Laura Chen-Schultz Collection on Asian Working Artists (AWA)

From 1997-2004, Asian Working Artists (AWA) was a student-run organization at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. AWA was created to provide a supportive environment where Tisch students could share their challenges and experiences as Asian Americans pursuing a career in the arts. They organized Asian and Asian American film nights, during which they screened student films and Asian American feature films; invited students and alumni to perform music, spoken word, and theater at Java House; and hosted monthly meetings and other special events with Asian American artists including David Henry Hwang, Karen Kusama, and M. Night Shyamalan.

The AWA Collection contains sign-in sheets and programs related to monthly meetings, film nights, and Java House; event posters and flyers; VHS tapes of student films; certificates and plaques awarded by NYU and Tisch student government; and papers related to other Asian film and community events (e.g. the New York Asian Film Festival and Asian American International Film Festival).

To learn more about the contents of the Asian Working Artists Records, located at New York University Archives, view the collection’s finding aid.

Image: Asian Film Night 2002 program pamphlet, Asian Film Night poster featuring a South Korean feature film “Friend 친구”, and a VHS of Chutney Popcorn; MC.369; Box 1 & 2; New York University Archives