We recently connected with Yuko Kudo and have shared our conversation below.
Yuko, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Thank you so much for having me and giving the space for more creatives to share about their work and their process. Our mission is to help people find a renewed appreciation for Art and Human resilience through storytelling. A documentary series “Untapped Storytellers” was created in January 2020. During the Pandemic, the life of artists changed drastically. In United States,
– 63% of Arts Workers experienced unemployment & 95% lost creative income.
– BIPOC Arts Workers had higher rates of unemployment than white artists.
Yet, people continue to find peace and healing in art and creativity. It is our mission to share the stories of artists and the power of art and creativity.
Yuko, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Untapped Storytellers is a cheerleader for artists and creatives. We create an award winning documentary series and help people understand the inside of Creative Industry and life of artists and creatives. Bringing people together one story at a time.
I move to the United States in 2003, when I was 19 years old as an immigrant. I am 4’10”, Japanese and an Actress who look like 12 on stage. I was casted often for stereotype Asian characters like Harajuku girl, tech hacker or one of the Asian people in the background to set up the scene. I felt like I wasn’t really seen for who I am. But every job felt like a privilege for me even when it was little or no pay. Because that was still opportunities that I could add to my Visa application or “exposure” could possibly get me somewhere in the future. I took it because I was a part of “paying the due” And I did that for over a decade and while I was juggling survival jobs.
I quit auditioning in 2017 and I’ve been curating space for artists and developing my own work. I self-produced three sold out solo shows, including during the Pandemic. In February 2021 a group of us produced the digital hybrid theatre called ”I Came Here To Be Love”. that was 100% community funded and all creative team were paid equitably.
In 2020, with Co-Producer and a filmmaker Michael Cutrone, we started developing Untapped Storytellers as a documentary series, about the life of NY-based artists during the pandemic, and how they have been contributing to their communities through their creative work. The artists and performers featured come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, representing Asian-American, Black, Queer, and Disabled communities, amongst others. Their work brings a range of contemporary issues into focus, from various obstacles rooted in bias, to the struggles of building sustainable, healthy practices.
We are all artists in our unique way. And when we come together, we can all heal together. And we need healing right now. Big time.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The very reason we are here is because of our resilience. Art and Entertainment industry was one of the first to shut down and one of the last to come back from the Pandemic. The fact that we were considered as “non-Essential” is tragic. Because art is a catalyst for healing, connecting, education, and social movement. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) , arts and cultural economic activity, Arts and cultural economic activity is accounted for 4.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or $876.7 billion, in 2020.
We have to change the narrative of “Art is not a real job”. or “Struggling Artists” more urgent than ever. We expanded our work to be more educational so that people who don’t consider themselves as an “artist”, such as consumers, or art enthusiasts, can have a better understanding of the power of artists and creatives.
In 2021, we took part in UN’s International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development during General Assembly. We partnered with global organizations such as United Voices 4 Peace, Ecovicilisation, G-100 Wings to further advocate for the Sustainability of Art and Culture.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Human First. Always have to remember that we are all humans first. Communication is a huge part of our culture. And few important things for us are…
1. To acknowledge people’s different communication styles and learning styles.
2. To have an explicit understanding and eliminate unspoken expectations as much as possible.
3. To have a regular check in both as a human and as an organization. As our projects grow, so do our roles and scope of work. It’s important that people are on the same page about the role, expectations and systems that are in place.
Oh, and celebrate each other often!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.untappedstorytellers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untapped_storytellers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UntappedStorytellers
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Zj01BdM-LQyoBDpdtuXIA
Image Credits
@Yuko Kudo @Michael Cutrone