A
Portrait
sian
About
We're an organization aiming to spread awareness about the contributions of Asian Americans in American society.
To finally recognize our own invisibility is to finally be on the path toward visibility. Invisibility is not a natural state for anyone.
Mitsuye Yamada
Our Mission
We intend to shine a light on the Asian community in the U.S., ameliorating racial profiling and racism against Asian Americans, by telling their life stories and painting their portraits to immortalize their contributions with art.
Our Vision
Our goal is to feature a minimum of 100 portraits of Asian Americans in our art gallery by 2024. We then aim to compile these portraits into a coloring book, so children from kindergarten to middle school can explore the rich tapestry of diversity within our society.
Founder's Statement
Melody Tian
I started A-Portrait as a way to shed light on the contributions of significant Asian Americans. A-Portrait is short for Asian Portrait, and I came up with the name because I wanted to combine my love for art and passion for Asian American advocacy into this project. Being of Chinese American heritage, I often longed for an encompassing understanding of Asian American history during my schooling years. Uncovering the disheartening reality that AAPI history constitutes less than 1% of the curriculum was the catalyst for A-Portrait's inception. Initially, my aim was simple: to encourage students to draw portraits of Asian American figures and to construct an online art gallery on my website.
Over the past few years, not only have I been able to achieve my goal, but this project has also expanded in ways I’ve never expected. After some messaging, I was able to connect with the relatives of some of the people I drew and create a podcast where I interview trailblazers in the Asian American community. Despite our generational gap, we share the same passion for Asian American advocacy. Through my discussions with them, I have realized that though discrimination will never cease to exist, we all have the shared responsibility to educate others and help uplift our communities.
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My primary objective may have been to educate others, but the unexpected outcome has been a deeper appreciation for my own cultural heritage. Through A-Portrait, I've discovered that fostering appreciation for diverse histories, including my own, ignites a profound sense of purpose and connection.
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