Coming up on this special edition of KVIE Arts Showcase... We celebrate California artists and organizations preserving culture through art.

It's all up next on KVIE Arts Showcase... ♪♪ ♪♪ Ova: TeAda is all about elevating the refugee and immigrant experience.

The work that we do is very important because it really is a way to give the community an opportunity to find pride.

Marinda: Through storytelling and live performance, TeAda Productions extends an outlet of service, education and creative courage... rooted in preserving the voices of those who have been silenced or unheard for far too long.

(Man speaking in foreign language) Leilani: Uh, OK I don't know what you just said.

Leilani: primarily why I wanted to find, uh, start the theater TaAda productions, um, is because I wanted a place to be able to tell the stories that aren't being told on most of American stages.

And I just was getting really frustrated at the limited opportunities, not just as, um, as an actor, but also as a writer and our producer.

Ova: I mean, a lot of the communities we work with don't have that chance to be able to see themselves in a way that is honest and truthful, the communities that we work with don't have the space don't, don't usually have the space to be able to present themselves in an authentic way.

I'm Lao, American Leilani is a mixed heritage.

And even to, to create, we had to create our own stories.

We had to work and create our own pathways.

Being in theater is not something that is the, the normal track.

Uh, and so, um, to find a way to elevate and use the platform of theater to share our experience and stories is important.. (Cast shouting) Ova: The creative process for TeAda is we're very, um, what we call ensemble base.

So we're very collaborative.

We work with various different communities... With an equal footing with the community.

And I think that's, what's important.

It also creates transformative experiences for the participants, um, for the cast members who are in the place where we do develop them to that point.

Marinda: Simply sharing a story can spark something so profound, giving guidance, honor, understanding and perspective on the past.

It can also have a transformative impact on the future.

Leilani: There's many different levels of transformation that people get when they come to our shows.

And for some, it's seeing their own stories on stage for the first time.

And for others, it's realizing that the stories are similar and that they, even if they're not Micronesian, they can see.

what, um, the Micronesians are going through as a reflection of what they themselves may have gone through.

(Cast chanting in foreign language.)

Leilani: There's always a necessity for our plays to educate in an entertaining way, in a way that isn't just, you know, exposition like so we try to find a way to engage the audience and have them both laugh and cry, but at the same time, learn something.

Marinda: Through every production TeAda creates an opportunity to preserve and honor traditions, build growth, gain self-care, start conversations and transform communities.

Leilani: So for me, it's more than representation.

It's not just about getting our bodies onstage as people of color.

It's about making sure we're telling authentic stories and not just fetishize stories or fantasies for the white gaze.

And that's why we do our work is we want to get the stories from the sources of the people, um, and help give them a platform for those stories to be told authentically and not watered down in a way that is just marketable, but in a way that offers an opportunity for conversation and, um, and dialogue and hopefully change.

"Yeah" ♪♪ Marinda: There is an unmistakable connection between art and its impact on society.

Including how we interact with, gain a better understanding of, generate conversations through art.

It can all lead to gaining greater influence from and empathy for others.

Monica: Because sometimes art is powerful when it communicates a message it's not a bright cherrie you know just a pretty picture.

There's a purpose for all of it... and up to this point in time, this is just what I've done.

Marinda: Many perceptions of beauty are guided by the prevailing culture.

Through her artistry and dentistry.

Dr Monica Crooks creates, expands, preserves and redefines the norms of how we view culture and beauty through art.

Monica: I paint things that are uplifting and beautiful and bold and colorful and bright and free and hopefully things that would bring joy to the person viewing them... Marinda: Dr Monica Crooks's art, shows an undeniable look at beauty in its many forms, while also discovering her own reflection of beauty within her work.

Monica: I liked doing faces and I used to do faces of women.

And my dad said to me, he says, "Why are you always drawing white faces?"

He said that.

"Why do you always draw white people?"...

I don't know.

I didn't know at the time, um, I think now in retrospect, it's because it was a time in history I use magazines for my subject matter and magazines did not depict pictures of black anybody...

