ZAPI Artists 2020 Year in Review
By: Zapi Artists
Tags: Asian American, Pacific Islander, Zapi Artist, 2020, Year In Review

ZAPI Artists 2020 Year in Review

Last June, ZAPI Artists was created by my colleagues (and close friends) Cindy Tsai, Sofia Khwaja and I. As young, Generation Z Asian-Americans, we were horrified by the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbury, and the overall continuing loss of Black lives in our country. Like many others, we felt an absolute responsibility to encourage dialogue and create change within ourselves and, specifically, the Asian/Pacific Islander communities we were a part of. We believed that there was a newer sense of urgency to check our blindspots as non-Black POC, and wanted to help others like us realize the areas in their lives where they could work on in order to better fight against racial injustice and white supremacy.

So, we made ZAPI Artists.

After many, many phone calls, Cindy, Sofia and I thought up a name, wrote a mission, collected some credible resources and introduced our organization to the world the best way we could, through Instagram.

Our working mission is to lift Asian/Pacific Islander voices, take accountability for our blind spots, and create safe spaces for Asian/Pacific Islander Artists to function, without limitations. Please know that this mission is fluid and changes as our world calls for a balance between empowerment and accountability.

With everything set in motion, on June 29th we released our first educational post on “whataboutism” & anti-Blackness in the Asian community. Since then, we have garnered over 3.8k followers, with posts reaching 13.7k people across and beyond our American borders. We’ve interviewed Broadway artists, up and coming rappers, created original series on topics like API Allyship & Colorism and have shared pieces of writing we’ve found pretty rad.

We also had our first (of soon to be many!) live event. THIS IS THE HOUR: Under Our Own Pen took place in December and was produced by our co-founder and EIC, Cindy Tsai. Featuring the creations and talent of over forty Asian/Pacific Islander artists, we were able to not only celebrate Asian/Pacific Islander musical theatre, but also donate the $2,204 we received to all those who collaborated in making the production happen as well as in supporting the Asian American Advocacy Fund and the Black Trans Travel Fund. (Missed the cabaret? You can relive all of the incredible performances on our IGTV and Youtube.)

As we’ve witnessed in 2020, social media has become a prominent social justice platform to share resources, knowledge, and hold space in with people almost everywhere. We began our organization with three members, and over the course of last year, we’ve been able to add another three to our team. Jay, Lianah, and Sam have been wonderfully warm and hardworking members that we are so grateful to add to the ZAPI family. We are excited to see what they continue to contribute to our organization and community.

And we want to extend a huge thank you to all of those who have continued supporting us, through all our shortcomings and shining moments. We’re not perfect, we have made mistakes and will continue to do so. However, it is our intention that our team grows more equipped as we head into the new year, and that we continue creating work that encourages important dialogue and the act of learning, un-learning, and re-learning. We hope that you’re there alongside us as we dive further into this journey that we’ve been on for the past seven months.

Thank you again, and happy new year!

Christine Heesun Hwang