PRESS KIT

Author photo + short bio:

traci kato-kiriyama (they+she; based on unceded Tongva land in the south bay of Los Angeles) --author of Navigating With(out) Instruments (Writ Large Press)-- is an award-winning multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, community organizer, and audiobook narrator. As a storyteller and Artivist, tkk is grounded in collaborative process, collective self-determination, and art+community as intrinsically tied and a critical means toward connection and healing. She is a performer & principal writer of PULLproject Ensemble, two-time NET recipient; NEFA 2021-22 awardee for their show TALES OF CLAMOR.  tkk —presented in hundreds of venues for over 25 years as a writer, actor, poet, speaker, guest lecturer, facilitator, Artist-in-Residence, and organizing / arts & culture consultant— has come to appreciate a wildly hybrid career (presenters incl. LaMaMa Cabaret; The Smithsonian; Skirball Cultural Center; EnWave Theatre; The Getty; Hammer Museum; Grand Performances; Whisky a Go Go; Hotel Cafe; House Of Blues; and countless universities, arts spaces, and community centers across the country).  Their writing, commentary, and work is also featured in a wide swath of media and print publications (incl. NPR; PBS; C-SPAN; Los Angeles Review of Books; Elle.com; Entropy; Chaparral Canyon Press; Tia Chucha Press; Bamboo Ridge Press; Heyday Books; Regent Press; Temple University Press). tkk is a core artist with Vigilant Love; founding member of the Okaeri Nikkei LGBTQ+ Network; a principal organizer of the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition and Nikkei Progressives/NCRR; and serves as the Director/Co-Founder of Tuesday Night Project - presenter of the Tuesday Night Cafe series, which will soon celebrate 25 years as the longest-running Asian American public arts series in the country.

Additional fun facts!

• tkk’s work and their book Navigating With(out) Instruments are being taught in contemporary literatures & cultures, contemporary poetry, Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies courses, and senior writing seminars on experimental poetry and creative writing (incl. UCLA; CSUN; Fresno State; Colorado College; USC; Smith College).

• traci is an Audie Award nominee and AudioFile winner for her work as an audiobook performer, with titles including The Memory Police; Temple Alley Summer; The Fervor; Intimacies; The Swimmers; The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World; Fred Korematsu Speaks Up!; and the upcoming Kurashi At Home by Marie Kondo. 

• The OxyArts exhibition - “Voice a Wild Dream: Moments in Asian American Art and Activism, 1968-2022” - borrows its title from a poem in tkk’s Navigating With(out) Instruments. 

• Several of tkk’s pieces from Navigating With(out) Instruments are being featured throughout the 2022-2023 exhibition - “Japanese American Resisters + Resilience During WWII” - at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle.

• As a creative/educator - tkk has facilitated, directed, and taught to thousands of artists, activists, writers, students of all ages throughout the globe with workshops in the arenas of experimental creative writing, poetry, collaborative storytelling, ensemble building, theatre devising & performance – on themes and issues including art & activism, solidarity work for the long-haul, mental health and collective care, arts organizing & cultural production / co-creating art+community space – (to name a few of tkk’s hosts: UH Manoa; Pitzer College; Pomona College; Asian Arts Initiative in Philly; Asian Arts Freedom School in Toronto; Hammer Museum; KYCC; SIPA; KRC-NAKASEC; Okaeri; Asian Youth Center; SEACA; Khmer Girls in Action; Sakura Foundation; Grand Park).

Book cover + description + Three-sheet:

Click here to download the Navigating With(out) Instruments three-sheet.