Blog

I'm not Asian, I'm "Japanese". reflections Apr 05, 2020

Two years ago, I visited my favourite aunty in rural Japan and during my stay, I remember telling her about “Asian Australians” and how I’d been think...

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Yumi Stynes: Shapes and Sounds Interview #3 interview Mar 30, 2020

Now more than ever, we, the Asian Australian community need to remember that there always have been and will always continue to be, Asian Australians ...

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Food, adversity and POC. reflections Mar 23, 2020

An early dialogue about Covid-19 concerned the “dirty” and “weird” foods that Asians eat. For me, this triggered so much past shame about food identit...

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Watching out for oppressive mental health practice. mental health Mar 15, 2020

I received an email from an Australian psychology service yesterday which addressed the covid-19 outbreak and how we can take care of ourselves throug...

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Opening up to others safely: A delicate and learnable skill. mental health Mar 09, 2020

I feel like we spend a lot of energy and dialogue around how we can support others by checking in with them when they don’t look or seem so well. Init...

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The Asian Australian Mental Health Practitioner List (Vic). mental health Mar 02, 2020

Whenever I talk about this platform, Shapes and Sounds, the number one question I'm asked is, "do you know of a good Asian Australian therapist?" It's...

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Dr Phoebe Lau from the Inner Collective: Shapes and Sounds Interview #2 interview Feb 23, 2020

Sometimes all the stars align and you meet the right person at exactly the right time. For me, Dr Phoebe Lau is one of those people.

I’ve been creati...

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Learnings from a 2000 year old tree. reflections Feb 16, 2020

Although Shapes and Sounds predominantly speaks to the Asian diaspora community in Australia, it is fair to say that most people reading this are in f...

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An icky guy explains ikigai. racism Feb 09, 2020

As is the case with all of us who have had employment in this country, I’ve had the pleasure of working with an arrogant, unqualified, insecure, middl...

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Life hacks for Asians. reflections Feb 02, 2020

Life hack for Asians #1:

If you’re ever in a rush and you need to somehow make your way through a busy crowd, all you need to do is find a middle age...

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Yeo: Shapes and Sounds Interview #1 interview Jan 27, 2020

Talking with other Asian Australians about the Asian diaspora experience has helped me to heal and become a stronger, truer version of myself. But it ...

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The diversity hire. bamboo ceiling Jan 20, 2020

At one particular organisation where I worked, all the coloured people and queer people were rounded up one week to brainstorm and write the organisat...

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