Asian Kaleidoscope Month (AKM)
Because Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month is recognized in May, a month that UF students have off, the Asian American students have made it a tradition to celebrate their heritage and achievements in October. The month is filled with annual events such as the Mx. AASU (Asian American Student Union) Pageant and Food Fest along with rotating supplemental events such as Fashion Show and Open Mic nights.
For AKM 2018, I acted as the Creative Director, helming the creative vision for that year’s theme: (Re)Building Dreams. The theme references UF’s Building Dreams Foundation, the original early 2000’s initiative to begin an Institute of Asian and Asian-American Cultures. By 2018, UF hadn’t established any such institute and students were still fighting for an Asian American Studies minor.
For AKM 2019, I was the Executive Director and oversaw the overarching vision, event logstics, and external communications for the month. This year’s theme was Prismatic, which sought to display identities that defied the model minority myth.
