Mixed Race Studies

“Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids” Exhibition in L.A.

The Huffington Post
2010-04-19

Victoria Namkung, Lifestyle Journalist

Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids from artist, slam poet, UCSB professor and filmmaker Kip Fulbeck, features over 70 framed photographic images of multiracial children along with own their statements or drawings. Also a book by the same name, Mixed has a foreward by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng (President Obama’s sister) and afterword by Cher. The family-friendly and timely exhibition is on display at the Japanese American National Museum through September 26, 2010. I recently caught up with author and photographer Kip Fulbeck to chat about Mixed…

Read the entire article here.

Biracial Children Learn To Self-Identify

Tell Me More
National Public Radio
2010-04-20

Michel Martin, Host

Interview with:

Kip Fulbeck, Professor of Performative Studies, Video
University of California, Santa Barbara
Author of: Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids

Peggy Orenstein
Author of: Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Fertility Doctors, An Oscar, An Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night, and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother

Heidi W. Durrow
Author of: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
Co-Host of: Mixed Chicks Chat

An installment of Tell Me More‘s weekly parenting segment focuses on the new book Mixed. It’s a collection of photographs of multiracial children that includes stories celebrating their heritage. Host Michel Martin is joined by the book’s author, Kip Fulbeck, as well as authors Peggy Orenstein and Heidi Durrow, who discuss their own experiences living in multiracial families.

Read the transcript of the interview here.  Listen to the interview here.

Note by Steven F. Riley: The term “Hapa” is incorrectly spelled as “Hoppa” in the transcript.

Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids

Chronicle Books
2010-03-17
264 pages
7 x 7 in; 127 color photographs
ISBN 9780811874083
ISBN10 0811874087

Kip Fulbeck, Professor of Performative Studies, Video
University of California, Santa Barbara

Foreword by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng

Afterword by Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian)

Mixed — From beloved writer and artist Kip Fulbeck, author of Part Asian, 100% Hapa, this timely collection of portraits celebrates the faces and voices of mixed-race children. At a time when 7 million people in the U.S. alone identify as belonging to more than one race, interest in issues of multiracial identity is rapidly growing. Overflowing with uplifting elements—including charming images, handwritten statements from the children, first-person text from their parents, a foreword by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng (President Obama‘s sister), and an afterword by international star Cher (who is part Cherokee)—this volume is an inspiring vision of the future.

Visit the official website at www.MixedKids.com.

An Evening with Kip Fulbeck-artist, slam poet, filmmaker Event Type: Lecture

Sacramento State University
University Union Ballroom
2010-02-18, 19:00-21:00 PST (Local Time)
Contact:  (916) 278-6997 

An Evening With Kip Fulbeck, artist, slam poet, and filmmaker- addressing issues on identity, multiraciality, and pop culture through spoken word, stand-up comedy, political activism, and personal stories, University Union Ballroom, 7 pm, FREE!!!
 
Sacramento State’s ASI, Multi-Cultural Center, and the University Union UNIQUE Programs are honored to bring an exciting and unique performance, “Race, Sex, and Tattoos: the Kip Fulbeck Experience” by Kip Fulbeck at the University Union Ballroom on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 7:00pm.  A book signing will follow the performance.

Kip Fulbeck is an artist, writer, slam poet, professor and award-winning director/filmmaker of Chinese, English and Welsh decent. Using his own experiences of being from a mixed heritage, Kip speaks nationwide, tackling topics such as media imagery, interracial dating patterns and icons of race and sex. His performance, which includes a mixture of spoken word, stand-up comedy, political activism and personal stories inspire audiences to explore how our own ethnic stereotypes and opinions on cultural identity are formed.

Fulbeck’s photographic book, Part Asian, 100% Hapa, features portraits of mixed heritage participants along with their hand written responses of how they self-identify ethnically, responding to the frequently asked question of, “What are you?” “Hapa,” derived from the Hawaiian word for “half,” used to be considered a derogatory word. Today, however, it has been embraced as a term of pride by mixed-race individuals and groups who identify with Asian or Pacific Rim ancestry.  Over 1,200 people nationally have participated in The Hapa Project by Kip Fulbeck.

