Round I Projects
PROJECT
Beyond Words: Amplifying Asian Women's Voices
The Beyond Words: Amplifying Asian Women's Voices campaign aims to address mental health challenges within Asian American Pacific Islanders communities through dance and theater. It emphasizes social justice, health disparities, and civic engagement. A podcast series focusing on mental health hurdles Asian American women face and a dance performance inspired by the podcast serves as a platform for civic engagement. Anchoring the campaign is a podcast series that features candid discussions, personal narratives, and expert insights on mental health and intergenerational trauma. The podcast format allows for in-depth exploration of these topics in a conversational and accessible manner. Complementing the podcast is a dance performance choreographed and staged to convey the emotional depth of the experiences shared in the podcast. The campaign includes community engagement events such as workshops, discussions, and post-performance talks to encourage dialogue, empathy, and the sharing of coping techniques tailored to the needs of the AAPI communities within multiple lowest-quartile California Healthy Place Index areas. The campaign encourages active participation and a sense of belonging within the community by creating open dialogue around mental health, recognizing mental health as a social justice concern to promote empathy and understanding, and making this work more accessible to a broader audience.
LEARN ABOUT THE ARTIST + CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS
Trixi Agiao
Trixi Anne Balinggan Agiao’s first experience dancing was with traditional Igorot dance she learned from the Northern California chapter of BIBAK. Her first ties to dance were about heritage, community, and joy. Trixi is a socially conscious performer, choreographer, and filmmaker using the digital guise of The Thoughtful Beast. Trixi creates work centered on fighting the stigma against mental illness. Utilizing her visual storytelling experience, Trixi sets out to make work that kinesthetically and mentally connects with her audience. She is a company dancer for Visionary Dance Theatre, where she also runs their educational training company, V2.
Trixi is also an active volunteer. She is a lead volunteer for the San Diego, Filipino Cinema, United AAPI Artists and Mental Wellness for Artists. Agiao co-founded The Filam Film Collective which focuses on Filipino American representation in the media, and they also provide free affinity spaces for AAPI artists and actors.