Art Exhibit - Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

SILENCED

Silence is gold.

I learned since

I was little. It is

A sign of respect

An act of humble

virtue passes down from

generations to generations,

Standing as tall as unyielding bamboos

Hollow in the middle, vessels for wisdoms from

Fathers and mothers of yellow skin, whispers from

Rice fields by the ocean and tea shops in the mountains, wishes from

chopsticks to chopsticks

My silence, however, is

not a license for you to

Silence Me

Yichien Cooper

Silenced

Dimensions: 18x24, Medium: black and silver printing ink on parchment paper,

Linoleum Relief Printing, AP, Year of Creation: 2015

Dr. Yichien Cooper is an art educator, author, and advocate, serving as a Career-Track Assistant Professor at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. Her research focuses on STEAM (education, arts-based pedagogy, identity studies, and Asian aesthetics. Cooper is renowned for her international keynote speeches and workshops in countries such as China, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Türkiye. Her publications on integrating arts curriculum and STEAM applications are influential. She actively promotes Asian American art and culture and has received numerous honors, including the 2019 City of Richland Proclamation of Appreciation, the 2023 Ziegfeld Service Award from the United States Society of Education through Art, the 2024 NAEA Coalition for Feminisms in Art Education Kathy Connors Teaching Award, and the 2024 Washington State University, Tri-Cities Campus Distinguished Teaching Award.