Words by Regine Roquia

Four years into the uproar of events popularizing the #StopAsianHate and #BlackLivesMatter movements, along with years of oppressive history amongst Black and Asian American communities, the Bandung Residency is NYC’s first program to build a safe space for artists to explore allyship through various mediums. 

Hosted in partnership with The Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) and The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), the Bandung Residency is a 4-month long program designed to cultivate solidarity between Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Black communities. At their event hosted on February 8th, the 2023 Bandung Residents gathered in celebration and discussion to highlight their projects and transformative experiences within the program. Whether it be through music, poetry, textiles, or mixed-methods research, the Bandung Residency illuminates social justice-centered projects to tell a greater story. 

In collaboration with community leaders embedded in social justice work, the residency encourages artists to explore the possibilities of creating new, deeper relationships with themselves and their communities. When thinking about coalition building, writer, poet, and performer Kai Naima Williams shared that, “It’s this idea of what solidarity work asks of us, and how it asks us to extend ourselves across differences. And that it asks us to extend ourselves in ways that might not always be comfortable, maybe because we are not of a specific community. It means putting ourselves in rooms we may not occupy, but also seeking out those invitations. It’s important to create communities amongst ourselves that are not based upon our identities but upon shared politics, which is another form of identity.”

Deep-rooted in these tensions often lay remnants of the underlying condition to be prescribed a proper treatment, cough, white supremacy. “Structurally, Black and Asian communities are not often living side by side because of racist housing and immigration policies. So what does it look like to actually design cities that prioritize solidarity and community building as a goal, beyond other goals we may have?” shared Louise Yeung, visual artist, urban planner, and 2023 Bandung Resident. 

Applications to welcome their third cohort of Bandung Residents will open April 2024. Visit MoCADA and A4’s websites to stay up to date on additional programs and opportunities.