Arts Focus Southeast Asia (AFSEA) is a Pacific-based entity that promotes and fosters an appreciation of the arts of Southeast Asia through education, performance, preservation, collaboration, and innovation. We partner with individuals and organizations that support the study, practice, creation, and innovation of Southeast Asian arts in a way that empowers communities both in and outside of the region.

 

We consider art forms and practices that originate from within the contemporary geographical boundaries of Southeast Asia, as well as historical antecedents that influenced the arts of the region. These forms and practices include, but are not limited to:

 

• Traditional and contemporary music, dance, and theatre​

• Film translation and film-related education and outreach​

• Literature, including poetry, and spoken word

• Visual arts, including photography, textiles, and graphic arts

• Regional cuisines and culinary arts

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AFSEA is governed by an Executive Board, with daily operations and strategy overseen by an Executive Director. We received our 501(c)(3) status in late 2017, and spent much of 2018 and the first half 2019 putting together our team and planning our first partnership project with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i bringing Balinese wayang listrik to Hawai‘i's schools.