Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

From left to right: Choreographer Shen Wei, dancer Mana Hashimoto, designer Jeff Ng, theater director Tisa Chang, playwright David Henry Hwang and a4 Executive Director Andrea Louie. Photo credit: Chris Phelps

Althea Chang is a former Hyphen magazine contributing editor and current Brooklyn, New York-based blogger, food fanatic and personal finance writer who's written for CNN, Forbes, Fortune, TheStreet and other online publications.

Asian American dancers, designers and others who’ve made careers for themselves in the arts were celebrated this week at a benefit and awards gala held by the Asian American Arts Alliance in New York.

And anyone with parents who may have preferred a doctor, lawyer or investment banker for a child might agree that success in the arts despite discouragement is cause for celebration. After all, breaking the mold of the model minority is no easy task.

Pursuing the arts has been “an uphill battle all the way through,” said honoree Jeffrey Ng, also known as jeffstaple, the founder of Staple Design. “Being creative was not an option.  Hell, being Asian was not an option back then,” he said, sporting a bright orange down blazer custom-made by North Face.

Veteran photographer, comedian and native New Yorker Phil Nee admitted to being the “black sheep” of his family early on for pursuing work in the arts.  

But since 1983 a4 has been supporting artists from a variety of disciplines and its previous honorees have included actor B.D. Wong, filmmaker Mira Nair, and David Chu, the founder of Nautica.

Awards were also presented to Tisa Chang, the artistic producing director of the Pan Asian Repertory Theater; Mana Hashimoto, a dancer and choreographer; and Shen Wei of Shen Wei Dance Arts, who led choreography of the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

The awards event, which included drinks, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction, was held to raise funds for the Asian American Arts Alliance, or a4, as it marked its 28th anniversary. Auction items included a guitar signed by Bon Jovi, and a copy of a script from the TV show 30 Rock, autographed by the cast.

a4 also formally introduced its recently-appointed executive director, writer and editor Andrea Louie at the event.