Because I excel at overbooking myself, the same day that Worldcon Dublin released the names of the 2019 Hugo Award finalists and it became public that Uncanny Magazine was a finalist for Best Semiprozine (my 4th time as a Hugo Awards finalist WHOO!!!), I was also scheduled to appear as a guest on KUOW, the Seattle NPR affiliate, to talk about the Wing Luke Museum’s Worlds Beyond Here: Expanding the Universe of APA Science Fiction exhibit.
If you weren’t able to listen to the interview live, it’s now available on KUOW’s site and can be heard here (unfortunately there’s no transcription available): https://www.kuow.org/stories/the-aliens-arrived-unexpectedly-at-6-42?
Despite completely stumbling over saying a simple “Thanks for having me here” greeting, the rest of the conversation was delightful. I was thrilled to be joined in that conversation by author E. Lily Yu and Kelly Campelia, who also contributed to the exhibit. Lily’s story “The Wretched and the Beautiful” was the basis for the VR experience “Dark Shapes,” which was Kelly’s creation. I absolutely love how “Dark Shapes” challenges assumptions about ourselves and how we think we’ll act when approached by someone in need, and can leave you with a sense of discomfort that’s important to sit with and think deeply about.
Getting to be the text writer for this exhibit remains one of the things I’m most proud of doing in 2018. If you can make it to the museum before September 15, 2019, you can see the exhibit! I can’t stress how awesome it is, and the rest of the museum itself is worth the visit. Getting to see Asian Pacific American histories and cultures highlighted in such a thoughtful way was a deeply emotional experience, and I plan to return to the Wing Luke Museum again to explore it further.
Thanks to Bill Radke for being a good host, and to Jennie Cecil Moore for coordinating the discussion!