Chen, Lisa

Hi all! My name is Lisa and I'm a fourth-year art major and film minor. My pronouns are she/her/hers, and I'm from the Chicago suburbs. As an art major, I make a lot of work about being Asian American/Chinese American and about topics like racism/colorism, memory, and “home.” I’m hoping to gain more perspective about Chicana arts through this class in order to better inform my art practice. This is because I consider most, if not all, of my art of to be political. 

As a film minor, I’m really interested in representation of people of color in film, television, and digital media. Being Asian American, I’m happy to see a (slow, yet steady) shift towards more diverse casting and diversity amongst creators. I had the wonderful opportunity to intern at one of the companies that worked on Crazy Rich Asians, and I hope to be a part of a greater movement towards more diversity within entertainment as I pursue a career in film/TV. 

In particular, I’m excited to learn more about Chicana art and artists in order to better understand the history behind topics like the Civil Rights Movement, intersectional feminism, and institutional racism. I hope that this class will better equip me to pursue change and promote diverse representation within film. It’s also so exciting to see the presence of emerging Chicana artists on social media, and I hope that this class will explore how Chicana artists are creating a strong digital presence with their art.

Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to get to know you all during the rest of this quarter!