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Axis 3: Securing Cultural Democracy & Representation


“PILLOWTALK: Post Gay Marriage Politics,” moderated by Stephanie Hsu, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies “After Marriage” Conference, Oct. 2, 2016.

Shifting debates within identity-based politics pose programmatic challenges for arts organizations. Criticisms of “tokenism,” in which slots or performances are directed towards a specific underrepresented community, address the statistical evidence that within our field, the majority or “mainstream” culture is still identified as white (Caucasian) and primarily male.

This problem is pervasive within the landscape, where intellectual and economic biases establish further limitations on the accessibility of the experimental arts, creating a cycle of exclusion in which artists and audiences do not feel invited to participate. And while funding has been provided to support the diversification of institutions, institutions require more than coercive support from the funding community, as the management of these shifts require long-term support of organizations to truly make a change. Furthermore, the lack of people of color not only in arts funding, but in philanthropy in general, poses another layer of complications to the way wealth is distributed to artists of color, especially considering the fact that few wealthy people of color start foundations to support other people of color.

Therefore: How can we diversify audiences, work, and artistic leadership? How do we address the value of diversity in artistic programming? How do we become socially responsible and address racism, ageism, sexism, or other types of ableism?

Redistribution of Power (2020)


Mural from “Addressing the Urgency of Now,” part of Mosaic Network and Fund’s 2020 Learning Exchange Series

Kyoung’s Pacific Beat was honored to facilitate the Mosaic Network and Fund 2020 Learning Exchange Series, an iterative series of multiracial, virtual gatherings whose goals were to 1) model transformative ways exemplary arts organizations of color and arts funders can work at the pace of trust; 2) redistribute power between ALAANA arts and cultural groups and arts funders to spark our radical imaginations; and 3) center liberation work as a collective, everyday practice in New York City’s arts and culture sector.

Intention, Accountability and Equity (2015-2018)


Wilfredo Hernandez and Kyoung H. Park at The Field’s Activate Equity 2018

Kyoung’s Pacific Beat was honored to be part of The Field’s 2015-2017 Field Leadership Fund (FLF), an ambitious program designed to move arts administrators into more resilient and financially viable careers in the arts and to move artists and arts organizations into new stages of work that push their visions forward.

Click here to learn more about FLF and The Field’s “Intention, Accountability and Equity” Report.


Kyoung H. Park, Guillermo Piñeda, Katherine Chambers, and Charles Rice-González at “This is my Life,” NYC Department for the Aging, Jun. 22, 2017.

Literature and Social Justice (2017)


Ehwha Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea. July 4-10, 2017

This seminar was designed for Ehwha Women’s University to engage graduate students in social justice discourse through literature. Students worked on independent research projects while participating in facilitated conversations that examined how creative writers engage with progressive politics to further our understanding of social issues. How does language and art serve communities?


Ehwha Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea. July 4-10, 2017

Latin@ Diversity/Divergent Aesthetics (2014)


CUNY, Martin Segal Center, New York. Nov. 10, 2014

How does your identity inform the work you do aesthetically as a Latino theater artist, what visions do you have for it, and what type of support would be ideal for you to receive from the New York Latino theater community to make art? These questions, and more, were addressed in a video-chat between Tiffany Vega and David Mendizábal with Christina Quintana and Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, followed by statements from New York Alliance of Latino/a Theatre Artists (Raquel Almazán, Beto O’Byrne, Claudia Acosta) and The Sol Project (Jacob Padrón).

This session was co-curated by Alison Lyman and Kyoung H. Park, and part of 2014 Latinx Theatre Commons Encuentro and Celebración. Learn more about the Latinx Theatre Commons and The Sol Project.

Immigrant Poets of New York (2014)


“Old Age” by Pei Lin Yu. University Settlement, Speyer Hall. Nov. 18, 2014

“Immigrant Poets in New York” is a community-based story sharing session in which senior, Chinese-American students from the University Settlement read poems and stories about their immigrant experiences, inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Poet in New York.” Created in collaboration with Korean-Chilean playwright Kyoung H. Park and the University Settlement’s Adult Literacy Program, “Immigrant Poets in New York” also featured an open mic session, inviting community members to share their own stories and shed light on the realities on which we build the American Dream.


Wen Fei Liang. University Settlement, Speyer Hall. Nov. 18, 2014

Read more about “Immigrant Poets in New York” on The Lo-Down.

Brooklyn Commune – Cultural Democracy and Representation Team (2013-2014)


The Brooklyn Commune Organizing Committee

The Brooklyn Commune was a grassroots initiative originally organized by Culturebot.org and The Invisible Dog Art Center to educate, activate and unify performing artists of all disciplines to work together towards a more equitable, just and sustainable arts ecology in America. The events and research were documented and disseminated through the publication of “The View From Here” which was launched in January 2014.

Kyoung spearheaded the Brooklyn Commune’s Cultural Democracy and Representation Research Team.


The Brooklyn Commune’s Performing Arts Census Statistics

Download “Creating Outside the Box,” The Brooklyn Commune’s Cultural Democracy and Representation Team Final Report written by Kyoung H. Park.

Download “Cultural Democracy and Representation,” written by Kyoung H. Park.

View “The View From Here,” The Brooklyn Commune’s Final Report.