Voices of the Diaspora

During Frieze Week, the Hammer presents the third annual Voices of the Diaspora symposium organized by the Asian American Pacific Islander Arts Network (AAPIAN). The event features two dynamic panels that bring together diasporic and Indigenous artists and cultural workers of color to challenge colonial legacies and reimagine art histories by exploring the complexities of migration, globalization, and decolonization. By fostering critical dialogue on collective action across studios, classrooms, publishing, and curating, the symposium nurtures cultural innovation and diverse expressions of identity to develop new ways of understanding art's materials, ecologies, and histories. The event begins with a welcome by AAPIAN founding member Grace Oh and welcome remarks by artist Mercedes Dorame, followed by two panels.

Defining Photography Now 
2PM 

Moderator Danielle Shang is joined by artists Todd Gray, Phil Chang, and Mercedes Dorame for a discussion of photography as a medium: what defines "photography" and how it has evolved in the age of smartphones, social media, and displacement/relocation?

Filipino American Temporalities 
3:30PM 

Curator Clarissa Esguerra speaks with artists Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza, Patrick Martinez, and Miljohn Ruperto about how cultural identity is constructed through erasure and accumulation, particularly for diasporic communities. Through the lens of Filipino Americans, the conversation is an opportunity to explore ways to challenge fixed narratives of time, place, and identity.