This event will also be livestreamed.

ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Reservations required. Reservations open on Wednesday, December 1, at 10 a.m.

DESCRIPTION:
An inspiring evening of music, murals, and conversation addressing gender, identity, and representation will feature an explosive performance by San Francisco rapper and activist Rocky Rivera. Following the performance, Rivera will join acclaimed Los Angeles–based artist and educator Audrey Chan and USC professor and poet Adrian De Leon(moderator) for an uplifting conversation about social justice, feminism, and using art to empower diasporic communities.

After the discussion, the audience is invited to meet Rivera at a book signing, take part in a walk-up print workshop by Self Help Graphics, and enjoy snacks from The Park's Finest. The USC Pacific Asia Museum's anniversary exhibition, Intervention: Fresh Perspectives after 50 Years (on view November 12, 2021–February 6, 2022), will be open for viewing throughout the evening.

Bios:
Audrey Chan is a Los Angeles–based artist, illustrator, and educator. Her research-based projects use drawing, painting, public art, and video to challenge dominant historical narratives through allegories of power, place, and identity. She was commissioned by LA Metro to create a large-scale public artwork for the future Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro Station, opening in 2022. She was a Visiting Artist Faculty in the Program in Art at California Institute of the Arts and the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at the ACLU of Southern California.

Adrian De Leon is a historian, poet, and multimedia educator at USC, where he is an assistant professor of American Studies and Ethnicity. He is the author and editor of three books, most recently the poetry collection barangay: an offshore poem. His research on the histories of Filipino migrant labor has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, ABC’s Nightline, National Geographic, VICE, and Rolling Stone. Adrian is the co-host and co-writer of the PBS miniseries A People’s History of Asian America.

Rocky Rivera is a rapper and performance artist from San Francisco. Her beginnings as a journalist for publications such as Mass Appeal, The Source, and Rolling Stone inform her music, which describes her progressive upbringing in the Bay Area and blends social justice, feminism, and West Coast–style hip hop into thought-provoking anthems with timeless appeal. Rocky has released two mixtapes, four albums, and nine joint projects with DJ Roza under the Rock & Roz series on Patreon.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by the USC Pacific Asia Museum. Co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Student Services.