StoryBoards Narratives

Barbara Jirsa: Building a Vision of Equality within Family Memories

Barbara Jirsa – Artist and administrator speaks about the development of herphilosophy in equal rights for women through conversations with her grandmother.

Pride Blooming in Loneliness: Shin Yu Pai's Cross

Shin Yu Pai - American essayist, poet, and visual artist. She is also the originatorof the podcast Ten Thousand things. Raised in an artistic environment she speaksabout mother daughter relationships, loneliness, pride, and female influences that includes female goddesses and female shamans.

From Story to Strength: An Interview with Diana Ma

Diana Ma–Chinese American Seattle author has published books for middle school andyoung adults. Her works feature Asian American heroes–In this episode, she isinterviewed by northwest poet, Arlene Naganawa

Harrison Vijay Tsui’s interview of Cheryll

Cheryll Leo-Gwin–Harrison Vijay Tsui interviews a 4th generation Chinese American artist/writer/administrator. Her work reflects the effect of the simultaneous Chinese Exclusion Acts in the US and Canada.

Al Spokoiny – Jews from Shanghai

Al Spokoiny – A man born in Shanghai to a Jewish family with roots in China for 3 generations. He narrates the life and times of this Jewish family from the holocaust to present day.

From Child Mother to Children’s Mother: Mrs. Chen Lan Wen on Childhood, Immigration and Sacrifice.

Known as Mrs. Chen, she shares her early life in China, transitions as animmigrant, sadness, isolation, and successes.

Lesley Jian: A Grandmother's Journey Through War, Famine, and Resilience

In this episode, Beijing-based guide Lesley Jian shares the powerful story of her grandmother, born in 1913 near the Yangtze River. Given away as a Tong Yangxi child bride, she survived poverty, war, famine, and the loss of multiple husbands, all while raising children across decades of upheaval.

A Foot in Two Worlds: Flo Oy Wong on Family, Female Roles, Art and Poetry

Award winning artist and poet Flo Oy Wong shares challenges of an 8-decades long journey as a Chinese American female working as an oral historian, artist, and poet. She shares stories of those who helped shape her long life in the arts.

An Artist's Journey : Patti Warashina on Tradition, Taboo, Resistance, and Perseverance

Internationally celebrated ceramic artist and UW Professor Emerita Patti Warashina reflects on a life shaped by powerful women, cultural expectations, and a deep creative drive. Born to Japanese American parents in Spokane, Washington, Patti's journey weaves together stories of arranged marriage, wartime surveillance, unspoken love, and generational sacrifice.
In this deeply personal oral history, Patti shares how her family's quiet strength—and her own subtle acts of resistance—fueled a lifelong career in the arts. From her mother's handmade ceramics to the influence of feminist mentors, Patti speaks candidly about navigating gender, culture, and creativity in a male-dominated art world.
🎧 A portrait of resilience, humor, and the transformative power of art.

Raised by Women: Shawn Wong on Family, Loss, and Finding Freedom

In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed novelist and University of Washington English professor Shawn Wong shares the interwoven stories of the Chinese American women who shaped his life—from his artistic mother and trailblazing aunties to the community of surrogate mothers who stepped in after profound loss.
It’s a story about memory, migration, and the powerful legacy of untold histories.