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By Elsa Fan 

This question is at the heart of the AAPI Voices: Stories from St. Louis, an exhibit taking place at in the Hunt Gallery, from May 9-17. The exhibit features cultural and historical artifacts from 17 members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in St. Louis. 

These materials offer a glimpse into the dynamic and evolving ways people understand their identity and heritage, while also highlighting the rich diversity of cultural histories in our region. More importantly, they reflect a shared commitment to building community.

The exhibit is the culmination of the Elevating Asian Voices Through Digital Storytelling project, co-led by Dr. Elsa Fan, associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Global Languages, Cultures and Societies, and Robin Hattori, community advocate with the St. Louis chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Funded by , this grant-supported initiative fosters community-academic partnerships to collect and preserve the experiences of AAPI communities. 

As part of this collaboration, four undergraduate students were recruited to join the project: Alex Koenig, Evelyn Truong, Lauren Walther and Maya Zerazion. The students conducted oral history interviews with community members, and created written, video and audio summaries of the stories. They also presented their work at multiple venues, gaining valuable professional and career-building experience. Koenig and Zerazion, both majors in Anthropology and Sociology, presented a poster about their experience in April at the annual ASIANetwork conference in San Antonio, Texas. 

We invite you to join us for the opening reception at 6-8 p.m. on May 9 at the Hunt Gallery. The exhibit will remain on display through May 17. 

Special thanks go to the Department of Global Languages, Cultures and Societies for their ongoing support to this initiative and to Department of Art, Design and Art History for making this exhibit possible.