Book Launch: Between Dreams

Between Dreams: Resistance and Representation in Asian Aotearoa presents fresh, progressive perspectives on what it means to be ‘Asian’ in Aotearoa.

This landmark collection, published by Te Papa Press, 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.

Te Papa curator and editor of Between Dreams Grace Gassin will be joined by contributors Serena Lal, Keith Ng and Sapna Samant for this special panel event celebrating the launch of the book.

***

About the Speakers:
Dr Grace Gassin (林素真) is Curator Asian New Zealand Histories at Te Papa. Raised in her mother’s Malaysian Chinese family, Grace proudly identifies as a second-generation Chinese (Hokkien) New Zealander of mixed heritage. Grace’s overarching focus is on highlighting the diverse historical and contemporary experiences of New Zealand’s many Asian diaspora communities. Her wide-ranging interests also encompass the politics of inclusion and interpretation that frame our understandings of Asian diaspora histories, and transnational dimensions of Asian Australasian diaspora experiences. She is also a committed delegate for E tū union.
 
Keith Ng is a Hong Kong New Zealander based in Pōneke. He has been a freelance writer, journalist and data-visualisation specialist for most of his career, and a data journalist for the NZ Herald until 2022. His work has ranged from reporting on politics, public finances and cybersecurity to investigations of companies and hidden assets. He currently works as a data scientist in the public sector, and occasionally as a freelance digital investigator. He was in Hong Kong during the summer of 2019, and he still misses the city’s Museum of History.
 
Dr Sapna Samant डाॅ. सपना सामंत. is a writer, filmmaker, radio producer, activist, GP and single mum. A migrant herself, Sapna tells migrant and refugee stories through her company Holy Cow Media. She has made award-winning content for Radio New Zealand and produced The Asian Radio Show, which played on Radio Live from 2008 to 2012. While her initial filmmaking mahi was through a pan- Asian lens, her activism has led her to focus on making visible the many Indian and other South Asian stories in Aotearoa.
 
Serena Lal is a liberation‑led innovator and Fijian Indian girmitya descendant, raised as a 1.5‑generation migrant in Tāmaki Makaurau and now living in Pōneke. A long‑serving member of Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga, she works across cross‑cultural partnerships, mental health, governance, and community‑led innovation, and leads Kites Trust, a peer‑led Tāngata Whaiora organisation grounded in lived experience.

Grace Gassin, Keith Ng, Sapna Samant and Serena Lal