Portrait of a Publisher as a Political Project: 30 Years of Kaya Press & Kaya Micro Operas: Alternatives to Archiving

ONE Archives, Feb 12 - Apr 26, 2025

Portrait of a Publisher as a Political Project: 30 Years of Kaya Press draws from Kaya’s history and archive to show the (near impossible!) journey of a radically independent press and its many publications over the last three decades.This exhibition is a celebration of thirty years of Kaya's existence and a testament to their belief that publishing is political work. This exhibition invites the viewer to explore the political and collaborative nature of publishing as told through selections from Kaya's archives. 

Alan Nakagawa worked as the artist-in-residence for Kaya Press for over a year. He read all 68 of their books and decided to create a micro opera for each work, a short interdisciplinary piece (the term was first invoked 40 years ago at Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles). Culminating in Kaya Micro Operas, the exhibition showcases the result of his diligent work, taking the form of  video, sound, puppets, music boxes, and more. The Micro Operas are recorded soundtracks, music videos, vibratory sound experiments, and interactive music boxes with contributions by Cirilo Domine (viola), Alison De La Cruz (vocals), Elizabeth Ito (vocals), Pattie Lin (vocals), Jean Park (vocals), Patrick Shiroishi (saxophone, percussion), Robin Sukhadia (tabla, harmonium, percussion), and Umi Hsu.