Atypical Asian

This project focuses on Asian people from all walks of life who have volunteered to share their personal stories, experiences, and perspectives. It involves doing an interview and to have their photograph taken preferably in their element or wherever they feel most comfortable.

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The purpose is to bring to light and celebrate the diversity of Asian people. It aims to do away with stereotypes and for people from all backgrounds and cultures to connect on some level by the stories told and to learn from one another.

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The concept was created in 2019 and it stemmed from questioning the term people of color. At the time, it seemed the media applied the term to mostly Black and Hispanic people, while the Asian community seemed excluded from the conversation.

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The project further evolved after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 brought with it an uptick of anti-Asian hate crimes with Asians racially discriminated against and thought of as the cause of the virus, while some further denigrating Asians as being a virus and not a person.

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Asia is a huge continent with many rich and diverse cultures within. In general, by taking the time to learn about a person for who they are instead of judging their exterior, perhaps we will eventually come to an understanding and to live peacefully with one another.

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