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Director of the prestigious Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, Lan Samantha Ching is becoming one of the most influential Asian American writers. The five stories in Chang’s Hunger (1998) mainly look at Chinese in America; the final story is set in pre-Communist Shanghai. Inheritance (2004) is the story of a wealthy but declining family in Republican China, beginning in 1925 and extending through the period of the Japanese invasion and the post-war flight to Taiwan and then the US. (more…)

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The first Chinese festival in Indianapolis will celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival with Chinese food, traditional music and dancing, a fashion show, and more. (more…)

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ArtSparkle, the Indianapolis Art Center’s main fundraiser, will conclude the IAC’s excellent “Two Worlds, One Language through Art” exhibitions, and will be an excellent way to learn more about the city’s continuing engagement with Chinese culture in the autumn. (more…)

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Not all Chinese movies are teary costume dramas. The romantic comedy “Be There or Be Square” is the second highest grossing film ever in China. Can that many people be wrong? (more…)

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One last chance top bring the whole family to the Indianapolis Art Center to learn that China’s several millenia of culture has produced more than firecrackers and gongs. (more…)

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You don’t have to break the bank by going to the IMA’s summer film series - this film fest is free. View the projects that students from the first annual Campecine Youth Academy have been working on for the past six weeks. Documentaries and animations made in Indianapolis by Latino youth bear alternative names - varriomentaries and issuemations - to reflect the language blending their makers experience.

Themes include current social issues, from race relations in Indianapolis to local and national immigration policy reforms to teen pregnancy, ICE Raids, and education.

From the press release:

The Campecine Youth Academy is a six-week program [of the Latino Youth Collective and FIRME Productions] that trains youth in “on-the-job” action research using new media technology. The program employed 27 youth for 20 hours a week and engaged students in a process called Youth Participatory Action Research, a process that engages young people in
(1) identifying a community issue of concern to them, and
(2) investigating its causes and potential solutions through the use of advanced media technology and inquiry methods. Youth then use the results for education and community action.

Sounds like one way to do a lot of good in the community, and the public gets to bear witness to it all. Added bonus: the event is bilingual! So practice your rusty Spanish - o alternativamente, ensaye un poquito el inglés.

At the IMA, in DeBoest Hall
Saturday from 1-4 pm
Free and open to the public.
http://campecine.com/

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This documentary, about the multitudes of Chinese children adopted by Americans since the early 1990s, is sure to find an appreciative audience at the always socially conscious Earth House.

Summary: “Since the early ’90s, Americans have adopted nearly 70,000 Chinese children. With thousands of them now at an age to appreciate returning to the homeland, heritage tours have brought adoptees and their families to China, presenting an unequaled opportunity for bonding and sharing identity issues. “Found in China” follows six Midwestern families as they observe contemporary trends and ancient Asian traditions in both urban and rural contexts. The 80-minute documentary focuses on the 9- to 13-year-old girls and how they attempt to fit together the puzzle pieces of their pasts.”

When: 5 pm (it’s 82 minutes long)
Where: Earth House at Lockerbie Central United Methodist Church, 237 North East Street

Part of IndyFringe and the Indianapolis International Film Festival.

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Indianapolis has a sister city in Slovenia: Piran. Out of Piran comes Tramontana, the Italian word for “the north wind.” Hear it blow through Indianapolis when the musical group Tramontana gives a concert at the Slovenian National Home. The band will perform Slovenian, Italian, and Croatian folk songs.

When: Friday, July 18

Where: Indianapolis Slovenian National Home, 2717 West 10th St.

Cost: $10/person.

About Tramontana and Piran: “The Indianapolis-Piran Sister City Committee is an all-volunteer group dedicated to promoting their ancestral heritage. Tramontana (Italian, north wind) is a group of musicians and vocalists from the town of Secovlje (Italian, Sicciole) near the salt flats outside Piran (Italian, Pirano) in Slovenia, Italy’s neighbor in the northeast since the demise of Yugoslavia. Their music reflects the history and languages of the area: Slovenian, Italian, and Croatian. Piran, in the region of Istria, is south of the major Italian port of Trieste.”

For more information, contact Steve Fon at 410-7618.

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The weekly vigil protesting the US Occupation in Iraq will take place on Fri. July 11 from 4:30-5:30 pm in front of the Federal Building, North and Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center. Bring an appropriate sign or have one provided. For more info, contact Ron or Jane Haldeman at 926-4318 or ronjane@igc.org

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“The Story of Stuff,” a 20-minute video that covers environmental, psychological and social impacts of our consumption oriented society, will be shown on Wed. July 9 at 6 pm in Room 116 at Wheeler Art Center, 1035 Sanders, sponsored by Marion County Green Party, Campaign for Sustainable Economics, The Black and Latino Institute, and Simple Living Group of Indianapolis. Discussion afterwards will be lead by Greg Buck. For more info, contact Greg Buck at ecothink@yahoo.com or 917-1638.

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