An exploration of the expansionist ideology of Manifest Destiny, its continuing impact on multicultural communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, as well as its legacies of inherited and perpetuated violence, trauma, addiction, and the outgrowths of resistance and resilience to Manifest Differently
Manifest Differently is a multifaceted project featuring 38 multigenerational artists and poets. Using literary, visual, and media arts storytelling in conjunction with public programming, the collaboration will interrogate the expansionist ideology of Manifest Destiny, its continuing impact on multicultural communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, its legacies of inherited and perpetuated violence, trauma, and addiction, and the outgrowth of resistance and resilience – giving fire to movements for social change. As recognized in Argentina’s National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons in 1983, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996, and others that have followed, we must acknowledge and witness the impacts of our history before we can move forward, otherwise the same injustices will be repeated, as we have seen most recently in the case of Israel’s genocidal treatment of Palestinians.
Storytelling is a powerful tool to help provide deep witness, compassion, and inspiration.
Manifest Differently was conceived and developed by poet/artist Kim Shuck and CAMP co-director/ artist / writer Megan Wilson and is co-curated by Shuck, Wilson, Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, Amy Berk, and Katayoun Bahrami with support from California historian Barbara Berglund Sokolov, CAMP communications director Veronica Torres, and humanities advisors Mary Jean Robertson, Kyoko Sato, Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu, Anita Chang, and David A.M Goldberg. Audiences were introduced to the history of Manifest Destiny and the forward vision to Manifest Differently through the lens of a diverse multigenerational team of artists and poets, whose histories and experiences include those of American Indian/Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Southwest Asian, and North African (SWANA), and white/European American descent.
The project was exhibited in 2023/24 in collaboration with the following presenting partners – Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP,) Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), Artists’ Television Access (ATA), Minnesota Street Project (MSP), San Francisco Public Library, Book Castle, the Beat Museum, Book Castle, San Francisco State University, and Stanford University.
Participating poets, artists, and humanities scholars include:
Poets: Aileen Cassinetto, Avotcja, Clara Hsu, Dena Rod, E.K. Keith, Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu, Genny Lim, Josiah Luis Alderete, Kim Shuck, Lauren Ito, Linda Noel, Lourdes Figueroa, Mahnaz Badihian, Maw Shein Win, MK Chavez, Stephen Meadows, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Tureeda Mikell, Voulette Hattar
Visual and Media Artists: Adrian Arias, Afatasi, Amy Berk, Anita Chang, Barbara Mumby-Huerta, Biko Eisen-Martin, Carolyn Castaño, Chris Gazaleh, Katayoun Bahrami, Kim Shuck, l. frank manriquez, Marcel Pardo Ariza, Megan Wilson, Rene Yung, Shaghayegh Cyrous, Shonna Alexander, Vaimoana Niumeitolu, Victoria Canby
Humanities Scholars: Dr. Anita Chang, Dr. David A.M. Goldberg, Dr. Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu, Dr. Kyoko Sato, Mary Jean Robertson
Photo Credits: Robert Herrick Divers, 2024
Afatasi The Artist
BLACK SPACE, 2020 (3:13)
In BLACK SPACE, Afatasi, The Artist, hones her fine art skills and her love of Afrofuturism to dispel the progressive myth of her hometown of San Francisco while honoring and highlighting spaces historically held by Black people within the city. Beautifully photographed in San Francisco’s historic Fillmore and Bayview-Hunters Point districts by filmmaker, cinematographer, and photographer extraordinaire Jean Melesaine, SPACE in this work has dual meaning. It centers on two black women Afronauts wearing SPACE-suits created by Afatasi. Conical shapes reoccur within both suits and are inspired by NASA rockets and jet propulsion engineering, which propelled man to the moon.
The helmets were created by Afatasi as well, complete with Sāmoan motif cutouts (a nod to Afatasi’s Polynesian heritage) and equipped with special effects lighting, the helmets speak to the bright lives of black residents, forced to live in the shadows. The backing track was created specifically for this piece using sounds from space provided by NASA’s Voyager Missions to the Exoplanets Mars Rover Missions, the sounds of passing comets, and meteorite showers. Capturing spaces dedicated to black historical figures and events, the piece speaks to how BLACK SPACE in San Francisco has been minimized, taken, and forgotten.
