Kristina Wong

Join this conversation with Kristina Wong as she shares her journey as an artist, mask-making with her Hello Kitty sewing machine, exploring trauma and developing care systems during a pandemic. 

Kristina Wong is a performance artist, comedian, writer and elected representative who has been presented internationally across North America, the UK, Hong Kong and Africa.  Her work has been awarded with grants from Creative Capital, The MAP Fund, Center for Cultural Innovation, National Performance Network, a COLA Master Artist Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as eight Los Angeles Artist-in-Residence awards.  Center Theatre Group honored her with the 2019 Sherwood Award.  Her rap career in post-conflict Northern Uganda was the subject of The Wong Street Journal which toured the US, Canada and Lagos, Nigeria (presented by the US Consulate).  Her long running show Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest looked at the high rates of depression and suicide among Asian American women and is now a concert film.  Kristina currently serves as the elected representative of Wilshire Center Koreatown Sub-district 5 Neighborhood Council, the subject of her latest show “Kristina Wong for Public Office.” The national tour of that show has been postponed due to the pandemic.  She's pivoted to performing "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord" about how in ten days during the pandemic, she went from out of work artist to factory overlord of the Auntie Sewing Squad, leading hundreds of volunteers sewing for vulnerable communities.   www.kristinawong.com

Taped on June, 10, 2020