Details and Photos from our IASNY event

1. JENNIFER LIM

2. From left to right: theatre critic Randy Gener, 2012 IASNY Trophy Winner Jennifer Lim, playwright Saviana Stanescu (IASNY’s Founder and Artistic Director), Lark’s artistic director John Clinton Eisner; 3. Jennifer Lim and IASNY performers; 4. Aasif Mandvi from Jon Stewart's Daily Show performing at New York with an Accent; 5. Saviana Stanescu and the IASNY Trophy - "Victory Nests in the Immigrant's Shoe", a sculpture by Stavri Karamfilov; Photos by Gabika Bočkaj

Excerpts from the speeches honoring Jennifer Lim:

RANDY GENER:

"Jennifer's achievement is greater and deeper than her Broadway success. We are celebrating Jennifer because she is an incisive actor. Because she has shown full commitment to her art. Her path as an actor and an immigrant New Yorker sheds light on the shape-shifting versatility combined with spiritual depth, that exquisite intelligence that's necessary to fully embody that sense of play."

JOHN EISNER:

“I am John Eisner. I’m the Artistic Director of the Lark Play Development Center and a member of the IASNY Advisory Board.

IASNY – or IMMIGRANT ARTISTS AND SCHOLARS IN NEW YORK – was founded by my friend and colleague Saviana Stanescu. Its mission is to bring artists and scholars together to nurture and advocate for immigrant voices as a vital and vibrant part of the New York City community.

As a playwright as well as the creator of many of the international exchange projects at the Lark, where we work together, Saviana has helped shape the Lark’s values and exposed us to new ideas from around the world. I am grateful for this and it is why I am part of IASNY.

Under Saviana’s leadership, IASNY is having an impact in our community.

Part of IASNY’s mission is to produce the annual NEW YORK WITH AN ACCENT program that we have enjoyed today here at the Nuryorican Poets Cafe. It is part of the city’s IMMIGRANT HERITAGE WEEK 2012, which was established in 2004 by Mayer Michael Bloomberg.

Saviana will be at a breakfast reception with the Mayor this Tuesday, and I’m sure you will agree that she has a lot of good news to report about what took place today.

This year, IASNY has added a new and important program – the IASNY TROPHY FOR EXCELLENCE – to recognize an immigrant New Yorker for outstanding achievement in the arts.

I’m thrilled to announce that the first-ever IASNY TROPHY FOR EXCELLENCE will be awarded to actress JENNIFER LIM for her starring role as Xi Yan in the Broadway production of CHINGLISH by David Henry Hwang.

Jennifer, who was born in Hong Kong and is now a New Yorker, has performed in many kinds of theater in many parts of the world. Her experience as an artist with a foot in more than one culture was critical to the development of CHINGLISH in its workshops at the Lark, at the Goodman Theater, and at the Longacre Theater on Broadway.

I saw CHINGLISH at every step of its process, so I know that this is true.

This award does more than recognize Jennifer’s extraordinary contributions as an actor in New York – it also challenges her, as an immigrant and a leader, to help us see the world around us in new ways.

I would stake a very large bet that Jennifer will continue to do this.

In a New York Times profile of Jennifer in November, David Henry Hwang described Jennifer as “attractive and sexy, with the whole package necessary to do the part.” He praised her “great comic timing, determination, and fierceness.” I would also add that she is brilliantly intelligent, immensely imaginative, a great collaborator, and a truly good person.

Please join me in welcoming to the stage ACTRESS JENNIFER LIM, the recipient of the 2012 IASNY TROPHY FOR EXCELLENCE!

John Eisner handed the IASNY Trophy to Jennifer Lim at the end of an evening full of vibrant and diverse performances by outstanding IASNY members and NYC artists committed to multicultural dialogue. This annual event, curated and organized by Saviana Stanescu, embodied the vision of IASNY as a forum for the exchange of ideas, the fostering of an immigrant voice, and a showcase of the breadth of talents in New York City's (immigrant) community.

IASNY encourages the participation of all artists and scholars interested in the immigrant experience: http://saviana.com/immigrant_artists_and_scholars_in_new_york_iasny

We welcome your DONATIONS! (they will be used to keep IASNY going and growing)

Immigrant Artists and Scholars in New York (IASNY) is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Immigrant Artists and Scholars in New York (IASNY) may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

You can safely DONATE HERE: https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/3373.