ICYMI: As we approach the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement in the United States, SEARAC has launched a fundraiser celebrating art, artists, history, and identity. These limited-edition, custom designs – available on T-shirts, tote bags, prints, posters, and stickers – support SEARAC and other community-based, refugee-serving organizations.
We asked five SEAA artists, “What does the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian American refugee resettlement mean to you?” to create these limited-edition custom illustrations for SEARAC.
Sheena Vang shared, “The 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian American refugee resettlement means survival and success, bringing forward our legacy and celebrating our achievements as a collective, holistic, and whole community.” Sheena will be supportingAPIA MN Film Collective with a share of proceeds from our merch sales.
“The 50th year of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement brings up so many varying emotions in me. The most prominent emotion, though, is excitement. After decades of seemingly impossible odds, a lot of Southeast Asians are waking up and taking an interest in the future of our communities,” shared Timothy Singratsomboune. He will be supporting theAsian Prisoner Support Committee with a share of proceeds from our merch sales.
“It’s a celebration of the beginning of my family’s story here in the United States,” shared Killamari. “My parents came here in the mid-70s to flee war. And that’s always a common story when you speak to Southeast Asian people– it’s typically some kind of war story. The positive side of this is that families started new stories over here and found new pathways to a future away from tragedy.” Killamari will be supporting the Asian American Advocacy Fund with a share of proceeds from our merch sales.
SEARAC is also thrilled to reissue designs from Khou Vue(who supported our 2021 fundraiser with a joyful “made by refugees” and “made by immigrants” illustration) and Kat Eng (who created the gorgeous cover art for our 2021 annual report). You can find these illustrations in our stores now. Khou shared, “To me it means my parents, my in-laws, my aunties, and my uncles have been surviving and striving for safety and a better future for half a century. It’s amazing how we have persevered and thrived, but there is still a long road to equality.”
SEARAC is also thrilled to reissue designs from Kat Eng (who created the gorgeous cover art for our 2021 annual report) and Khou Vue (who supported our 2021 fundraiser with a joyful “made by refugees” and “made by immigrants” illustration). You can find these illustrations in our stores now. Kat shared, “Who knows what the next 50 years hold, but I think our communities collectively have a lot of knowledge that can root us through the storms that may come.”
