Mixed Blood FAQs

FAQs:

• How will this project work?

  Portrait sessions will occur on monthly “Studio Days” at various locations/studios. Participants may also elect to schedule a one-off individual shoot. There may be social/community building elements to the Studio Days where participants can meet and interact with each other. Portraits will be shot on black and white film and participants will receive one digital copy of an image from their portrait session in exchange for participation. A model release is required for participating in this project.

• What if I don’t live in the Bay area?

  This project is beginning in the San Francisco Bay area. The project will expand and travel to other cities, so please follow along and continue spreading the word.

• What does first generation mixed-race Asian mean? (For Chapter 1)

  People who are the first generation in their immediate family to be mixed, or in other words, having only one biological parent who is Asian.

• Why do you use the word “race”?

  First and foremost, I am not an expert in sociology, anthropology, racial/ethnic studies, etc., and none of my formal education was related to these fields or this subject matter. I am a photographer with the sincere belief that seeing and knowing others like (us) is a meaningful experience that is missing.

  I don’t have a perfect answer here and I have wrestled with terminology and language as part of this project and my own experience. I use the word “race” and term “mixed-race” because it accommodates the inextricable visual and external components of our identities and experiences. Our individual experiences and identity consciousness have often been influenced, shaped, and impacted by being seen as mixed race and/or racially/ethnically ambiguous in a way that differs from being a mono-racial, mixed-heritage or mixed-ethnicity Asian person or being part of a multicultural household.

• What if I’m not the first generation in my family to be mixed? What if I’m mixed-race, but not Asian? What if I’m mixed-heritage Asian, but not mixed-race?

  Mixed Blood is the start of a lifelong pursuit in exploring mixed experiences and identity. Chapter 1 focuses on the population and identity dynamics that I identify with most closely. I will also explore mixed- and multiracial families and other mixed-race populations in subsequent chapters. I want to acknowledge both the commonalities and uniqueness of everyone’s mixed experience. I’m here for all of you and your journeys, thank you for being a part of my own.

• Why do you need to know specifics about my ethnicity/heritage?

  I haven’t yet decided how this information may be used in Mixed Blood or in any related work, events, community-building, etc. That said, part of what is guiding this project is the concept “to be seen and known.” To be “known” includes acknowledging the components of our mixed-ness.