Weekend Re-Cap: V3

August 25th: Thanks to my new gig, East West Players were able to get me into V3, an Asian Pacific Islandler Digital Media Conference. Although I am no stranger to the social media industry, it is always good to see how far we have come in using the internet as a tool for marketing, education and outreach.

I have been working in social media since 1998 and it's never the same; it's evolving and changing and have reshaped the world by leaps and bounds. It has handicapped the television, music and magazine industries. It has changed how we communicate and conduct business. 

And it is important to be ontop of this movement.

My comrades registered me. haha! 

Business-minded

Nonprofit Organization + Digital Media. Pretty informative forum.

"Monetizing your Blog" class was full so I wasn't able to get in so I went to "Facetime: FashionAsians Online" instead. They brought up the fact that the internet leveled the playing field and put everyday people as ambassadors of fashion. People now tend to look at fashion blogs and online youtube tutorials in areas where fashion magazines have overlooked.

I'm surrounded by amazing inspiring people who keep me going. Like these folks, K Carrido-management/ marketing extraordinaire and D Mooko, Dean of a University.

Overall, the conference was truly a wonderful experience and I have walked away with a different perspective in critical thinking and important contacts. I can't wait for next year!

Tuesday Night Cafe 2012

Guess who is the co-curator for the visual arts segment of LA's longest running public art event? You guessed it. ME! I have been a long-time resident artist for Tuesday Night Cafe , from being a featured poet, to live painter to now visual arts curator. 

Tuesday Night Cafe happens every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the Spring and Summer months, taking place on the outdoor plaza of East West Players. It is wonderful to be onstage, being under the stars and hearing your voice echo in Downtown's building.

Tuesday Night Cafe has provided the space for both emerging and established artists/dancers/musicians/lyricists/vocalists/poets. It also is a gathering where important community and social information can be passed along.

They asked me to be the the first vendor and live painter. 

I painted for about 1.5 hours and managed to sell a few pieces in the meantime. It was wonderful to see everybody come out for the first show of the season!

More pictures to come!

Live painting: April 3rd, 2012

My 1 year old niece Spitty helping me paint as I hold her =)

So excited for my friends tonight! Hold Up Gallery! Shout outs to R T S Y S T M, Vyal, EyeOne SH, Chor Boogie. Should be a fun time!

Pop-op Co-op Shops and nomadic artistic souls:

A funny thing happens when your state goes into a financial crisis.

Businesses close and hence, commercial property are vacant and yet, nobody has the means to rent out the place which then makes this busy city of mine looke more and more like a ghost town.

Unless you are given the opportunity to take one of those vacant shops and turn it into something more lively.

like AUTOFREAK!





Traci had the opportunity dropped on her lap and called out to three more friends (keiko of mango pop, phloe, and me) to see if we can rock this space for 30 days.

We took over the abandoned auto high-performance goods shop in a mall in Little Tokyo and made it into a co-op pop-up shop/gallery and a sometimes performance space.










we spent a good amount of time of cleaning, prepping, and installing lights and art for make it ready for our 30 day stay at the Galleria. our friends really came through to make this happy. i mean, how many of really have a chance to run your own shop at a mall.

now granted, i never thought i would be back in the mall but this time, to be a temporary art space to a ghost town of a mall in the hopes of stimulating THEIR economy, as well as the artists we bring in is a fabulous way to participate in this consumerism game.


one of my installations


the poetry table with my "owlfie"


with artists, phloe and steve wong.


my table with my prints, magnets, custom sneakers and shirts


with my friend jenn tamera



For more pics, check out this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5897925&l=37f5eb01f0&id=501152463