A Professor and Chair of Art and an affiliate faculty of Asian American Studies and Film Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Kip Fulbeck has performed and exhibited in over 20 countries and throughout the U.S., including the Museum of Modern Art, the Singapore International Film Festival, the World Wide Video Festival, PBS, and the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial. He has twice keynoted the National Conference On Race in Higher Education, directed 13 independent videos including Banana Split and Lilo & Me, and authored the critically acclaimed books Permanence: Tattoo Portraits; Part Asian, 100% Hapa which features portraits of people of mixed heritage; Paper Bullets: A Fictional Autobiography; and Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids. He has also been featured on CNN, MTV and PBS.

All ages permitted. No alcohol provided or sold at venue.

Fulbeck inspires students to be proud of their heritage

The State Hornet
The Voice of Sacramento State
2010-02-09

Jennifer Siopongco

Kip Fulbeck will launch the Multi-Cultural Center’s mixed-heritage series at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Sac[ramento] State’s University Union with his lecture titled “Race, Sex and Tattoos: The Kip Fulbeck Experience.”
 
Spring semester at the Multi-Cultural Center is being spiced up with an innovative idea for a mixed heritage series.

The series will be launched with a premiere performance titled “Race, Sex, and Tattoos: The Kip Fulbeck Experience” by Kip Fulbeck at 7 p.m., Feb. 18 in Sacramento State’s University Union.

Fulbeck is a professor, slam poet, filmmaker and author who focuses on embracing heritage. Fulbeck himself is of English, Welsh and Chinese descent.

He will be speaking about topics dealing with race, sex and tattoos, while exploring the issues of mixed race and identity through comedy and various art media.

“They will see a lot of funny images, how lots of people are seen, spoken word, stuff that’s inspiring and sad,” Fulbeck said.

This idea for a focus on heritage was created by Liz Redford, Sac State student and newsletter and marketing intern at the Multi-Cultural Center, who is proud to be a quarter Japanese…

Read the entire article here.

Art Showcase Seeks to Study Racial Identity

Daily Nexus
University of California, Santa Barbara
2010-02-02
Issue 70, Volume 90

Julie Epstein, Staff Writer

The UCSB Women’s Center is currently hosting a multicultural art exhibit featuring work from students and professional artists.

The art on display ranges from paintings to photography, and even includes a work consisting of human hair on canvas. The show, entitled “Mixed Like Me,” will run until April 16. Third-year art major and show curator Lillian Edwards said the exhibit explores racial identity through an artistic lens.

“The theme of the show is to explore what it means to have a multiracial background,” Edwards said. “The goal is to bring an awareness and discussion about race through art.”

Read the entire article here.

Part Asian, 100% Hapa: Portraits by Kip Fulbeck

Chronicle Books
February, 2006
264 pages
7 x 7 in; 125 color photographs
ISBN 0811849597
ISBN13 9780811849593

Kip Fulbeck, Professor of Performative Studies, Video
University of California, Santa Barbara

Foreword by Sean Lennon

Afterword by Paul Spickard, Professor of History
University of California, Santa Barbara

Part Asian, 100% Hapa — Originally a derogatory label derived from the Hawaiian word for half, Hapa is now being embraced as a term of pride by many people of Asian or Pacific Rim mixed-race heritage. Award-winning film producer and artist Kip Fulbeck has created a forum in word and image for Hapas to answer the question they’re nearly always asked: “What are you?” Fulbeck’s frank, head-on portraits are paired with the sitters’ own statements of identity. A work of intimacy, beauty, and powerful self-expression, Part Asian, 100% Hapa is the book Fulbeck says he wishes he had growing up. An introduction to the rest of the world and an affirmation for Hapas themselves—who now number in the millions—it offers a new perspective on a rapidly growing population.

