About this event

This program was free with the cost of admission (Admission to the museum was $15 and could be paid upon arrival at our Visitor Services Desk. More information about our admission rates could be found here).

There was always something about your immigrant mother that you never understood while growing up. It was through having a “Joy Luck Mom Club moment”—an epiphanous moment when you realized something about yourself because of something you learned about your mother that was previously kept secret. Inspired by the film The Joy Luck Club (1993), directed by Wayne Wang and adapted from Amy Tan’s novel, this participatory video workshop attempted to contribute to the untold/unheard/silenced, and forgotten narratives of women’s migration. Participants were invited to bring an object, photo, or memory to create a one-minute video letter or dedication to their mother (or to another relative of importance).

Participants learned how to apply basic video production techniques, from storyboarding, shooting, and sound to editing. Completed videos were screened at the end of the workshop. Participants were not expected to have any formal media production experience, and all levels were encouraged and welcome.

Mobile phones or other cameras were welcome.

More about the speaker:

Vivian Wenli Lin / 林雯莉

The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Vivian Wenli Lin, an Assistant Professor at Occidental College’s Media Arts and Culture department and a media artist/scholar with a background in psychology, documentary film, video art, and interactive installation. Her research focused on issues of representation, gender, migration, and the Asian diaspora. She founded Voices of Women Media in 2007, an organization that utilized visual participatory methods to facilitate communities of migrant women and allies in media literacy and authoring their own narratives. Vivian had been conducting participatory media workshops since 2004, with extensive global experience throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

If anyone found themselves in need of special assistance, they were encouraged to reach out to Cristina Hernandez-Guerrero at ch45852@usc.edu. Their needs were important, and assistance was provided in any way possible.