Diaspora Art Project (Updated 01/11/2022)
Yuvak Tuladhar
My artworks are the reflection of the immigrant experiences of Nepali and Tibetan friends in the United States. We are mostly of first-generation and are evolving into one of the most vibrant populations in the States. We are still deeply connected to what we have left behind. The mixture of our cultural traditions and our life in America is turning our participation into something worth preserving. I love history, and I enjoyed looking at many old black and white photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s of New York City. Many immigrants from all over Europe arrived and settled. I see some pictures of them walking on the streets dressed in old costumes from back home. It looked so beautiful and precious. But all those cultural uniqueness got melted into a big melting pot and evolved.
I see the same parallel among our community here in the States. We are still doing many things we did when we were in Nepal, India, and Tibet. Many of us are regularly watching movies, sitcoms, and news from that part of the world. I realized this interaction and a lively cultural exchange would not last forever and will perhaps diminish greatly by my children or grand children’s time. Therefore, I feel it is vital to preserving our experiences and existence in America as the first-generation immigrant in as many ways as possible. I want to use painting, photography, video, and audio for documenting to depict our life in America. I feel this endeavor will bring two things; first, we will have something to leave behind for our future generations. Secondly, it can foster awareness of art appreciation in our population. I have already acquired some film and audio equipment through the sale of some of my artwork. I will need more funds for more stuff, traveling, and exhibitions as the project progress. I plan to raise funds as required, without asking people for a donation. I also do not want to sell any artworks created for this project because I want to exhibit them in many venues in America so that a large number of people from my diaspora see them. However, I will occasionally make some of my artwork in the form of limited edition copies available for sale to my community for funding this endeavor. This effort can succeed only from the support of our diaspora.
People involved:
Yuvak Tuladhar (Painting, lighting, content creation), Binod KC (filming, photography), Prabin Singh (audio, film editing, color grading), Rohit Chhetri (online, logistics, promotion), Sahaj Man Singh (film direction, content creation), Sanjeev Shakya (content creation) and more.
Contact: Yuvak Tuladhar at yuvakt@gmail.com 510-375-1027.
Facebook page: Diaspora Art Project