Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Asian American Arts and Media, Inc., Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
ACMA.06-089
Creators:
Asian American Arts and Media, Inc. (Washington, D.C.)
Dates:
1982-1997
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.01 Linear feet
1 folder
Repository:
Container:
1

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Asian American Arts and Media, Inc., collection, which dates from 1982 to 1997 and measures .01 linear feet, documents an early era of Asian American art activism in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The collection includes flyers, photo postcards, clippings and newsletters, which highlight the organizations' activities aimed "to promote more positive and realistic images of Asian Pacific Americans through the arts and humanities, and to develop a greater appreciation ans awareness of Asian Pacific American art forms." Among the holdings is a program book from the first Annual Asian American Film Festival cosponsored by Gold Mountain Radio Collective and the Organization of Pan Asian American Women, Inc.

Historical

Historical
In 1982, Wendy Lim (1956- present) and Theodric Feng organized Washington D.C.'s first Asian-American film festival. Following the success of the film festival, Lim and Feng created the Asian American Arts and Media, Inc. This nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. was designed to help promote and support creative expression in Asian-American communities through design, media, literary, visual, and performing arts. Asian American Arts and Media, Inc. established memberships and donation processes to fund local Asian American artists as well as spread awareness about Asian American experiences through printed materials, such as pamphlets, newsletters, and flyers. The nonprofit was active through the late 1990s.

Biographical

Biographical
Wendy Lim (1956- present) is a Chinese American community organizer, whose work centered on supporting and encouraging Asian American art and media in local communities. Lim was born in 1956 in Hong Kong and moved to the United States in 1959. Her father worked as a laborer in several locations around the United States before making a career as a chef in the Washington D.C. area. Wendy's mother worked at home, raising Wendy, her brother, and her two –half-brothers from her father's first marriage.The family lived in an apartment above Lee's Groceries in northeast Washington D.C., for a time. The Lim children grew up speaking primarily Mandarin, but they understood basic Taishanese and Cantonese.
In the late 1960s, Lim and her family moved to Oxon Hill, Maryland, where Lim and her younger brother attended middle and high school. Wendy graduated from high school in 1975, and entered the East Asian Study program at Oberlin College. While at Oberlin, Lim joined the Asian American Alliance and attended talks and workshops about the experiences of Asian Americans. After graduating from Oberlin in 1979, Lim met Franklin Chao and learned about "Gold Mountain D.C.," a WPFW radio show that discussed Asian-American issues. Lim, Theodric Feng and Mariko Yamada (1950- present) took over the running of the show until 1982.
In 1982, Lim and Feng organized Washington D.C.'s first Asian-American film festival, which became an annual event. The Asian American Arts and Media Inc. nonprofit was created to help Lim and Feng continually fund the annual film festival, and to facilitate donations in support of Asian American art in their communities. During this time, Lim also volunteered with the Organization of Pan-Asian American Women and was the president of the organization for one year. In 1990, Lim joined the committee that helped create the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Administration

Author
ACMA staff
Sponsor
This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Processing Information
Machine-readable guide completed by Jennifer Morris, 2018. The collection was item-level processed, and a finding aid prepared by Amelia J. Verkerk in 2023.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu
Preferred Citation
Asian American Arts and Media, Inc., Collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, gift of Wendy Lim.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Brochures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Press releases Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian Americans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Picture postcards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Film festivals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Film festival programs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newspaper clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian art & culture (Unnumbered) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington (D.C.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Anacostia Community Museum Archives
1901 Fort Place, SE
Washington, D.C. 20020
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4853
ACMArchives@si.edu