Journalism is often a lonely pursuit. I spend most of my days inside my own head, filing news stories for Resonate and tracking the movements of the Asian diaspora from behind a screen. By nature, I am someone who tends to withdraw. I am quiet, perhaps a bit secluded, and comfortable in that silence. But a few years ago, I decided I needed to branch out. I told myself that to truly understand the world I was writing about, I had to get out of my comfort zone and start saying yes to everything.
That decision changed my life. I found myself in conversation with filmmakers, television actors, artists, and photographers from all around the globe. I felt an immense gratitude for those opportunities, but I also noticed a persistent gap in how our stories were being handled in the United Kingdom.
Last summer, Chi Thai called me. She had an idea for a hardback book dedicated entirely to UK East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) creators. It would be a single volume written, designed, and curated by the community. The goal was to capture our specific thoughts, creativity, and talent by focusing on the events of the previous year. I thought the idea was brilliant. It felt like history in the making because it simply had never been done before in this country.
Read more: Chi Thai Discusses GOLDEN Magazine and the Urgency of Documenting the British ESEA Experience
Beyond the Silent Monolith
The problem with being ESEA in Britain is that the public often sees us as a silent minority. There is this lazy assumption that we are a monolith—one group with one voice and one narrow view of the world. In reality, we are incredibly diverse. The ESEA umbrella covers people with roots in over 20 countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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Each of these diasporas carries its own distinct history, language, and social perspective. We are not just one thing. And yet, for a long time, our stories have been told through a lens that wasn’t our own. With Golden, we wanted to build a space where we aren’t just the subjects of the story, but the ones defining what matters. It is about finding solidarity in our differences and making sure those connections are written down.
A Collective Effort of Fifty Voices
Working alongside Zoe Li from Juniper by the Sea, we put out a call for contributors. The response astonished us. We didn’t want a book that just sat on a coffee table; we wanted a record that felt alive. Over 50 creatives eventually joined the project, each bringing a piece of the current ESEA landscape into focus.
The contributors occupy every corner of British life. You will see Harriet Armstrong’s photography, which preserves the vanishing traditional Chinese takeaways of London. There is the cultural curation of Rachel Min Leong, who interviews the Olivier-nominated Mei Mac about the necessity of activism in the arts.
The visual landscape of the book is shaped by the vibrant, illustrations of Lisa Ha and Oliver Li, alongside the evocative work of Helen Lo, Scarlett Yang, and Jason Lyon
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We have Angel Sun investigating the complex, shifting identity of London’s Chinatown, while Katie Smith-Wong provides the sharp criticism necessary to dismantle old tropes in her commentary on Asian representation in animation. Audrey Khew explores the political history of food through the lens of wartime tubers, and Tiger Hagino Reid writes on the vital importance of community leadership and direct action.
By combining these varied disciplines, the annual captures a wide spectrum of talent that exists across the UK, from the New Forest to Glasgow. It is a collective effort that proves our community is far from a monolith.
Read more: Recording the Present: The Launch of the Golden ESEA Annual
This week, we are bringing this project into the physical world. We are hosting a launch drinks reception on Saturday, 28 February, from 3–5pm at the Private Members Bar in Picturehouse Central, London.
The entry ticket is £30, which is exactly the retail price of the book. Essentially, you are purchasing the hardback and we are inviting you to the party. This event is a rare space where ESEA thinkers, artists, and the public can meet without any external interference. It is a networking event, yes, but more than that, it is a community-building exercise.
The bar capacity is limited to 150 guests. I encourage you to act quickly if you want to be in the room. This book is about us. It is a statement that our stories are vital and our perspectives are vital. We do not need to be silent anymore.
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