FAM (FILIPINO AMERICAN MUSEUM) PRESENTS ITS INAUGURAL PROGRAM IN NEW YORK CITY ON OCTOBER 29

Performance by Fil-Am Artist Stephen Decker

Third Streaming

10 Greene Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013

between Grand and Canal Streets

open 4-10PM, reception at 7PM

(New York City – October 21, 2013) FAM (Filipino American Museum) —the first museum focused on examining the connection between contemporary Filipino American arts and the roots and traditions of the Philippine diaspora— will have its debut in New York City on October 29, 2013. A start-up committed to presenting cultural programs in stimulating and unprecedented ways, FAM is dedicated to seeking out what it is to be Filipino in America.

In the spirit of a diverse people, FAM’s roving programs serve as a fluid, user-generated, inquiry-based space. An untold American story, FAM presents its findings through live performances, exhibits, installations, community forums, online content and otherwise.

To kick off the founding of FAM, the public is invited to participate in a one-night event: a new sound and light performance by Queens-based, Filipino American artist Stephen Decker. While FAM will focus initially on New York City, it intends to grow the audience slowly and into other local communities. It aims to capture this national voice by serving a broader audience through original programming online. 

FAM contextualizes its work within a broader Asian American perspective. In seeking new and exciting work in the Filipino American community, FAM will explore the ways in which that work intersects with broader audiences. The goal is to frame this conversation by asking questions and letting the range of answers lead the exploration. FAM is focused on bringing these stories to a general audience and capitalizing on the diversity of the Filipino American community.

“Filipinos in America have been impacting US culture for centuries,” according to Nancy Bulalacao, a founding member of FAM. “The community is diverse, passionate, and distinguishes itself in mainstream culture in ways that I think are not often recognized. FAM intends to capture these stories and weave a narrative that acknowledges the past, present, and future contributions of Filipino Americans in this country.” 

The earliest documented arrival of Filipinos dates to 1587 in California. Filipinos make up the second largest Asian American population, numbering at 3.4 million nationwide. Today, Filipinos make their home in all corners of the United States.

FAM’s founding committee is comprised of professionals and individuals from the worlds of the visual arts and museums, fashion, design and film. The advisory board is made up of prominent Asian American cultural leaders that provide guidance and support to the founding committee. Advisors include author and historian Luis Francia, attorney Rio Guerrero, actor Ching Valdes-Aran, and Museum of Chinese in America co-founders Charles Lai and John Kuo Wei Tchen. 

About the Inaugural Event by Stephen Decker

Stephen Decker’s Salvaging the Aether, a one-night sound and light piece will transform Third Streaming, an alternative art space in SoHo, into a conduit for interpenetrating sound signals. From street intercom transmissions to long distance radio frequencies, these amoebic presences will inhabit the space inside the gallery, making audible what is already in the air. Decker’s live orchestration of found and constructed sound will be built around noise-making objects like a short wave radio transmitting Morse code, wind chimes attached to a disco ball motor, and a sub-woofer interacting intimately with baoding balls.

Filipino Americans have made important contributions to alternative music, especially in the development of West Coast hip hop. Beginning in the 1990s, DJ Q-Bert and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz crew were at the forefront of creating sci-fi themed tracks composed of fast speed record scratching. Their re-purposing of existing material echoes techniques deployed by Decker, and that is common in other Filipino cultural forms like craft arts and building construction, where appropriation is the product of both convenience and expression.

Stephen Decker (b.1987) is an artist currently based in New York. While in attendance at Yale’s MFA sculpture program he initiated a number of sound works for radio broadcast on pirate frequencies. Most recently his work has been performed for Listening Room at the Studio Museum Harlem and Crypsis at Distillery Gallery in Boston.

FAM (Filipino American Museum)

Website filipinoamericanmuseum.com

Email [email protected]

Facebook facebook.com/filipinoamericanmuseum

Twitter @famnewyorkcity

For high res photos, interviews or any additional press inquiries please contact Nancy Bulalacao at 917-319-3119 or [email protected].

AABANY ED Speaks at “Bridge the Gap” CLE Orientation Program

On Wednesday, October 23, AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen was a panelist at a CLE Orientation Program presented by the First Department’s Committee on Character and Fitness for a group of about 240 new attorneys who were scheduled to be sworn in to the New York State bar on October 28.  The program took place at NYCLA from 9 am to 11 am, and Mr. Chen provided an overview of ethical issues confronting the new practitioner.  Mr. Chen spoke from his perspective as a practitioner for nearly 20 years working on complex commercial litigation and antitrust matters. Maria Matos, Executive Secretary of the Committee on Character and Fitness and former President of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, organized the event, which is held every few weeks throughout the year.

From our friends at PALS: Sign up to be a Mentor today!

PALS Logo White on Blue

 ATTORNEY MENTORS 

Strengthen the Legal Diversity Pipeline

by Sponsoring a PALS Mentee

 The PALS Mentoring Program

Matches diverse law students with practicing attorneys,

 who serve as professional development resources,

 and has done so for more than 25 years.  

Attorney Mentors Make an Impact

●    Join a community of diversity champion attorneys mentoring the next wave of leaders of color in the legal profession.

●    Be rewarded with your gift of sharing your time and talents with unparalleled networking opportunities. 

●   Positively guide a mentee’s career path, course selection and the road to success!

Become a Mentor Today!

Commit 2-4 hours per month

 to a designated PALS Mentee.

Signup today at: www.palsprogram.org/mentor 

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

 ACTION REQUIRED

Attorneys Who Have Previously Created a Profile on the PALS Website:

1.   Email [email protected]  to indicate that you would like to be considered for participation in the mentoring program as a “mentor”.

2.   Utilize Email Subject: “PALS 2013 Mentor”

3.   PALS will respond to your email within 7 business days, indicating a completed mentor profile status.

4.   Please log-in Here to update your profile today!  

Attorneys who have NOT Created an Attorney Profile on the PALS Website:

1.   Visit www.palsprogram.org/mentor and fill in all requested information on the online form.

2.   PALS will respond to your email within 7 business days, indicating a completed mentor profile status.

Current Mentors:

We thank you for your willingness to volunteer as a mentor in the past.  If you would like an additional PALS Mentee, or if you have lost touch with your PALS Mentee and are interested in being assigned a new PALS Mentee, please update your profile and let us know via email at [email protected] .  

Attorneys matched through the program will be required to review the

PALS Mentoring Manual and sign a Participation Agreement with their mentor.  

Please forward this email to colleagues who may be interested in mentoring.

 

If you have any questions or concerns about the PALS Mentoring Program, please contact the Executive Director of PALS, Paula Donaldson at: [email protected]