Imaginary Chinatowns
Gallery exhibit for AAPI Culture Festival.
Created May 7, 2024 - Last updated: May 7, 2024
Imaginary Chinatowns
My current project is a manuscript of erasure and found poetry, drawn from archival sources documenting the Anti-Chinese Riots of 1880 in Denver, which contributed to the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.
I’m putting this together with my creative partner, Kyle Albasi. We’ll be presenting a walking tour performance of this piece at the Denver Fringe Festival, using AI-generated images of a Chinatown that might exist in Denver had the race riot not happened, positioned over existing buildings with augmented reality (webAR).
Our artwork is also on exhibit at the AAPI Culture Festival in Denver this May. Here are a few pieces at the exhibit, scraps from our manuscript:
Wazee as it never was
![Generative AI image of Chinatown overlaying Google Maps image of Denver](/images/wazee_never_was.jpeg)
Look Young Died Here – CAPU Plaque
Look Young Died Here – the Coroner’s Report
I’ll include more artwork and photos from the Fringe Festival after completing my manuscript for the Lighthouse Writers Poetry Collective, a year-long writing residency in Denver. Presenting this work-in-progress at the Lit Fest on June 12, 2024.