Cultural Society is Beautifying the Outside of Washington Park Library
"Uniting AAPI Community for Change" is here in Providence now!
Our goal is to unite AAPI community voices against systemic racism and to increase and strengthen AAPI presence in Rhode Island
The public art was made possible by generous grants from the City of Providence's Dept. of Art, Culture + Tourism and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the staff and interns from the Swearer Center of Brown University, Center for Southeast Asians, the Washington Park Library, the artist N.J. Yuchu who put all the ideas into this design and many volunteers who gave their time to this project.
The Unveiling of the public art took place on Saturday, May 6. 2023!
The Art is Unveiled and is Visible to the Public now!
The unveiling of this public art was such a grand celebration for us on Saturday! Mayor Brett Smiley delivered a strong and supportive speech for the people of AAPI descent in Providence and recognized the challenges we faced during the pandemic. This public art is the first in the City of Providence and the state of Rhode Island to acknowledge the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the state economy and its pool of human capital! According to the 2020 census, the AAPI population has increased by 28% in the last decade, making this group the fastest-growing ethnic group in Rhode Island.
Inception of this art design has given us an impetus for a vision for an AAPI history museum with a culture center.
A cultural center gives us a space to have a conversation about reframing our past and how not to let the past repeat itself plus learning how to be resilient.
The Founder of the Cultural Society put together a letter of inquiry and, later, an application to the RI Council for the Humanities for funding to open up a museum of AAPI history. After nine weeks of intense examination and reading the scrupulous answers to each of the grant’s application questions, the grant committee approved our grant application and the Cultural Society got funding for this exploratory grant of $5,000 for this history museum.
We have hired an amazing college senior from RISD and a Brown Fellow from the SPRINT-iProv partnership of Brown University to head up this project starting this summer of 2023.
The creation of the Asian American Alliance of Rhode Island (APAARI)*
*The new and official name is the Asian Pacific American Alliance of Rhode Island, or APAARI, for short as of April 27, 2023. Please substitute it with the new name if you see AAPI Advisory Council anywhere else on our website.
Even with the vision of an AAPI history museum in the making, it is still not enough to strengthen the presence of the people of AAPI descent because of the long-rooted social factor that has had on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. How we empower people of AAPI descent and stop AAPI Hate at the same time has to be immediate. We need a group of people who can educate the public while empowering the people of AAPI descent at the same time. That’s when the AAPI Advisory Council came to the creation. In this Council, we have several members on the board of directors who steer the growth and development of this membership-based organization. (This Council will replace the original AACI mentionship-based organization). Everyone can join as a member. More details about this membership will follow. If you want more information about the AAPI Advisory Council or how to join the membership, please put your name on this form here.