Recap of 3/16/18 event “All Kinds of Awesome: Untold True Stories from the Korean Adoptee Community”

 “It’s incumbent not only on adoptees but upon all of us in this room to help us fill in places in those stories and to allow space for those stories to develop, to be nurtured, and to be created as we move forward.” – Eric Sharp, emcee for the evening
                                     
March 16, 2018 - Network of Politicized Adoptees (NPA) and curator Eric Sharp presented ALL KINDS of AWESOME: Untold True Stories from the Korean Adoptee Community, an event that highlighted stories from eight Korean adoptees. The event took place at the Loft Literary Center performance hall, a space that offered a beautiful and intimate feel. With over 100 attendees, the evening began with an informal reception, and the program commenced soon after with welcome addresses from NPA and the co-sponsors. Eric Sharp acted as the evening’s emcee and warmed the room up with group participation and storytelling activities intended to encourage empathy and human connection. He introduced each featured storyteller before they shared, held space with them on stage, and offered insightful closing thoughts to conclude the program.
 
Pictured below- Curator and emcee Eric Sharp, and Storytellers Katie B., eunha jeong wood, and Nik Nadeau. Bottom Storytellers: Jennifer Weir, Kim Park Nelson, Ph.D., Kaela Marie HaNah Schweisthal, Julie Jong Koch.
 

 Photo by Nawang B.

Thank you to our storytellers for their courage in sharing stories that highlighted the complexity, vulnerability, wisdom, pain, and passion in the Korean adoptee community. The diverse range of stories were moving and emotional, and resonated deep within audience members. Throughout the event we encouraged attendees to write fan mail to each of the storytellers. People used post-its to share what they loved about each story, what stood out, what it made them question, and what feelings the stories evoked. The post-it messages were gifts the storytellers were able to take home with them at the end of the night.   

Thank you to everyone for helping us build a supportive and collective space at this event. NPA is filled with an abundance of love and appreciation for attendees, supporters, and especially our storytellers.
 
Additional Shout Outs and Appreciations!

• Thank you to our co-sponsors for partnering with NPA on this event- The Loft and the Coalition of Asian American Leaders. This event was part of the Loft’s To Be Honest theme and CAAL’s #MinneAsianStories campaign.
• Thank you Anna Merrick Luster for catering our event, providing delicious kimbap, Korean chicken wings, and vegetarian mandu from Myonghee’s Kitchen. 잘 먹었습니다!
• Thank you Josh Dyrud for your help with lights and sound. Thank you for setting the mood and keeping our K-pop music on point.
• Thanks to all of NPA’s steering committee members (Julie, Margie, Kyung Hoon, Kurt & Adam) and all our other volunteers that helped with planning and logistics.
• We also had great photos thanks to NPA’s volunteer, Nawang B. and from the Loft’s photographer, Min Enterprises Photography, LLC. Thank you for helping us document our night.

 
Finally, we want to express gratitude to everyone who attended and those supporting NPA and the event from afar! Please enjoy more  photos from our event.

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If you enjoyed our event, please consider making a donation to support events like this and future programming by NPA. We are not a nonprofit. We are a grassroots group that relies entirely on individual donations. You can donate via PayPal or Venmo (@NPAMN).