hello to KOLLABORATION 9

I suppose there’s no better way to start a blog than by talking about a really cool event that just went down…KOLLABORATION!

 

“ABOUT KOLLABORATION
Kollaboration is an Asian Pacific Islander American/Canadian (APIA/C) organization and Movement that was founded in 2000 by Executive Director Paul “PK” Kim. Under the umbrella of ProKreation Productions – a cutting edge, pioneering production company promoting entertainment in the Asian American community – Kollaboration became officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in January of 2006.

“WHAT IS KOLLABORATION?
Kollaboration is an annual event and movement created by a small group of professional young Asian Pacific Islander Americans/Canadians, volunteering their time and skills to celebrate the vast talents of their community and hopefully bring them into the mainstream.

“WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
It is evident that APIA/Cs are often categorized into a certain image. APIA/Cs may find it increasingly difficult to get jobs outside the “model minority” or “foreigner” role. Such barriers often result in the lack of APIA/Cs in mainstream entertainment industries. Thus, APIA/Cs are not only unfairly portrayed but also disproportionately underrepresented in the mainstream media.

“Evidently, our youth are left with few visible role models and a narrowed pool of aspirations.

Kollaboration is the stepping-stone.

—

I don’t think I have ever seen so many Asians all crowded together in one place until last night. Yesterday a bunch of my friends and sponsors (AASP/API-SPAM) drove into LA to see this show. It featured the talents of David Choi, Jane Lui, Jazmin, Kina Grannis, Kenichi Ebina, Lilybeth Evardome, and Paul Dateh with guest performances by Fanny Pak, Kaba Modern, Jo Koy, and BoA (James Kyson Lee, aka ANDO from Heroes was also there judging the performances)! All of their performances were extremely exciting, though I think what really made my night (and for pretty stupid reasons might I add) was getting to see AARON YOO! He was sitting in the VIP section only three rows in front of me. Quite frankly it was pretty embarrassing. I haven’t had too many opportunities in my life when I’ve gotten to see celebrities up close so I’ve always told people “Whatever, celebrities are people too. I don’t care more about them than I do about other people!” Well…I guess when it comes down to it, I’m just like every other squealing fangirl out there. Ugh. Either way it was still extremely exciting to see him in person, though I failed at getting a photograph of him or his autograph. So sad.

All of the performances were absolutely amazing! What a great night.

Oh I’d also like to mention that Jo Koy was especially amusing. If you have the time you should definitely check out his stand up performances.

It’s exciting how much great talent there is out there.