realisation
C
OMMUNITY
OUTREACH
In order to reach my target demographic of East & SE Asian diasporic individuals in London, I decided I would have Moveable Feast translated to Mandarin Chinese, the most commonly spoken language in the geographic region. Instead of having it translated through an agency, I opted for a locally-based freelancer instead, as I felt it would offer a more personalized and native voice. I looked up freelance English-Mandarin translators on Upwork, comparing their feedback, experience and location. Eventually, I decided to reach out to Zhilin H., who is based in Brighton with an hourly rate of $22.
realisation
As it relates to finding interviewees for the cookbook, especially older generations, I will create posts introducing myself and Moveable Feast in several East & SE Asian community Facebook groups, including that of the aforementioned London Chinese Community Centre:
To establish a more direct and intimate relationship with the communities, I will get in touch with the London Chinese Community Centre, which hosts a community lunch from 12-2 between Tuesday and Thursday every week. I will attend a few of these community lunches to have face-to-face contact with potential contributors, explaining my project and building stronger relationships.
For younger generations, I plan on reaching out to Jemma Paek, one of the co-founders of the London based daikon* collective, constituted of SE and East Asian women and non-binary people living within a European context. Honing in on a more specific cross-section of Asian diasporic people, I will also collaborate with The Bitten Peach, a pan-Asian collective of queer performers and artists. Being familiar with both collectives, these collaborations would enable me to further expand my network of Asian diasporic people in London and locate potential collaborators and lifelong allies.
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Finally, in terms of the project's legacy, one major goal is to consistently provide resources and support to the communities in discussion. Therefore, I decided that, for the first issue, all proceeds from direct sales of Moveable Feast will be donated to the Women & Children Support scheme of the Chinese Information and Advice Centre. The charity offers free support for various issues affecting Chinese people in the UK, including housing and healthcare, but I opted specifically to donate to the Women & Children support scheme for the first issue for the following reasons. Firstly, by focusing on one department, it would ideally create a more concentrated impact to their services. Secondly, the nature of the support offered by the scheme resonates with one of the key thematic undercurrents of Moveable Feast- maternal bonds and female intergenerationality. As it pertains to this subject, one of my personal goals for the project is to begin to reconcile with my mother's ways of loving, a lifelong process that demands a concerted effort from both parties. Taking this into account, I feel the Women & Children Support scheme is the most appropriate beneficiary for this first issue.
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