I was trying to think of what?

What is unifying about us as African-Americans, it's not really skin color because we run the gamut from snow white to, Ebony black.

Um, but probably the thing that is most unifying is hair texture.

We all have different hair, so no two African-Americans have the same type of hair either.

That's another thing, you know, but some people have the ability to sculpt their hair and I mean, cut it into shapes.

I mean, Grace Jones was famous for that... you know these big angular shapes that she could create and the hair just it's like weightless.

It just stands on end and you can do things with it.

Which is amazing.

So the other reason that I wanted to do that show is some of us, And I'm going to say myself included didn't grow up proud of our hair.

You know, when I grew up, I wanted the hair my little friends could roll out of bed, shake, just go.

And my hair wasn't like that because my hair had a mind of its own and how it was going to look that day very much dependent upon the weather.

I want people to see black and beauty as synonymous, just like any other races.

Okay, no one is better or worse than the other.

There are beautiful and less beautiful in every genre of everything in the world.

Okay.

But I embrace the opportunity to paint beautiful black faces... Marinda: Beauty can be defined as a combination of qualities of shape, color, and form.

To senses, intellect and even an attractiveness of feminine and masculine traits.

Within every piece Dr Crooks creates she captures the many expressions and representations of beauty that can sometimes be overlooked.

Monica: ...I think it, it's beautiful to call attention to it and it's beautiful to be able to say that beauty doesn't have one definition.

Marinda: Doctor Crooks says Art helps us to define who we are or perhaps what we hope to represent as human beings.

Monica: it is an expression of who we are as a people.

Human beings.

I mean, an expression of our existence on this earth and it's representation of that experience, the human spirit is not limited.

And this is true for everybody.

I happened thankfully to have been raised by parents who instilled that in me from the time I can remember, you can do anything.

If anyone else can do it in this world, you can do it too.

I mean, there's nothing really pastel about my work.

It's bright, colorful, strong.

It's it's layers and layers of color on top of color.

It's uninhibited.

It's free.

It's unafraid because I mean, with paint, if you don't like it, just paint over it.

It's no big deal.

It's Fearless... it's accidental discoveries in life and embracing them.

And then.

Seeing how far you can run with it.

I, you know, I don't happen to believe in reincarnation.

I think we got one time on this planet, you know, one shot and then I want to graduate on to bigger and better things.

And I want to squeeze everything I can out of this existence.

So maybe my art is a reflection of that... ♪♪ ♪♪ Pamela: I think to be seen as native American here in contemporary times is, is vital for our existence, really because it affects not only our imagery, but it all also affects policies.

It also affects our land base.

Marinda: Multimedia Artist Pamela J Peters describes her work as Indigenous Realism.

Using her art as a vessel to tell the stories, preserve the legacy, dedication, resilience, contributions, and lives of Native Americans.

While also building a foundation to dismantle the false and harmful narratives used for far too long.

Pamela: I was born and raised on a tribal reservation.

I was born in, um, in Shiprock New Mexico, which is on the Navajo nation...

When I would spend time with my father, um, he really enjoyed watching Western films... And, um, so these Western films I've always saw how they depict Indians and how Indians were seen as savages as, um, You know, almost like this demonic being in their storytelling and I'm watching it.

And I felt weird even as a young kid.

And then I saw my dad, he jumped up and he was like cheering for John Wayne.

And he's like, yeah, kill the Indians.

And I was like, Wait a minute.

What does that mean?

And as a young kid, that confused me and I was a bit precousious I was like, why did they want to kill the Indians?

And this is my dad saying, because they're bad.

And I'm like, but aren't we Indians?

He's like, well, we're not like them.

And I couldn't understand that.

Marinda: Pamela would carry the weight of that narrative throughout her life.

Leaving her in search of where she fit into the world around her and how she would define herself as a Native American.

Pamela: ...Fast forward when I was, um, going to school at UCLA and I was, um, studying American Indian history and I was also studying film and television history.

