The winners of the 2011 Growing Up Asian in America art and essay contest have been announced!

The largest program in the USA to celebrate Asian heritage, Growing Up Asian in America is a signature program of the Asian Pacific Fund and provides a unique forum for youth in grade K to 12 to celebrate being both Asian and American and to express this through creative writing and art. The program is also an important community re source, helping people better understand the experiences of young Asian Americans and learn more about life in a place as diverse as the San Francisco Bay Area.

Each year more than 1,000 Bay Area students compete for prizes totaling $27,000. A new theme is selected each year and for 2011 is “Lost and Found”. Organizers note:

Our hunch was that children and youth of all ages experience loss and discovery throughout their young lives and might not find opportunities to reflect on those changes.

Local Bay Area libraries are hosting exhibits that display the winning entries and honorable mentions of the Bay Area students from now until February, 2012. There you can see Hyejin Ahn’s winning art, “Never Be Lost Again,” a film strip image of war and goodbyes.  Grace Wang’s essay that suggests to her good friend who is adopted that maybe her [birth] mother might have accidentally lost her.  How Payal Ahuja felt lost when she first came to America at age eight; she missed her family and friends in India. Then she found that her library in Mountain View was “a constant source of joy.” Through our 2011 program we learn that loss and discovery are an important part of our experience, especially for those who have traveled thousands of miles to become American.

The exhibit schedule can be found here and is a must see for adults and children! You will be amazed at the insight, creativity, wisdom and talent of these students! One of my favorite winning entries in the art category is pictured above. The image is by Aniketh Umesh, winner in the K-5 art category, and is titled “Lost Out: On Good Times With Grandpa In India; Found: Land Of Opportunity In The United States”.

Celebrations are in full-swing for Asian Heritage Month which is celebrated in both Canada and the USA during the month of May. This is a time to honor the legacy of generations of Asian Canadians and Asian Americans who have enriched their country’s history and are instrumental in its future success. It is a time to participate in festivities that celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Asians who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada and the USA the culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous nations we know today.

As part of their celebrations for Asian American Heritage Month, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association announced the winner and honor books in the 2009 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. These awards promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage based on literary and artistic merit, and our congratulations go out to Wabi Sabi, written by Mark Reibstein and illustrated by Ed Young, which won the picture book award. Back in 2008, PaperTiger bloggers Marj and Aline were thrilled to see the proofs for Wabi Sabi at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and Marj posted a great review of Wabi Sabi here.

Winners have also been announced in the Growing Up Asian in America Art and Essay contest, which is open to students in grades K – 12 who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. This year’s theme was “Change- If you could change one thing to make the world a better place, what would that be?”. I was especially drawn to Claire Dworsky’s essay entitled Change Your Assumptions, in which she wrote:

To me, growing up Asian is the same as any kid most of the time. I go to school, gymnastics, soccer, play with my dog, play outside – normal stuff.

But sometimes other people say things that make me feel sad or different. They make fun of my eyes and call me Chinese. They yell, “Hey Chinois!” They ask questions that aren’t really questions, like “Are you really adopted?” I say “Yes I was adopted from Kayakhstan, a country between Russia and China. I can show you on a map if you want.” But they’re really using these questions to make fun of me. And it’s even worse. When Asian girls pick on me by saying “Oh, you have blue eyes you think you are all that.” Racism is hurtful, no matter who says it.

Claire concludes her essay with a powerful statement that all of us, young and old, should take to heart: “When you know how it feels to be discriminated against you should use that feeling to imagine how others feel, and change yourself so you can help others.” The winning entries of the Growing Up Asian in America contest will be on exhibit at several locations throughout the Bay Area until February 2010. Click here to see the schedule.

(Click on event name for more information)

Shanghai International Literacy Festival~ Mar 1 – 15, Shanghai, China

The Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival~ Mar 2 – 12, Hong Kong

Adelaide Festival Awards For Literature Winners Announced~ Mar 2, Adelaide, Australia

Growing Up Asian in America Art & Essay Contest for Youth~ entry deadline Mar 6, San Francisco, CA, USA

World Book Day~ Mar 6, United Kingdom and Ireland

The 12th Annual Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 7 – 8, Redlands, CA, USA

Masak-Masak: A Potluck of Delectable Stories from Around the World~ Mar 8, Singapore

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winner Announced~ Mar 12, Vimmerby, Sweden

World Storytelling Day~ Mar 20

World Poetry Day~ Mar 21

Harmony Day~ Mar 21, Australia

Bangkok International Book Fair~ Mar 26 – Apr 7, Bangkok, Thailand

The Toronto Festival of Storytelling~ Mar 28 – Apr 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

Storylines Margaret Mahy Award Lecture~ Mar 29, Pakuranga, New Zealand

Tom Fitzgibbon Award and Joy Cowley Award Winners Announced~ Mar 29, Pakuranga, New Zealand

Bologna Children’s Book Fair~ Mar 31 – Apr 3, Bologna, Italy

Hans Christian Anderson Awards Announced~ Mar 31, Bologna, Italy

Calling student artists and writers (K-12) in the San Francisco Bay area! You have until March 6th to get your entries in for the Growing Up Asian in America competition! This year’s theme is:

Winning and Losing, Competition and Teamwork

and you can enter either or both of the categories – Art and Essay or Poem.

The prizes are awarded by the Asian Pacific Fund and are worth an enormous $27,000!

From the Competition’s Press Release:

Growing Up Asian in America encourages young people to creatively express their ideas on identity and culture. Students of all backgrounds are invited to submit entries, including Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, other Asians and Pacific Islanders, and students of mixed heritage.

(Click on event name for more information)

Growing Up Asian in America Art & Essay Contest for Youth~ entry deadline Mar 6, San Francisco, CA, USA

StoryFeast 2008 – International Storytelling Festival~ Feb 1 – 3, Vancouver, BC, Canada

18th New Delhi World Book Fair~ Feb 2 – 10, New Delhi, India

National African American Read-In~ Feb 2 – 3, USA

SCBWI Annual Winter Conference~ Feb 8 – 10, New York, NY, USA

First Nations Public Library Week~ Feb 11 – 16, Canada

ALOUD: A Celebration for Young Readers~ Feb 12 – 14, Toronto, ON, Canada

Taipei International Book Exhibition~ Feb 13 – 18, Taipei, Taiwan

Cybils – Children’s and YA Bloggers’ Literary Award Winners Announced~ Feb 14

Reading the World Conference~ Feb 16 – 17, San Francisco, CA, USA

International Australia and New Zealand SCBWI Conference~ Feb 23 – 24, Sydney, Australia

Freedom to Read Week~ Feb 24 – Mar 1, Canada

Kiriyama Prize Finalists Announced~ Feb 26, San Francisco, CA, USA

New Zealand Post Book Award Winners Announced~ Feb 26, New Zealand