No - my goal in relational reconstruction has been to use the process of reconstruction as one of healing and of belonging, and as a reclaiming and re-contextualizing of the archive and its meanings for our futures, inspired by Saidiya Hartman's critical fabulation (also see Venus in Two Acts, cited in Inspirations). My practice engages peoples’ creative and collaborative abilities, building tools and spaces which support and inspire creative practices, and the Relational Reconstruction Toolkit focuses on the creative possibilities of what it could have felt like –as an Asian American person – to walk down the street and experience a sense of belonging at that moment in history.
My work centers on the meanings of these histories and places to descendants, Chinese Americans, and Asian Americans more broadly, and I especially hope to work together with fellow Asian Americans who share my interest in unearthing early histories and stories of erased communities across the country. As the project progresses, and especially in relation to histories of other erased communities of color, I also seek to expand the scope to include members of such communities.
Will you be working with histories of Chinatowns only, or other erased neighborhoods of color as well?
Though Chinatowns are for me a starting point, due to my work in Providence's Chinatown, I am also interested in the histories of other erased communities of color, and hope to learn more about these histories over the course of the project. Please reach out if you are interested in sharing or contributing.
Soon, I plan to begin offering workshops based in the techniques I have been developing, and will post these on my Instagram and Twitter accounts. These will range from personal-scale Ancestral Memory Enclaves workshops such as I have led in the past, to workshops focused on other parts of the reconstruction process.
I’m also beginning to reach out to folks about – slowly – beginning a reconstruction project in another place. I've recently spent time looking for records in Truckee, CA, New Orleans, Deadwood, SD, and other places. I’m interested in connecting with descendants of these communities, as well as with Asian American artists, historians, and community members interested in remembrance related to these places. Please let me know you’d like to connect on the contact page
No, there will be workshops and activities open to people of all skill-sets.
I will post more Q&A as the project progresses, thank you!