June 11–25, 2025
Asian Arts Initiative's Storefront Gallery
Free
The reading group is part of Dorcas Tang’s residency for the month of June with TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image to develop Love Me Long Time, an audiovisual project examining overlapping themes of desire, intimacy, and Asian identity through portraits of and oral interviews with Asian/Asian diasporic women and non-binary people. The first iteration of the reading group was in March 2023 at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and co-facilitated with Tian Zhang.
Join Dorcas and local artist Alina Wang as they co-facilitate group reading and discussion sessions of excerpts taken from different texts by Asian/Asian diasporic writers – come when you can, leave when you must. Participants are invited to experience intimate, lively, and curious discussions; to exchange gifts of knowledge, experience, and food (snacks will be provided); and to feel nourished and to nourish others.
Week 1: Wednesday, June 11 | 6 – 8pm
Week 2: Wednesday, June 18 | 6 – 8pm
Week 3: Wednesday, June 25 | 6 – 8pm
Asian Arts Initiative, Storefront Gallery
1219 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Week 1 | June 11, 6 – 8 pm: Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
Content warning: depression, racism
Stone Fruit reveals through intimately naturalistic dialogue and blue-hued watercolor how painful it can be to truly become vulnerable to your loved ones – and how fulfilling it is to be finally understood for who you are. Lee Lai is a cartoonist and graphic novelist from Naarm/Melbourne, Australia, currently living in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, Canada.
Week 2 | June 18, 6 – 8 pm: I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying by Youngmi Mayer
I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying is an unforgettable memoir by Youngmi Mayer written with “raw, enviable freedom that simply floors you,” interrogating whiteness, gender, and sexuality in America, navigating a tumultuous childhood in Korea and Saipan, and coming to terms with her parents’ shortcomings (Michelle Zauner).
Week 3 (+ Potluck) | June 25, 6 – 8 pm: The Year of Blue Water by Yanyi
Content warning: suicidal ideation, parental abuse, gender dysphoria, anxiety
Yanyi’s arresting and straightforward poems weave experiences of immigration as a Chinese American dealing with racism, mental health, and gender identity from a queer and trans perspective. Between the contrast of high lyric and direct prose poems, Yanyi invites the reader to consider how to speak with multiple identities through trauma, transition, and ordinary life (Yale University Press)
The Storefront Gallery at Asian Arts Initiative is ADA-accessible. There are non-gendered restrooms and a water station located near the space. Limited funding is available to cover transportation if it is a barrier to attend. Contact lmlt.lovemelongtime@gmail.com for further assistance.
This program has received support from the Australian Government through Creative Australia (its principal arts investment and advisory body), Asian Arts Initiative, and TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image.
Register HERE to attend this FREE event.
For more information contact: lmlt.lovemelongtime@gmail.com
