Practicing Our Voice w/ Diane Phelan
“The place where activism comes from is the same energy center as it is for your art.” - Diane Phelan, Untapped Storytellers, 2020
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Episode 10: Diane Phelan
Welcome to the Antiracist Artist Podcast, a podcast for activists, advocates, and allies working to make our communities equitable through artistry. Each episode we are joined in conversation by an artist or arts facilitator who has been paving the way, in hopes of learning from their expertise and experience. Through action and unity, we can create a better tomorrow today. Let’s go!
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Hello and welcome to the Antiracist Artist Podcast. I’m your host, Taylor Ybarra, and I’m so glad to have you a part of the conversation.
In our tenth episode, we interviewed Diane Phelan, an actor director, and activist based in New York City. As the founder of #RacismIsaVirus campaign and #UnapologeticallyAsian, both aimed to activate and empower Asian Americans while also redefining what it means to be American right now. Both orginzations have been featured in the NYTimes, Reuters, Asia Journal, and Next Shark.
Diane has performed in lead roles on Broadway as well as national and international productions, most notably in School of Rock, West Side Story, and the King and I. Diane is also the founder for the Broadway Diversity Project. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can catch her starring in the new film, Marry Harry!
For more information and to get in contact with Diane, please follow her on Instagram @dianicaphelan
During this episode, Diane and I talk about:
- Redefining what America looks like now to what America can look like in the future.
- Is there an opportunity for meaningful change through accountability to come out after this past formative year?
- Practicing using your voice.
- How the atrocious acts of racism and violence against Asian and Asian American persons in America is not new and has been solidly ingrained into the fabric of America.
- Can art be a solution in breaking the cycle of oppression?
- Her organizations #RacismIsAVirus and #UnapolgeticallyAsian.
- What Diane does in order to fuel her energy center for activism and artistry & how to sustain both practices.
- And so much more!
Resources & Organizations Mentioned:
- Diane Phelan
- Me So Hapa
- Actors' Equity Association
- Where Elephants Weep
- #RacismIsaVirus
- #UnapologeticallyAsian
- Broadway Diversity Project
- Marry Harry
- Scott Rudin - The Hollywood Reporter Article
- Stop AAPI Hate
- Asian American Legal Defense Fund
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund
In each episode, we invite our guests to choose an organization to uplift, one that is creating a meaningful impact toward a more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and antiracist future. In honor of Diane, she has chosen Stop AAPI Hate. Stop AAPI Hate is an organization that is a reporting center that tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
This podcast is made with, by, and for those of us in this fight together, and I invite you to be a part of this podcast community with us. You can stay connected with us at AntiracistArtist.com, on Instagram @antiracistartist, or by emailing antiracistartist@gmail.com. Let us know why antiracist artistry is important to you, what questions you would like to dig into, and who you’d like to hear from in future episodes.
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The Antiracist Artist Podcast is hosted by Taylor Ybarra, produced by Subito Politico Productions, LLC, edited by Andrew Alcaraz, and Project + Community Managed by Maricela Juarez.
To stay connected with the Antiracist Artist Podcast, please visit us at AntiracistArtist.com, on Instagram @antiracistartist, or via email at antiracistartist@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!
Our podcast is made possible with the support of folx like you. You can get exclusive content and access to the show by becoming a patron at patreon.com/antiracistartist.
This episode’s donation was made possible in part by the generosity of Jenny Hoofnagle.
Theme music features vocals by Esteban Suero, Forest VanDyke, Kennedy Kanagawa, Jamison, & MinJi Kim.
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This episode features the following artists/arts facilitators:
Esteban Suero | IG @estesuero / @theofficialeros
Forest VanDyke | IG - @forestvandyke
Kennedy Kanagawa | kennedykanagawa.com | IG @thisiskennedy
Jamison | www.courtneyjamison.com | IG @iamcourtneyjamison | TW @thecjamison
MinJi Kim | IG @minjilikesdogsandmusic
Maricela Juarez | www.maricelajuarez.com | IG @remarkablymari