For musician and writer Hollis Wong-Wear, pursuing the arts have always been fueled by her passion for creativity, whether it was spoken word or hip-hop. At the same time, Wong-Wear told NBC News, she knows the importance of representation in artistic spaces — particularly when it comes to representing her community.
"We as people who want to see social change happen cannot keep putting the total sum of our energies into performing that which exists," Wong-Wear said. "We have to create new realities and new possibilities to really instruct and inform through leadership and through our own manifestation what the future needs to be."
RELATED: Hollis Wong-Wear Slams Her Way into Mainstream Music
Look for new "Life Stories" videos published on Thursdays beginning in May and through September. Episodes can be watched on NBCAsianAmerica.com, NBC Asian America's Facebook page, NBC News' official YouTube channel, and the NBC News app available on mobile devices, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
"Life Stories" is part of "NBC Asian America Presents...," a new video channel that will feature documentaries centered around themes and voices found in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Catch up on more videos online at NBCAsianAmericaPresents.com.
WATCH MORE "LIFE STORIES":
- Episode 1: Liang Chow
- Episode 2: Rini Sampath
- Episode 3: The Filharmonic
- Episode 4: Vivek Murthy
- Episode 5: Common Kings
- Episode 6: Vanessa Na
- Episode 7: Martin Yan
- Episode 8: Simran Jeet Singh
- Episode 9: Alice Wong
- Episode 10: Gene Luen Yang
- Episode 11: Kristen Kish
- Episode 12: Faiza Patel
- Episode 13: Alex Dang
- Episode 14: Stella Abrera
- Episode 15: Eugene Lee Yang
- Episode 16: Anh Luu
- Episode 17: Jenn Fang
- Episode 18: Hollis Wong-Wear
- Episode 19: Chris Her-Xiong
- Episode 20: Sam Choy
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