So I kind of combined my focus on both aspects and it really like clicked with me like, Oh, This is why they did this.

This is why they created this good character and this bad character, because, and this is why they created Western ideology is they needed to get society to understand, well, these are the reasons why we've decimated Indians is because we needed the land base.

And what other great way to do this is through Western films.

Pamela: And we were completely erased of understanding the realness of who we are in the education system.

So there was this mockery that's created through sports events and through, um, Um, advertisements.

And so when I really understood that, I'm like, well, this is why I was a confused, um, young kid and why I became a rebellion teenager.

And why I felt suicidal, um, later in my teens.

And I think a lot of young kids feel that way because they don't see themselves.

Marinda: In finding her own understanding.

Pamela embraced her Native American roots, creating cultural outlets through her art.

And establishing a platform for others to be seen and see themselves, authentically.

The Mural of Toypcirina in Indian Alley, We Hear you!

Pamela: Well, I think it's important.

The work that I'm doing, it is preserving, it's preserving a narrative at the time.

I definitely think that art builds connection to understanding other cultures definitely.

I think my work has definitely, um, opened people subconscious mind to say, Oh, I didn't know.

I didn't know the, the history of American Indians in the city.

I didn't know that there were 567 federally recognized tribes...

I definitely think it does and it gives it.

It gives existence to the atrocities of our history... Marinda: Pamela's work has also given many of its viewers a resilience to take a deeper look at their own understanding of how they may subconsciously view others through a biased lens.

♪♪ Pamela: I hope people will gain from just seeing my work and hearing my films and my poetry is.

That they can make a conscious decision with the choices they make in life.

And to really understand the diversity of American Indians were not one Relic Indian.

We do have multiple voices.

We are the fabric of the United States.

I'm just a small, small fraction of the many stories that can be told.

Today I live with pride.

Today I live with pride.

Today I live with pride.

♪♪ ♪♪ Akinsanya: I like to have people walk through and they're looking.

If there's music playing by a particular piece, you can feel that the drum beat.

And when you look at the work, you feel like you're right there in the painting or in, right in the sculpture, you can, you can kind of connect with the spirit of whatever it is... ♪♪ ...

I think that I would like people to know that I don't look at it as my art.

I look at it as the people's art.

I think that it came through me and I felt like I was just used as a vehicle to create this... art is one of most important and one of the best ways of expressing one's culture because, uh, people's culture is like a total of everything that they do.

It's the history, the talk, the dance, the songs, and the way you express all of that, how you tell the story, is you tell the story with the art.

So that people that come after us can look at the art and learn to read it... Marinda: As a former Marine, art professor and member of the Black Panthers, Akinsanya believes that his art preserves the foundation of the past.

And in order to create change for the next generations, we must start by acknowledging the shame of that past.

Akinsanya: And I look at it from that position.

I just can't help it because you know of these things, you know, and you see that this hatred is something that could have been dealt with after the civil war, but it wasn't.

It was something that they, they let all the captive, uh, Confederate soldiers go home after the war, they let them out of prison.

And when they got home.

They had this in their mind that there's a such thing as the superior race.

They didn't do anything to reeducate them.

You know, and make them look at all people as though we are all humans, they still look at us as thou we are inferior and they feel like they have the right to rule us and they see us as a threat.

And that pains me.

So I know that the artwork that I do will be teaching about this struggle long after I'm dead, it will be teaching.

And I'm glad of that.

I think that you should allow young people to ask questions and you can't just give them an answer that you believe you gotta, you gotta kind of find out what the truth is.

Marinda: When you experience the works of Professor Akinsanya Kambon, you learn from, engage with, and are inspired by his art.

With over 4000 works, Akinsanya hopes to instill courage in others to seek truth and share their own stories.

Akinsanya: And I think that I need to try and make it available to young people, to all the youth, black, white, red, yellow, it doesn't matter...

I think that all youth should be exposed to it so they can all learn.

It gives a child hope they can see things.

That, whatever artists did the work, they can see it.

They can look at it.

