About the Summit

about

is a gathering of spoken word artists, poets, writers, musicians, thespians, activists, organizers, and artists throughout the world who convene based on the commonality of their Asian American, Asian, and/or Pacific Islander identity.  Since 2001, the Summit has gathered every two years in a different city in the United States, and for a span for four days engage in workshops, performances, and discussions directed toward the upliftment of the APIA arts and activism community.  In the past Summits have occured in Seattle (2001), Chicago (2003), Boston (2005), and New York City (2007).

This year, the 5th APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit will take place in the California Bay Area from July 30 to August 2.
Click here for details.

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APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit Mission

  • to establish a national network of progressive artists involved in the APIA community
  • to challenge the often peripheral and passive roles the artist is branded within the APIA community and the arts community at-large
  • to acknowledge the arts as a critical, elemental component in building, empowering and transforming our community and our selves.

    • APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit Vision

    We are out to spread the word, cipher with our ancestors and family, and cultivate our personal text into actions. The aim of the summit is simple: to learn to love our impending selves through the reflections, exchanges and stories of our Asian/Pacific Islander American community. Although we self-identify as APIA we simultaneously redefine the term to be inclusive of West Asian (Middle Eastern), South Asian, and Multi-Racial peoples. Participants range from youth workers, teachers, poets, organizers, actors, emcees, writers, artists, performers, history keepers to the future of Asian America.

    The word is just the medium. What you put into this gathering is what you get out of this gathering. As contemporaries, our responsibility is not only to serve as each other’s peers but also as each other’s mentors. Make each moment count. Create connections. Break down walls. This summit asks for honest participation and unfiltered moments—moments so much bigger than ourselves, our self-deprecation, and our notions of community. We are building living history. We are part of a cultural continuum.