KOLLABORATION 9 CLIPS
David Choi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bm-wStWqnc
Kina Grannis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPuoYQSPWD4
Kenichi Ebina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqGJzDLyGcU
Kaba Modern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFAbAD-var0
Fanny Pak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH0wfAZSMnU
Lily Beth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM3tRZpAa4M
Paul Dateh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7HJsU97k6A
Jazmin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry9HphPKepk
Freestyle Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruEzeLINZM
Freestyle Vocal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IsxKFJT8rI
KOLLABORATION
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT
Make some new friends and join the Kollaboration family.
Join The Movement in the city that started it all.
LOS ANGELES
Are you ready for KOLLABORATION 10?
It will be the show of shows.
From Stacey Kwon…
The year is 2008 it’s and a packed house with over 2,000 seats filled at the famous Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The people in the audience are on the edge of their seats waiting for the show to start. That’s when the host steps out and over the microphone shouts, “empowerment through entertainment!” The crowd goes wild. Surprisingly this isn’t a well-known singer or rock band but a show called Kollaboration, an annual event I’ve volunteered with for almost three years.
Kollaboration is a non-profit group aiming to promote a strong presence of Asian Americans in media and entertainment, advocate dialogue, and confront ignorance. We put on an annual large-scale talent competition to showcase and encourage young Asian American creativity. However, Kollaboration is more than just a talent show, it is a movement. Over the years, Kollaboration has grown to mean activism and unity throughout the country. Politicians, leaders, and members of other groups collaborate with Kollaboration to use it as a vehicle to communicate with the Asian American community.
Volunteering for Kollaboration has been incredibly rewarding as it has instilled a strong passion to fight for Asian American rights. In my experience, there still exists an element of racism that underlies our society, and even though it is not an explicit hate, a silent prejudice still remains. Witnessing this has made me extremely frustrated; however, Kollaboration taught me that I could make a difference by fighting for change. Working for this organization has demonstrated to me how not to accept the status quo, and to replace complacency with initiative and agency. The empowerment that Kollaboration gave me changed my attitude and established a fierce determination.
It is the new millennium and many instances of overt racism in the United States have been addressed— citizens are allowed to vote without distinction as to race, sex, belief, or economic status, dedicated efforts are taken to ensure diversity within many institutions, and laws are implemented to prevent discrimination. However, there still exists an element of racism that underlies our society, and even though it is not an explicit hate, a silent prejudice still remains. This is the type of racism I recognized and experienced in college.
It was the start of my 2nd year when I was up for a council position after a full year of dedicated efforts in a particular organization. I extensively researched the responsibility and it was evident that I was completely qualified for the role. However when it came time for the vote, to my surprise, another less competent candidate was awarded the position. Taken aback, I began to look inward and wonder if I wasn’t as capable as I thought. However, I was later informed that I was not elected simply because I did not have the “right look” to represent the organization. I became very confused as to why the vote was not based on merit but on appearance, and frustrated because I could not specifically identify this as a racist issue. After this incident, I began to observe similar situations with a more vigilant eye and it become abundantly clear that certain decisions and actions, though subtle, had discriminated based on a person’s race. I continued to witness these proclivities not only within this organization but also in many others, and this kept breaking my spirit.
It was in this phase of frustration, when I attended the Korean American Coalition National College Leadership Conference and had an enlightening experience. At the conference, I collaborated with others who had experienced similar situations, and taught me that I could make a difference by fighting for change. The empowerment that the conference instilled in me changed my attitude and established a fierce determination. Since then I’ve been closely involved with several activist organizations, such as KAC and Kollaboration, to advocate dialogue and confront ignorance. Working for these groups has demonstrated to me how not to accept current situations, and to replace complacency with initiative and agency. I believe that with activism, we can continue to progress and improve our society.
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Geunjin, JMD ft. Jason Arimoto, & Tier2
Live @
Dakota Lounge
(former Temple Bar)
1026 Wilshire Blvd,
Santa Monica 90401
Thursday, April 9, 2009
PERFORMING LIVE:
9pm – Sam Geunjin Kang
www.myspace.com/geunjin
10pm – JMD featuring Jason Arimoto
www.myspace.com/jmdband
11:30pm – Tier2
www.myspace.com/tier2movement
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