About Traci Kato-Kiriyama
Traci kato-kiriyama is a multi-disciplinary artist, arts educator, community organizer and founder of the Tuesday Night Project – free public art venue and “art+community” space dedicated to presenting artists, community organizations and information for people interested in furthering their community engagement and creative work.
Traci incepted the idea of creating a website for Asian American veterans to tell their stories. This website serves as the first phase of Traci’s long-term project of documenting stories, people, amd art that focuses on pro-peace action and education.
She is also the author of a recently-published collection of poetry, signaling (The Undeniables press), traci tours to universities, libraries and community events, presenting readings and workshops to diverse audiences, from performers to youth educators, high school students to senior citizens.
A passionate theatre performer and writer, Traci thrives on the challenges of collaborative creation for the stage with the likes of “Oymun” projects (with playwright Jason Oymun Fong at the GTC in Burbank and Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena); “Edge Of The World” (presented in New York and Philadelphia by the National Asian American Theatre Festival, Asian Arts Initiative and the National Performance Network); “PULL” (with Kennedy Kabasares, presented in San Francisco by PoMo at the Zeum Theater); “Collaboratory 1″ (with D’Lo, Emeka Simmons, Gabriela Lopez, Pete Lee and Shyamala Moorty for Great Leap).
With a firm commitment to her cultural work, she finds great joy in working with organizations such as Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress, GABNet/AF3IRM, Khmer Girls in Action in Long Beach, and the Asian Youth Center in San Gabriel. Her teaching work over the past twelve years has included a myriad of spaces, from full-length productions with Hmong student organizers in Wisconsin to discussions and performance-based writing workshops with young performers and activists all along the west coast.
And to keep on her toes, Traci is currently taking on Puppet School, the blue-haired Madeleine for Shin Kawasaki’s band “The Flying Platforms”, and the launching of this new website and art+community journey with a focus on pro-peace art, education and organizing through her project, “Generations Of War.”