I mean, I still remember the paintings and the horses and the dogs and all the little things that the artists did and how the paintings were like huge.

And to see all of that as a child, I think it just gave me a world.

It makes you want to live.

It makes you want to do things.

It makes you want to go places.

It makes you want to learn.

And I think that's what kind of started me on a journey.

And I really, uh, have a lot of respect for my wife because she stuck in there through everything I went through and she's responsible for me being alive right now.

You know, so I think that was a spiritual connection too, I believe.

For me, art is life.

It's like air it's like everything you need to survive.

I couldn't survive without it.

Um, I think that, um, I think I was kept alive to do what I'm doing.

I mean, I, I was blown up twice in Vietnam.

I could have been dead either one of those times, I got shrapnel steel coming out of me sometimes, you know.

And, um, I, uh, I think about all the different times I could have lost my life and didn't, and I look at it like it's a blessing from the creator and when he's tired of me doing the work that I'm doing.

He let me come on home to heaven and wherever, or wherever I'm going, you know, so I don't worry about it.

I just, um, I just I'm blessed to be here, you know.

I'm blessed to do the work that I do.

♪♪ ♪♪ Annc: No matter where you look, it's the same -- art and culture help communities bind together, preserve and remain vibrant and strong, ♪♪ That guiding principle is why the Punjabi American Heritage Society was founded in Yuba City back in 1993.

Dr Jasbir Kang and others of the Sikh community felt a vital need to foster friendship, community, connection and collaboration.

They also wanted to help Sikh children born in the U.S. gain a better understanding and appreciation of their roots and cultural heritage.

♪♪ Dr. Kang: I think it's very important because, uh, music, food, dancing are like universal things you know...

Especially the music, is a universal language.

Surinder: It's very important that you preserve the culture When we see all these kids, they're getting connected with that, um, the language purposes, so they can read, they can learn the history.

They can feel that culture... And when I see these students, they need to know, especially our coming generation.

If they don't know this language and the culture part, everything will be lost and they won't get to feel that value for this language and culture.

Annc: Doctor Kang says they've succeeded in helping their community regain pride in their traditions and history...while finding new ways to celebrate and share their culture with others...all while recognizing and appreciating the unique aspects of other cultures.

Dr. Kang: I think what makes America such a beautiful country is that all the different flavors of culture...

Some people feel like if you want to be an American than you have to be certain culture, I mean, that could put a lot of pressure on youngsters, kids in high school, trying to be something that they are not.

I tell kids, Hey, you could be a great American at the same time, you can preserve some of the beauty of your heritage and culture.

Bicky: ...Sikhs ....they have wonderful stories.

And there have been a fabric of this nation, but not everybody in America can go to the Gurdwara and to learn so digitally these stories, they have to be told... ... post 9/11, we got more involved with the media and film work.

And we basically, uh, you know, after immediately after 9/11, there was a backlash and, you know, the turban and beard, became our identity.

Annc: Throughout history art has been a resource in helping build connection, while gaining understanding and preserving culture.

Art helps people reach that greater understanding through sharing stories.

♪♪ Bicky: Some of the Sikhs... have been here for more than a hundred years.

I think arts and culture and films are a really good platform... ♪♪ Dr. Kang: In all culture there is going to be evolution.

But why is it important to preserve certain traditions and certain musics...

But these are learned experience collectively by group of people in one part of the world over thousands of years.

I mean, there's a beauty.

I mean, there is that people have been through different struggles, different challenges, but this experience evolve over thousands of years, You just don't want to destroy it and let it go.

Dr. Kang: I think that art is the finest expression of, uh, human, uh, intellectual and I would say our skills and our expressions.

So arts plays a big role in how the culture evolves and how you interact with your other fellow human beings.

Surinder: We don't have to lose whatever we have... actually we are adding to the whole society and the culture.

...once you, what you know, you are contributing to the community and once you're contributing to the community, we will understand each other better.

♪♪ ♪♪ Annc: Episodes of KVIE Arts showcase along with other KVIE programs are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.