Running since 1979, the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) is proud to present the 33rd Annual Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Festival to be held on Saturday May 12, 2012, from 11am - 6pm at Archway in Dumbo, Brooklyn, NYC. This year’s theme will focus on the journey Asian Pacific American ancestors have taken to come thus far. The purpose of this event is to celebrate family values as well as cultural heritage.

More than 20,000 visitors and guests are expected to attend this year’s festival of fun activities for children and adults as well as cultural performances by talented artists, musicians, dancers, and much more with chances for an enjoyable taste in Asian cuisine.  Join MCs: Bea Hundal, Broadcast Journalist, sports anchor/reporter for Sports Net New York, Michelle Yu, Stand Up Comedian Air Tabigue, NY1 Reporter CeFaan Kim, and Award-winning journalist Ti-Hua Chang for the full coverage of a day filled with cultural excitement and entertainment.

2012 performances include:

• New York Chinese FreeMasons Athletic Club (CFMAC): Athletic/Kung Fu Performance
• Crimson Kings: NY Chinese School Band Performance
  
• Tiffany Ashley Viray: multi-talented singer, dancer, actress and model
  
• New York Chinese Cultural Center: Chinese Performing Arts
  
• Bollywood Axion: Professional Bollywood & Bhangra Dance
  
• Polynesian Dance Productions: Polynesian dance from Tahitian and Hawaiian dances
  
• Yosakoi Dance Project – 10tecomai:NY based Japanese Yosakoi dance
  
• World Martial Arts Center: Hapkido, Korean Martial Arts
  
• Mitchell Grey: Punk/Rock Group
• The Stone Forest Ensemble: avant-garde Hip-Hop ensemble
  
• The Hsu-Nami: fusion of traditional Chinese violin (ErHu) with modern American Rock & Roll
  
• UZUHI: NY based Japanese Punk/Rock Group
  
• I LOVE DANCE: Korean Pop (K-pop) Dance Group

Asian American Arts Centre will proudly present seven Asian traditional folk artists at this event.

ASIAN AMERICAN ARTS CENTRE FOLK ART TABLES

YE XUN, Dough figurine master artist
Dough modeling is a traditional Chinese handicraft that has continued to develop for over 700 years. Mr. Ye Xun, born in Zhejiang, has combined the qualities of both his master teachers, the poetic sensibility of Master Zhao Kou Ming with the realistic representation of color and manner of Master Lang Shao An (his grandfather). His figures appear life-like with a sense of vitality in the scenes and characters of his work. His work include the famous mythological characters such as the Monkey King from "Journey to the West", the Eight Immortals and the Goddess of Mercy. He has also won numerous awards for his designs including First Place in the Zhejiang Provincial Competition for Best Design.

JAMPA YOUDEN: Tibetan Jewely Designer
Jampa Youden grew up in one of the many nomadic communities in Tibet, where the land is vast (larger than Texas and California together), streams are crystal clear, where there are herds of sheep, birds, meadows of fragrant flowers and medicinal plants, surrounded by snow capped mountains. Taking his cue from traditional works he has brought this kind of design back in new materials, sizes and forms, sometimes using beads from Arizona and other places.

MING LIANG LU: master papercutter of portraits
Ming Liang Lu began studying calligraphy with his father at the age of five. He also studied carving, sculpture and engraving under the tutelage of renowned Shanghai artists such as Zheng Chi Lai, Shu Xun Long and Wu Su Wei. In 1981 he was commissioned to replicate a miniature scale model of Qing Pu Dai Guan Garden with 796 stone sculptures, some as small as a grain of rice. His sculptures were exhibited in the US from 1980 to 1985 and received wide acclaim. A creation from this period, "Dawn", was enlarged into a public art piece over five meters tall and is now permanently installed in the Shanghai Hua Xin Garden. He been in the US for nineteen years and continues to receive awards at various art shows here.

SHAO HUA YU: Master Grass Animal Artist

Shao Hua Yu learned to make animals by weaving palm leaves together from his father who learned it from his mother. He taught him how to make frogs and snakes, which he found very easy. By traveling around China and seeing other masters he gathered many skills and expanded his repertoire. After immigrating to New York in 2000, he found he could continue his art by starting demonstration tables on Mott St, in Soho and in Time Square.  His wife Wang Wei will be demonstrating his art. 

ANDREW WANG: Chinese tribal Jewelry and Textiles
Andrew Wang developed a passion for art while growing up in China. After becoming a medical doctor, he continued his interest in the arts by initiating and developing a cross-country network in China consisting of local artists from mountain tribal villages, ethnographic experts and museum professionals to facilitate the process of traditional ethnic art preservation, particularly traditional tribal textiles. The objectives of the networking include helping artists from different ethnic groups preserve their artistic heritage in the face of modern transformations, and increasing international communications through various artistic activities worldwide. Andrew has served as an international volunteer advisor for several local museums located in Southwestern China to facilitate international collaborations with museums in the West. He will be presenting many traditional art forms here, as he does in several other annual events in the US.

ROSE SIGAL-IBSEN: calligrapher
Rose Sigal-Ibsen has practiced calligraphy for many years and won critical acclaim for her work. Born in Romania and migrating from Israel to the US, she worked as an enamelist after studying at FIT. In 1979 she began her study of Sumi ink at the KoHo School of Sumi-e in NY and later Chinese brushwork at the Zhejiang Academy in China. She has won Awards of Excellence from the Kampo Cultural Center and from the Manhattan Arts International magazine. She has exhibited widely, for example, in China at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, in Bucharest at the Roumanian Cultural Foundation, and in the US at the Steinhardt Conservatory and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC.

KAREN K. AHN:  Korean Macreme Artist

Karen K. Ahn learned Korean Knotting or Macreme as a young adult from a master Knotting folk artist named Kim Hae Soon in 1981.  When Karen was attending college she met her as part of the Institute for Traditional Art and had many private lessons with her.  Korean Knotting is different from Chinese Macreme as well as different from Celtic knotting, being a highly complex form of the art.  

For a detailed schedule on the event and more information please visit: www.capaonline.org

CAPA Heritage Festival

SATURDAY, MAY 12TH, 2012
ARCHWAY @ Dumbo

Between Water Street & Anchorage Place
Admission: FREE!
Website: A/P/A Heritage Festival