Research by: Debanjoli Chowdhury and Siya Gupta

The “In The Future Our Asian Community Is Safe” mural was created in 2021 by the artist Jess X. Snow in partnership with the W.O.W. Project on Mosco St. in Chinatown. The W.O.W. Project is an organization led by women and queer, nonbinary, and trans people that use art as a means of activism to protect the culture of Chinatown in New York City. They also make a point to acknowledge that Chinatown is on Lenape land and that the Lenape were displaced as a result of settler colonialism which incites violence towards the indigenous population. Jess X. Snow is a nonbinary and neurodivergent artist and poet, and is a Master of Fine Arts student at NYU Grad Film. They view art as a way to unite BIPOC communities for greater change. This is reflected in their work with this mural since they collaborate with members of the Asian/Pacific, Black, indigenous, and queer and trans community to build the mural. Their main purpose in their work is to work together with other people of color to end cycles of violence, such as the violence towards Asian/Pacific communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. They convey this message in multiple other mediums as well, such as children’s books, film, and poetry.