Intern

Pawan Dhingra is the founding curator for the HomeSpun: Smithsonian Indian American Heritage Project and is the Chair of the Department of Sociology at Tufts University. His latest book, Life Behind the Lobby: Indian American Motel Owners and the American Dream, examines the relationship between the Indian American motelier and the idea of American exceptionalism.

Drawing from first-hand field research, Dr. Dhingra fuses Indian American motelier narratives with various theoretical perspectives to create a balanced and full portrayal of Indian Americans in the motel industry. Dr. Dhingra deftly explores the different means Indian Americans create professional appearances to sustain the growth of their local businesses.

The book concludes with Dr. Dhingra calling for the reassessment of three main threads uncovered while conducting research: the narratives of success, immigrant adaptation, and regionalism. These threads of research follow traditional and received logic about how and why immigrants succeed within America: the utilization of ethnic networks, the notion that attainment—of education, of income—leads to adaptation, and the role regions play in constructing the lives of immigrants. Indeed, Dhingra’s insightful call for a more nuanced approach to how “immigrants construct meanings about and navigate their environment” leaves open the door to more scholarship that complicates the traditional, vertical trajectory of the entrepreneurial immigrant.

Supporting Asian Pacific American Art & Culture

20 Apr

By Konrad Ng, Director of the Smithsonian APA Program

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Logo

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Logo

On Monday, April 2, our Development Specialist, Sameen Piracha, and I attended the first National Philanthropic Briefing by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) to draw attention to Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities (AAPINH), the fastest growing racial group in the U.S.  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu, and Chief of Staff to the First Lady Tina Tchen attended the briefing to express their support to over 200 participants from more than 50 foundations.  Participants convened around key issues important to AAPINH communities.

As Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program (APAP) and member of the WHIAAPI Inter-Agency Working Group, I, along with colleagues from the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), facilitated the focus group on culture and the arts.  Our task was to explore how public-private partnerships could improve the life and opportunity of AAPINH communities through art and culture.  While the Smithsonian Institution is supported by Congress, the resources that support its exhibitions and programs, especially the exhibitions and programs of APAP, come from individuals, corporations, and grants.  Our capacity to tell America’s whole story relies on the generosity of our supporters; it depends on you.  The Ford Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the W.W. Kellogg Foundation’s commitment of $1 million to seed public-private partnerships was the greatest success that emerged from this briefing. We remain excited about the possibilities of this historic meeting.

Behind the Scenes: Development

18 Jan

Holiday Email

Click to view our holiday email

By Sameen Piracha, Development Specialist

We launched our Annual Giving program this past December.  A lot of meetings and brainstorming sessions went into redesigning the letter, pledge form, and e-Solicitation email.  Let us know what you think of the designs!  We raised double the amount from last year for the APAP and nearly triple the amount for the HomeSpun initiative.  For all who answered both our calls, thank you!  We are grateful for your enthusiasm and support.  You may have noticed our revamped “Thank you” letters.  They are personally signed by staff and include a sidebar on how you can get involved and stay informed.

In the Year of the Dragon, our goal is to reach 100% participation from previous donors and grow our list of supporters by 50%.  We need your help! If you would like to volunteer your time and/or skills, please feel free to contact me at PirachaSA@si.edu.

Happy Holidays from the APA Program

21 Dec
Happy Holidays from the APA Staff

Happy Holidays from the APA Staff

As another successful year comes to an end, I would like to thank you for your support of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and extend my best wishes to you and your family for the coming year.

In 2012, we will remain committed to preserving the Asian Pacific American experience at the largest museum and research complex in the world. The work of telling the stories behind our vibrant communities provides a universal lens for learning, a reflection of the American Spirit, and sparks the learning in everyone.

You are vital to this mission and we welcome your participation.  If you want to discuss our work or become more involved, let us know.  We have a fantastic team in the office.  They are passionate, dedicated, and creative.

Let me close with the hope that 2012 will bring you and your family happiness, health, and success.

Thank you and Happy Holidays from all of us at Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program,

Konrad Ng, Ph.D.
Director, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program

Donations may be made online at http://apa.si.edu/donate.asp or download our pledge form and mail it to:

Smithsonian APA Program
Capital Gallery
Suite 7065, MRC 516
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, DC  20013-7012

NewsChannel 8 Interview

17 Jun
NewsChannel 8 Interview

NewsChannel 8 Interview with Noriko Sanefuji and Sameen Piracha

Click here to watch the interview, it begins 29 minutes into the video.

APA Program staff members Noriko Sanefuji and Sameen Piracha appeared on NewsChannel 8 to discuss the Sweet & Sour display at the National Museum of American History and to raise awareness for the HomeSpun: Smithsonian Indian American Heritage Project.

Noriko Sanefuji is the APA Program Curatorial Assistant, National Museum of American History.
Sameen Piracha is the APA Program Development Specialist.

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