Jié: Festival/To Connect

December 2022 – April 2023
zine / animation / thesis

Risograph zine series on Chinese American narratives of celebrating traditional festivals.

Client: Frostic School of Art,Western Michigan University
Medium: Risography, printed on French Paper Madero Beach #70 and #80 with RISO SF5130, stitched with cotton threads.
Dimensions: 4”x5”, 3.5”x7”, 3”x8”

Can Chinese Americans reconnect with their culture, community, and identity through methods of narrative and zine-making?

Chinese Americans in Southwest Michigan often experience isolation and displacement due to having more sparse communities than other regions of the US, such as San Francisco or NYC. However, can Chinese Americans reconnect with their culture, community, and identity through methods of narrative and zine-making?

I come from a small Chinese immigrant family which only consists of my mother and I. Unlike other Chinese families in our local community, traditional festivals were not celebrated with lavish suppers or gatherings. This is partially because we were not active participants of large festive gatherings, but also due to the lower Chinese American population around Kalamazoo, Michigan. This contributes towards the feeling of disconnection. For this thesis project, I want to explore the intersection between Chinese American identity, diaspora, and collective memories. I want to use the topic of traditional festivals and the format of zines as vessels to drive the personal narratives forward.

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View the in-depth case study for this project on Behance.

Traditional paintings by Xiaoying Li
Words from Leon Sun, Hannah He and Xiaoying Li
RISO SF5130 access courtesy of Alyson Cameron