WAA Conference and Sawagi/Katari Workshop
Just finished up at the 2008 Western Arts Alliance Conference. This year we had three affiliated showcases and it was probably our most successful conference to date. Thank you to all the presenters and artists who came out to see our showcases! For artists one of the best parts of the conference is the opportunity to connect with other artists. Pioneering Asian American artists, Brenda Wong Aoki, Mark Izu, Janet Koike and Elaine Fong were at the conference showcasing their newest project. Long time On Ensemble collaborator Patrick Graham was also there showcasing with Autorickshaw an Indian influenced Juno nominated Jazz quartet based out of Toronto.
Right after we finished at WAA Maz and I drove up to Vancouver to give a workshop for Sawagi Taiko and Katari Taiko members. We don’t get to interact that much with the Vancouver Taiko scene so it was really great to connect with Sawagi and Katari Taiko. A huge thank you goes out to Linda Uyehara Hoffman for helping to bring us to Vancouver!
Today we’re driving down to Eugene for workshops with Eugene Taiko tomorrow evening. More later!
Tags: Autorickshaw, Brenda Wong Aoki, Elaine Fong, Janet Koike, Katari Taiko, Mark Izu, Patrick Graham, Sawagi Taiko