May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and it was full of events and activities that focused on AAPI culture.

The Oh Foundation of Art in Chicago sponsored a Festival of the Arts at the Zhou Brothers Building and my husband Stafford and I were invited to participate.

The gallery featured multimedia artists of Asian descent, and the programming included musicians and dancers both traditional, contemporary, and combinations of both, including yours truly.

We met some incredible artists and enjoyed seeing the broad expanse of the diaspora. We saw taiko drummers, a Mongolian throat singer, Chinese and Thai traditional dancers, as well as learned some Bollywood moves in an interactive demonstration.

This was the first time for me to perform in Chicago, and in honor of the Asian heritage, I played Gato Negro, my urban re-interpretation of the Japanese folk song, “Moon Over Ruined Castle”.

Chris Smit inspired so many in the arts community. His passing in January 2023 was a great loss to our community. Refusing to be defined by his disability, Chris founded disArt, an organization that promoted inclusivity by creating public art events that cultivate and communicate a disability culture.

We celebrated his life and legacy at a “homegoing” at the Fountain Street Church. His widow requested a performance of “Of Thee I Sing”, my mash up of Prince’s Purple Rain with My Country Tis of Thee. I hope this purple country is one where Chris can be found laughing, making art and provoking others to do the same.

Halloween show at The STANDARD. Rachel Finan and I will explore deep psychological and physical torment that haunts us through sound design and dance.

Second Annual FitchFest began with a Bach-playing, Mondrian-clad string trio

I left my job of 10 years and faced a new future.