FLINT, Michigan — Vivian Kao, the fifth Buckham Gallery Writer in Residence, is looking forward to a fruitful year of creating new works and interacting with art. Kao has been a long-time visitor of Buckham Gallery and would bring her two kids to the gallery on Sundays. She saw the opportunity to be more involved in the community and now gets to use her own experience and work to support one of her favorite places in town.
Kao is an Associate Professor of English at Lawrence Technological University and a poet. She has a poetry book coming out with new calligraphy this coming January called, “Dear Mrs. River Dragon.”
The poetry book follows her life of finding her community and all the joys and challenges that it brings. Kao came from Washington State, where the Asian American community is quite large, to the Midwest where it is quite small. In Flint, she has found her “adopted community” with people who have other things in common than race such as other mothers, artists, and teachers.
Kao follows local writers
Jenifer Veloso,
Bob Campell,
Natasha Thomas, and
Shea Cobb. Katie Cotton, Buckham’s Projects and Communications Coordinator, said they want to be very intentional about their commitment to giving a voice to the BIPOC artist community in Flint and Genesee County.
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Courtesy photoVivian Kao.Flintside: You are about two months into your writing residency, what have you experienced so far that makes you excited about the coming year?
Vivian Kao: “I love coming to the gallery. I think the first show on opening night was the most exciting part where I got to look around and see what speaks to me. Getting a feel for all the pieces and kind of choosing what ones I want to interact with.”
Flintside: What do you expect your biggest challenge to be?
V. Kao:
“When you yourself are an artist and you’re engaging with someone else’s work, you want the art to engage in a really deep and meaningful way with the art it’s in conversation with. I want to make sure to be true to the pieces and foreground the artwork while also creating something of my own. I just think of each piece of art as a writing prompt and see where it goes from there.”
Flintside: You are a professor as well as a poet. While academics and art sometimes go against each other, how do you separate the critical aspect of academic writing from the freer aspect of art and poetry?
V. Kao: “I try to turn that analytical part of my brain off when I am in the gallery space. It helps that, unlike museums, there aren’t any labels on the art pieces that give you background or context so I just get to have a one-on-one experience with the artwork. I take photos and jot down notes about what speaks to me, the emotions I’m having, the colors or shapes that interest me. Then I go home and a little bit of the academics come out, like research on poetic forms or if I am trying to do something particular.”
Flintside: What inspired you to do the Writer in Residence?
V. Kao: “I knew about the fact it had been going on for a while because I come into the gallery pretty regularly as a viewer. I try to make all the shows. When I saw it was posted, I thought this would be really cool to apply for because it would force me to generate some work, like once a month. I would push myself to spend more time on the thing I really love which is my poetry. I also feel like it’s something I can do for my community. Writing is one particular thing that I can give to my community.”
Flintside: The Flint art scene has been on the rise for the last few years. Coming from the West Coast where art has always had its place, what has it been like to see the growth here versus other places?
V. Kao: “It’s awesome. I feel like in Flint, art is for everybody. You know, it’s really a community thing, from the open mics to the space (Buckham Gallery), to the murals. In Flint, the art feels like it’s not only for people who have degrees in art or for those who have a lot of money and collect art. It’s all really accessible, so I think it’s really awesome that art takes this particular flavor here.”
Flintside: What has the Buckham Gallery’s dedication to giving a voice to the BIPOC artist community meant to you?
V. Kao: “I think it is super accepting. I’ve gotten to speak to a couple of the previous writers in residence and asked about their experiences and they have all felt really welcome to the space. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own perspective to the art. I think it is great that Buckham has this commitment to BIPOC artists. It’s also a great opportunity for artists who might not have opportunities around here.”
To learn more about Buckham Gallery, visit: buckhamgallery.org
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