Between Dreams: Resistance and Representation in Asian Aotearoa

Edited by Grace Gassin

Publication: May 2026
Pages: 288
Format: Flexibind with jacket
ISBN: 978-1-99-116558-9

RRP: $50

Buy Between Dreams

This landmark collection presents fresh, progressive perspectives on what it means to be ‘Asian’ in Aotearoa.

Te Papa curator Grace Gassin draws together journalists, researchers, activists, filmmakers and political commentators to relate experiences of living between cultures and to explore the legacies of New Zealand’s diverse Asian diaspora histories.

Featuring a broad range of taonga from the museum’s collections, this timely book brings these social histories into focus, revealing shared themes of resistance and representation that offer ways to reckon with the past and imagine new futures.

Contributions by: Umi Asaka, Mohan Dutta, Christopher Fung, Rebekah Jaung, Tze Ming Mok, Keith Ng, Sun-Min Elle Park, Sapna Samant, Balamohan Shingade, Isaac Te Awa (Ngāpuhi, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Waitaha) and Sidney Wong.

Review highlights

• NZ Booklovers, reviewed by Lyn Potter. “I found Between Dreams a compelling and important read. The stories by Asians from different backgrounds and cultures deepened my understanding of what it means to be an Asian living in Aotearoa. I admire them for their activism and how they are working towards making us a truly multicultural society in which we embrace our diversity, let every voice be heard, and ensure equality for all.”

• Journal of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies, reviewed by Dazheng Zeng. "Between Dreams, edited by Grace Gassin, brings together activists, artists, filmmakers, researchers, and political commentators ... All contributions are grounded in the authors’ personal histories, portraying the diverse experiences of Asian communities from the viewpoint of a younger generation of migrants to Aotearoa who look both forwards and backwards.”

• Otago Daily Times, reviewed by Jessie Neilson. “The vibrant, attention-grabbing cover of Between Dreams shows a multitude of layered sticky notes, each blank but with unlimited potential. This wall of notes encompassing the physical book is but one example of a Lennon Wall, a form of protest enthusiastically taken up by Hong Kong’s democratic supporters from 2014. Rather than turn to violence or anger, this collective form of protest announces solidarity, freedom of speech, and resistance. Between Dreams showcases many such instances of Asian communities taking a stand against the legacies of colonialism and oppression here and abroad.”

Author interviews and extracts

• The Post, extract from the chapter ‘Not your model minority’ by Grace Gassin.

• RNZ Culture 101, Grace Gassin interviewed by Perlina Lau.

• RadioActive, Grace Gassin interviewed on The Breakfast Show.

• The Press, extract from the chapter ‘Ain’t I a worker? Asian encounters with the “working man’s paradise”’ by Grace Gassin.

• ReadingRoom, extract from the chapter ‘A call from the farthest trumpet’ by Keith Ng.