Santa Clara University Explores the Concept of Multiracial Identity with Student Photos and a Visit from Nationally Known Artist, Slam Poet, Author, and Filmmaker Kip Fulbeck, Creator of the Hapa Project

Business Wire, Oct 29, 2008

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- "They no longer know who I am.'' That's how Presidential candidate Barack Obama described reactions from some acquaintances after they learned he is half-black and half-white.

With the topic of multiracial and other "identity" at the forefront of the national consciousness, Santa Clara University presents a number of identity-themed events on campus this season. The events will be headlined by a lecture and reception Thursday, Nov. 6, with nationally known artist Kip Fulbeck, creator of the The Hapa Project, in which he photographed and asked multiracial Americans "What are you?''

Media are invited to attend any of the following:

--Nov. 6, Thursday, 5 to 7 p.m., Fulbeck lecture and book-signing at SCU's Mayer Theatre; 7 to 9 p.m., reception at SCU's de Saisset Museum.

The dynamic creator of The Hapa Project will give a multimedia performance, drawing from his own mixed racial background challenges and his years of photographing and documenting how multiracial people see themselves. Fulbeck will also perform some of his acclaimed spoken word.

After the lecture, there will be a free reception with Fulbeck from 7 to 9 p.m. to celebrate The Hapa Project exhibition at the museum.

--Sept. 27 to Dec. 13: Student photographs of homeless-shelter residents, answering the question "Who are you?'' on display at SCU's de Saisset Museum.

Inspired by Fulbeck's project, SCU Lecturer Renee Billingslea worked with students in her Exploring Society through Photography class to take free portraits of residents at two local homeless shelters. Asked by the students "Who are you?" the residents' answers included "entrepreneur,'' "thankful,'' "dreamer,'' and "motivated.''

--Sept. 27 to Dec. 13: Fulbeck's exhibit on display at SCU's de Saisset Museum.

Throughout the exhibit, the de Saisset Museum will encourage visitors to contribute to a special community gallery. Like Kip Fulbeck's subjects in The Hapa Project, visitors will be asked to respond to the question "What are you?" by submitting images that best represent them. To submit images, please email desaissetmuseum@scu.edu (be sure to include your response to the question: "What are you?") or bring in your image to the de Saisset Museum.

About Kip Fulbeck

Known as the nation's leading artist on Hapa identity, Kip Fulbeck has been featured on CNN, MTV and PBS, and has spoken and exhibited his award-winning films, performance, and photography throughout the world, at venues that include the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Singapore International Film Festival, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Conference on Race in Higher Education. He was the inaugural recipient of the The Loving Prize at the 2008 Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival.

The term hapa is a Hawaiian word meaning "half" or "portion." It was once a derogatory term referring to people who were half Hawaiian and half Caucasian. Over time, its pejorative connotation diminished and it has come to be used as a term of pride by people of Asian/Pacific Islander ancestry.

Seven years ago, Fulbeck began photographing a wide array of multiracial individuals around the country for The Hapa Project. He composes each image in the same way: subject shot from the collarbone up, with no hints of clothing, jewelry, or makeup, or other signifiers of identity. The photographs evoke the official portraits we all take for identification: drivers' licenses; passports; campus identification, etc. In Fulbeck's project, however, subjects have the opportunity to retake their photographs, and to respond in their own handwriting to the question "What are you?"

Fulbeck currently is a Professor of Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is also an affiliate faculty member in Asian American Studies and Film & Media Studies.

Media interested in attending can contact Deborah Lohse of the University's media relations office: (408) 554-5121.

About the de Saisset Museum

The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University is the South Bay's free museum of art and history. The museum is one of only three museums in the South Bay accredited by the American Association of Museums. The de Saisset Museum supports SCU's goal of educating the whole person through diverse exhibitions, collections, and educational programs.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,685 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.