Thursday, May 6th | 5-8:00 PM
5:00 | Food in Dennos Sculpture Court
6:00 | Screening of Seoul Switch
6:30 | Program with Spoken Word Poet Masaki Takahashi
Join Traverse City's AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Community for a free event with the goal to build greater understanding and empathy for people of different cultural backgrounds through positive engagement and welcoming learning events.
Local AAPI restaurants and chefs will provide the food. Afterwards, head to Milliken Auditorium for a screening of Seoul Switch from director Liann Kaye. The evening's keynote program will feature Masaki Takahashi, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Lansing, Michigan (2022-2024), whose powerful, community-centered work has been featured on platforms including Button Poetry and TEDx.
ABOUT THE FILM + DIRECTOR LIANN KAYE
When a shy Korean American college student and Seoul's biggest K-pop idol discover they're perfect doubles, the swap lives to escape the expectations holding them back. One is chasing the thrill of fame, the other searching for something real. But as their world collide, they'll learn that identity isn't just something you perform, it's something you fight for.
Liann Kaye is an AAPI Writer and director. Her award-winning mini-series The Blessing won Best Comedy at the New York Short film Festival and was also a recipient of the NYC Women's Fund. All 6 episodes are out now on YouTube, promoted by a successful TikTok campaign.
This year, she wrote and directed Seoul Switch, a proof-of-concept short ready to be expanded into a feature-length movie. The film, starring Korean American K-pop idol Kevin Woo, won Best Narrative Short at the DisOrient Film Festival this March. It has also screened at Short Shorts Asia, Bentonville, and the New York Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center.
ABOUT MASAKI TAKAHASHI
Masaki Takahashi is the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Lansing, Michigan (2022–2024) and a passionate advocate for the power of poetry to connect and inspire. As the founder and host of the Poetry Room open mic and nonprofit, Masaki has created a dynamic space where poets of all backgrounds can share their work and grow in their craft.
Masaki has been featured on prominent platforms such as Button Poetry, TEDx MSU, and Write About Now. His work has appeared in literary journals like Lunch Ticket and Rigorous, and they have collaborated with esteemed organizations including the National Park Service, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Michigan Council of Teachers of English, and numerous local universities, public schools, and nonprofit organizations.
Above all, Masaki is deeply committed to education and finds great fulfillment in mentoring students, supporting their growth both as writers and individuals. A storyteller at heart, Masaki believes in poetry’s transformative power to heal, challenge, and build community.
This program is made possible with support from the Northern Michigan E3, the Northwestern Michigan College Library, the Traverse City Human Rights Commission. Program partners include The Dennos and Traverse Area District Library. Food from The Good Bowl and Samsara.
The Dennos Museum Center builds community, sparks conversation, and inspires change for audiences of all ages through its exhibitions, programs, and the collection and preservation of art.
Opened in 1991, the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College is a premier cultural facility in northern Michigan offering a dynamic array of exhibitions and programs in the visual arts, sciences, and performing arts. The Museum includes temporary exhibition and permanent collection galleries, an elegant sculpture court, and a hands-on Discovery Gallery. The permanent collection features regional, national, and international art from the 19th-21st centuries. The Milliken Auditorium hosts events and concerts with performers from around the world. Visit the Museum Store for great shopping, including a fine selection of Inuit art for collectors.
The Museum's signature collection is Inuit art of the Canadian Arctic, one of the largest and most historically complete collections of these distinctive sculptures and prints in the United States. A significant collection of outdoor sculptures by noted international and Michigan artists surrounds the Museum on the beautiful campus of Northwestern Michigan College. In 2000, the Dennos Museum Center was recognized by ArtServe Michigan with the Governor's Award for Arts and Culture. The Museum expanded its original building in 2018, adding new galleries and auditorium spaces with wide support from the community.
In 2021, the Dennos joined a network of more than 200 other Smithsonian Affiliates in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Panama. Established in 1996, the affiliations program is designed to facilitate a two-way relationship among Smithsonian Affiliates and the Smithsonian to increase discovery and inspire lifelong learning in communities across America. Smithsonian Affiliates are collaborators on many of the Smithsonian’s strategic priorities, adding local content, context, and expertise to national initiatives to help tell a fuller story.
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