What Are You? The Changing Face of America with Kip Fulbeck

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
2010 Annual Conference
Dates: 2010-02-24 through 2010-02-26
Moscone Convention Center West
San Francisco, California, USA
Adapt, Survive, Thrive: Unleashing the Superpowers Within

Kip Fulbeck, Professor of Performative Studies, Video
University of California, Santa Barbara

Friday, 2010-02-26
13:30 – 14:30 PDT (Local Time)

A seminal artist exploring multiracial identity, Kip Fulbeck captivates audiences with his videos, performances, and writings. His words and artwork have received a landslide of attention from media as diverse as MTV and CNN. On stage his uniquely personal monologues and multimedia shows combine stand-up comedy with a powerful and politically charged edge, leading audiences to honestly consider Who Am I? Using his own Cantonese, English, Irish, and Welsh background as a springboard, Fulbeck confronts media imagery of Asian men, interracial dating patterns, and icons of race and sex in the U.S., constantly questioning where Hapas “fit in” in a country that ignores multiracial identity. His work invites and inspires viewers to explore how ethnic stereotypes and opinions on interracial dating, gender roles, and personal identity are formed. A professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Fulbeck has performed and exhibited across the U.S. and in more than 20 countries. He has twice keynoted the National Conference on Race in Higher Education to standing ovations; directed 13 independent videos; and authored the critically acclaimed books Paper Bullets: A Fictional Autobiography and Part Asian, 100% Hapa, featuring portraits of multiracials of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, with an introduction by Sean Lennon.

Kip Fulbeck: Part Asian, 100% Hapa

University of North Carolina
FedEx Global Education Center
2009-07-01 through 2009-10-31
08:00 to 21:00 (ET Local Time)

For this exhibition of portraits, artist Kip Fulbeck traveled the country photographing Hapa of all ages and walks of life. Once a derogatory label derived from the Hawaiian word for “half,” the word Hapa has been embraced as a term of pride for many whose mixed-race heritage includes Asian or Pacific Rim ancestry. Fulbeck’s work seeks to address in words and images the one question that Hapa are frequently asked: What are you? By pairing portraits of Hapa unadorned by make-up, jewelry and clothing along with their handwritten statements on who they are, Fulbeck has produced powerful yet intimate expressions of beauty and identity. “kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa” is organized by the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California. It is supported in part by the James Irvine Foundation and is part of the Global Education Distinguished Speakers Series.

For more information, click here.

Feeling Ancestral: The Emotions of Mixed Race and Memory in Asian American Cultural Productions

positions: east asia cultures critique
Volume 16, Number 2, Fall 2008
pages 457-482

Jeffrey Santa Ana, Assistant Professor English Department
Stony Brook University

The current era of war, militarism, and neocolonialism in the Pacific is a time in which capitalist expansion simultaneously generates and conceals the negative human consequences of globalization — for example, the tremendous upheaval and migration of Asian people. Diaspora, dislocation, exile, and immigration born of economic necessity are the depressing contradictions to a capitalist paradise that has been optimistically envisaged as the end of history.   Critics of globalization have theorized the ways in which the commercialization of human feeling conceals the anxieties, fears, and other negative affects that express the harsh underside of transnational capitalism.  Nowhere is this commercialization of emotion more obvious than in the marketing of multiculturalism and racial difference in global commerce. The commercial use of racial mixture is especially provocative in the way it signals, conditions, and manages distressing experiences, while assimilating them symmetrically and seamlessly into the transnational stage of capitalism. Clearly, racial mixture is a hot commodity in today’s global market. Particularly in North America, the fascination with and consumption of multiraciality is evident in the notable increase in scholarship about multiraciality in the academy and the profusion of mixed-race productions in the culture industry, both of which reflect the commercialization of racial mixture in a globalized world.

In the last ten years, there has been an explosion of cultural productions about mixed-race people, and particularly of multiracial Asian Americans. Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats and Halving the Bones, Kip Fulbeck’s Paper Bullets and Part Asian, 100 Percent Hapa, Paisley.