This year, AAIFF is celebrating its retrospective with RENDERING REAL: Explorations of Asian American and Asian Diasporic Archives, an online virtual exhibition featuring 11 artists and 4 organizations selected as part of the new media category.
The new media category is an extension and expansion of AAIFF’s dedication to support Asian and Asian diasporic artists working with newer forms of media and moving image that fall out of the bounds of traditional cinema. We look to these artists to understand how storytelling can take shape in newer forms fit for the digital age.
RENDERING REAL revolves around interrogating archival material and the archival process. Especially within the Asian/Asian diasporic community, archives can be powerful reminders of the past and how it continues to inform our present and future. How can we engage with archives more interactively? How can we utilize archives in a manner that activates it rather than renders it passive? Are archives only materials of the past that gather dust or can they be living organisms in the present?
RENDERING REAL aims to contemplate these questions through our selection of new media artworks and projects. We want to thank the artists who have submitted their works, as well as the organizations who shared a selection of their projects reflective of their ongoing efforts to establish and push the boundaries of Asian/Asian diasporic archives.
