''kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa''

It might be awhile before we see the term Hapa on Census forms. Popularly used to indicate a person of a mixed ethnic heritage that includes Asian roots, the word is visually illustrated in ”kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa,” a new photographic exhibit at Asia Society Texas. Kip Fulbeck traveled the country photographing more than 1,000 volunteers who self-identify as Hapa, and the project became a book and several traveling exhibits. In Houston, the exhibit includes 36 images. The portraits are stark; each person is shown from the shoulders up, with no clothes, no makeup and no expression, standing against a white background. Each is accompanied by a hand-written answer to Fulbeck’s question, ”What are you?” One young woman with blond hair writes, ”I am not half-white. I am not half-Asian. I am a whole other,” in small, neat handwriting. A dark-skinned young man writes, ”I am 100% Black and 100% Japanese” in large, bold writing. Visitors will be able to add their own portraits and handwritten answers to an interactive display that will accompany the exhibit.

Patsy Yoon Brown, director of communications and external affairs for Asia Society Texas, tells us that the show ”really affirms many complex realities of Asian identity and identity in general. Since Houston was named the most diverse city in the United States, it seemed Houston would be a compelling place for this exhibit.” .

Tuesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Starts: Nov. 9. Continues through April 14, 2012