It uses quotes from influential Black San Francisco leaders and dialogue from the KQED documentary film, “Take This Hammer, ”featuring influential Black writer James Baldwin. This work seeks to highlight that not only have things not changed much in San Francisco since 1960, but San Francisco has always harbored hatred for its Black residents and, even more recently, has pushed them to the brink of extinction. Each oppressive system within the institution has created one small step for racism and one giant leap for white supremacy. Afatasi sews traces of the city’s black experience together; BLACK SPACE is vital for the future of San Francisco.
Anita Chang
What We Never Forget For Peace Here Now, 2024 (7:00)
What We Never Forget For Peace Here Now is a personal peace memorial produced in the United States, a country that does not have memorials to peace. This video explores how we forget and how we remember memories of war. I think about who are my survivors and witnesses of war, and the deep impressions they’ve given me, becoming a part of me. Drawing inspiration from peace activists, young and old, I ask viewers to join me in a practice of peace here and now.
Katayoun Bahrami
Resilience of Poppies, 2023 (4:46)
The Resilience of Poppies explores the inspiring story of those who have overcome tragedy and adversity. It tells the story of courageous survivors – men and women targeted by security forces during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran and shot directly in their eyes, resulting in many of them being blinded.
The poppy field represents the Iranian people’s resilience in their fight for freedom. A woman, seated on a Persian rug, crochets a red poppy, symbolizing connection to Iran’s tragic events. Each stitch expresses empathy for fellow citizens’ pain. Surrounded by yarn, there’s a longing for unity. Shades of red depict varying levels of violence faced by protestors. The woman, transitioning to black attire, mourns lives lost to violence. She transforms into a canvas, intertwining empowering words and poems by Forough Farokhzad, symbolizing healing for mothers who endured trauma from the regime.
Rene Yung
Chinese Whispers, 2015 (9:00)
This video documents Chinese Whispers: Bay Chronicles, part of a suite of research-based
transdisciplinary projects that Yung created through her umbrella project, Chinese Whispers, to
bring to light the overlooked history of the Chinese in the building of the American West. Bay
Chronicles retraces the forgotten history of Chinese shrimp fishing in San Francisco Bay through a sailing expedition on the replica 19th c. Chinese shrimp junk, the Grace Quan, to former shrimping sites. Once a thriving industry, the Chinese shrimp fishery was decimated by racial targeting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and by environmental degradation of the Bay.
Working with a team of artists, historical ecologists, archaeologists, cultural experts, and mariners, and in partnership with the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, part of the National Park Service, Yung launched the expedition to uncover this history and resurface lost memories as she revisited the former sites of once-bustling Chinese shrimp camps along the Bay’s shoreline. Public programs at landing sites brought this important chapter in the history of San Francisco Bay back to public knowledge and imagination. Yung created an immersive installation using media gathered from the expedition that engaged visitors in a layered, visceral experience that reflects the changes and dislocations in the cultural and ecological history of the Bay. Unfolding from the Sierra Nevada to the San Francisco Bay Area, Chinese Whispers takes different socially engaged forms that include site-specific storytelling and interactive multimedia installations. Yung also delves into this work on a more intimate scale through writings, artists’ books, and multiples.
www.chinese-whispers/bay-chronicles/
Shagayegh Cyrous
Xvarnah, the embodiment of Light’s Glory, derives its essence from the profound insights of Sohrevardi, a 12th-century Persian sage. In the tapestry of his Illumination philosophy, Light emerges as the visionary faculty of the soul, an ontological beacon unveiling truth and wisdom in the noble pursuit of justice, a radiant shield against malevolent forces.
Within the realm of Xvarnah, a singular video channel emerges, casting a luminous gaze upon the essence of womanhood – the divine truth. Through the enchanting cadence of dance and movement, Xvarnah not only becomes a manifestation of determination, growth, and metamorphosis but also aligns with the ancient Iranian tradition of dance as a conduit to knowledge, inner serenity, and a harmonious connection with the cosmos.
Women, in their quest for the inner Xvarnah, aspire to birth life and freedom, undertaking the sacred duty of dispelling darkness from the earth. As they dance, they weave a tapestry of enlightenment, bringing forth a radiant dawn that banishes shadows and ushers in a new era of illumination for all.
