Apr 19, 2016 Chinatown Stories
Over time, the art of storytelling has come a long way–from teaching lessons to building religions to selling products–and I can understand why. It’s more fun and effective to tell stories than philosophize or tell people what to do. And so on Sunday, community s p a c e s will be presenting Chinatown Storytelling Workshop.
The event is a follow-up to a recent screening of Everything Will Be, a documentary about Vancouver’s Chinatown, with the intent of carrying on the film’s themes to the local neighborhood which is shrinking and being gentrified like all the other ones. What’s happening to it and what roles will we play in its future?
My wife and I are friends and fans of the Chinatown Community for Equitable Development (CCED), which sponsored the movie showing at Human Resources, and is affiliated with community s p a c e s. When we were asked if we’d like to help out with the storytelling event, of course we said yes.
I don’t believe in fate, destiny, or planning, but my family’s life trajectory has turned out to have an arc–or story. It wasn’t intentional at all, but my wife and I have become advocates for the neighborhood where my immigrant grandparents and in-laws found their communities. And we’ve taken roundabout ways to slowly becoming locals there, respectively. I don’t want to spoil our talk but key points include dim sum, wedding banquets, punk rock shows, and Giant Robot magazine.
Besides sharing our story with more humor, detail, and dirt, Wendy and I will facilitate the making of a collective zine about Chinatown. We are creating layouts about its past, present, and future that participants will complete, and intend for the results to be more fun that pessimistic, and more inspiring than nostalgic. We’ve also received permission from our friend Allister Lee to incorporate some of the L.A. Chinatown artwork that he made for a Save Music in Chinatown zine. It’ll be a good-looking publication with portraits of good-looking people contributing to it.
Other activities will include interviews, art, and food.
Did I mention that the event is free? You are cordially invited, and are encouraged to spread the word among like-minded friends, family, and conspirators. See you there!
Chinatown Storytelling Workshop
Sunday, April 24 at 2:00 p.m.
Castelar Elementary
Multi Purpose Room
840 Yale Street
Los Angeles
Look up the Chinatown Storytelling Workshop’s Facebook event page and follow Imprint on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, too!