During the talk, Lai shared his personal and artistic journey, reflecting on the experiences that shaped his approach to writing, directing, and creativity. He also drew ideas from his book, CreativitRy: Asia’s Iconic Playwright Reveals the Art of Creativity, offering insights into creative practice across theater, performance, and life. Lai also discussed his play Ago 《曾经如是》, noting that the play includes scenes set in Flushing. This local connection resonated strongly with the audience and added a meaningful sense of place to the conversation.

The talk was followed by an engaging Q&A session, with attendees responding enthusiastically to Lai’s openness and insights. Many participants stayed after the program to continue conversations and participate in a book signing, where copies of Lai’s book were available and signed by the author. The event concluded with lively informal discussions, reflecting a strong sense of engagement and a warm community response.

To view a selection of photos from the event, please visit our Photo Gallery.

On October 1, 2025, CALA NE, APALA NE, and NYPL AANHPI Resource Group members visited the Hunter College Leon and Toby Cooperman Library to learn more about the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies (CRAASH) at Hunter College by visiting the library’s exhibition, CRAASH in Focus: Revitalizing Asian American Studies and the Archives & Special Collections. The collections highlighted AANHPI student activism, community, scholarship, and student life at Hunter College. 

The visit began with an overview of the CRAASH in Focus exhibit’s history, where the items came from, the steps taken by the curators, Lily Susman (Collections and Acquisitions Librarian), Dorian Onifer (Research Services Librarian), Mee-Len Hom (Reference/Instruction Librarian), and Allison Ransom (Metadata & Discovery Librarian). Many of the items in the exhibition were generously donated by former CRAASH student organizers, Linda Luu and Kevin Park. Through this exhibition, it demonstrates student advocacy for the Asian American Studies program through social media campaigns (i.e., Facebook), petitions, protests, events, and their solidarity efforts with other Hunter College student organizations. 

As we looked at the CRAASH exhibit, on view at the Leon & Toby Cooperman Library, 3rd Floor, we learned that the Asian American Studies Program at CUNY Hunter College was founded in 1993 and was amongst the first of its kind on the East Coast. The CRAASH exhibition showcased the foundation years in the 1980s and early 1990s to the revitalization of the Asian American Studies Program in the 2000s and the 2010s. The exhibit documents the ongoing influence CRAASH has on Hunter College today. The exhibit includes many flyers used throughout the years, a photo of a button that was created for CRAASH, letters, photos of students at the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECASU) conference, a campaign sheet, CRAASH’s timeline, a chant sheet with a QR code to a YouTube video of the chants, highlights of major movements, a CRAASH t-shirt, and much more. 

As Hunter College looks ahead, the Asian Student Affinity Space in the Thomas Hunter Building opened in Spring 2025 and Professor Charles Tien announced that a major in Asian American Studies is on the horizon for 2026. 

You can see more photos of the visit in our Photo Gallery.

On Saturday, September 20, CALA NE members and Queens Public Library patrons gathered for “Our Laundry, Our Town: Author Talk with Alvin Eng featuring a Scavenger Hunt and Scanning with Queens Memory.”  The event took place at Queens Public Library, located in the heart of Chinatown in Flushing, NY, and offered an exciting, multifaceted experience.  Hosted by the CALA Northeast Chapter, the event featured Eng delivering poignant and animated readings from his memoir, Our Laundry, Our Town: My Chinese American Life from Flushing to the Downtown Stage and Beyond.  As Eng read, each passage appeared on screen with a side-by-side Mandarin translation developed by CALA NE officer Yaoguang Li.  Throughout the reading, Eng shared vivid images of his life and earlier years, including his younger self, formative life events, and the family and friends who shaped him.  Afterward, Eng was joined by CALA NE Officer Jeanie Pai at the front of the room for a thought-provoking interview delving deeper into his life, identity, and pivotal experiences.

After a well-received Q&A, participants rounded out their experience in a variety of ways: Many made their way to the Queens Book Bazaar stand to purchase Eng’s memoir, where he signed copies with a Sharpie and a smile.  Others opted for the Queens Memory pop-up table in the back of the room, where they were given the opportunity to digitize their personal mementos and contribute to the Queens Memory Collection.  Still others ventured out on the self-guided scavenger hunt highlighting key locations mentioned in Eng’s memoir, taking them across Flushing.  All around, attendees engaged in deep conversation about the experiences Eng highlighted and their own experiences growing up, many tackling Asian identity and what it means to grow up Asian in America.  Attendees capped the day by enjoying the local flavors of Flushing Chinatown, with Eng leading a group excursion to a nearby restaurant.

To view a complete selection of photos from the event, please visit our Photo Gallery.  

This event was also featured as a news article in World Journal, a leading Chinese-language newspaper in the US.  To read the article, please visit this link.