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From artists to brain surgeons, fashion designers to board directors – this series brings you the unique stories of people who celebrate Lunar New Year. Hosted by Valerie Khoo – Curator of the City of Sydney's annual Sydney Lunar Festival – it’s a journey into the Asian Australian experience. You’ll discover the personalities and passions of people who meld their cultural traditions with the sunburnt country that they call home.
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Navigating Culture | Sharing The Stories of Bold, Brave & Badass Immigrant Women Creating their Dream Life
Anya Cherrice
the Navigating Culture podcast shares the stories of Bold, Brave & Badass Immigrant Women as they create their Dream Life despite the Naysayers. This podcast helps immigrants and people from immigrant communities redefine outdated ideas of success and live on their own terms. On this podcast, you'll hear stories and strategies from immigrants who said 'heck no' to blindly following tradition and 'heck yes' to living a life beyond other people's expectations. The, host Anya Cherrice, ch ...
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Hello friends, Listen to this episode to learn what updates are in store for the Navigating Culture podcast. Sneak peak: Anya, the Navigating Culture podcast, host has decide to pause the podcast till next year. Tune in to find out why. Don't forget to share your thoughts, stories, ideas with Anya via instagram at: @navigatingculture or email the t…
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What does it mean to make it in The United States of America? So many of us were sold the dream that making it means we need the huge house, the million dollars or the flashiest car. But could ‘making’ it mean something else entirely? Meet Johanna Vizmanos, an immigrant from the Philippines who thought coming to America would be the answer to all t…
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At 4 years old, Parisa immigrated to the USA from Iran and became the weird girl with the parents who had weird accents. After the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, her Arizonian community shrouded her in suspicion — she was now also a weird terrorist. Those labels compelled her to push for that ever-moving goal-post of ‘Good Immigrant’ but, as many of …
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Western ideals of success, often deeply rooted in capitalism, are often demonstrated as the only goals worth pursuing in colonized countries. In the Caribbean, we show this mentality through the extreme focus on rote memorization, earning all A’s in exams and eventually if you’re good enough, if you’re worthy enough, gaining acceptance into an inte…
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Raise your hand if any of the following resonates with you. 1) You feel like the only way you can accomplish your goals is through working harder and longer than everybody else. 2) You feel that being successful means that you have to just accept working with people who are disrespectful and mean. 3) You feel like you are a disappointment because y…
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Honoring Your Community’s Cultural Expectations While Finding Ways to Dream Beyond Them with Parween Mander
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A common belief held amongst older women in immigrant communities is the expectation for younger women to be the traditional good daughter and daughter-in-law. Parween came face to face with this expectation as a random auntie asked her, “What do you do for work?” Parween told her about her business helping women of color improve their financial li…
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“Therapy?” I can hear the echoes of the aunties' judgments now. Though the guilt and shame took me some time to work through, I eventually decided that this was the right decision for me. I have suffered from depression and anxiety since I was young. As both an immigrant and a Millenial, it is no surprise that this is something I am still dealing w…
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For most of us, there is a tight network of parents, aunties, uncles, and even neighbors who watch our every move, ensuring that we are well behaved, whatever that means. Alicia felt the same pressures growing up. Her parents raised her to be fiercely independent outside of the home. But when her parents spoke, they expected her to follow their eve…
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We live in a world that often tells us to dim our light. Especially as immigrants in a new country, we’re often told to keep our heads down and blend in. Shinjini Das was born in India, moved to Malaysia, and finally immigrated to the USA when she was nine. That first move to New Jersey sparked her journey of learning how to trust and accept her am…
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“You should be more grateful.” We hear that phrase often from our parents. It’s also a phrase that is echoed and amplified when we move to a new country. That phrase comes back to haunt us with a specific type of energy when we express our desire to dream bigger. Don’t get me wrong - being grateful is important. It helps you love yourself, accept y…
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The Navigating Culture mission in its essence is about motivating and inspiring you to discover what lights you up and make it a part of your everyday life. No matter what Auntie or anyone else for that matter says. Most of the time, these explorations lead people outside of the confines of their traditional 9-to-5. But what happens to those of us …
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How to Redefine Success, Acknowledge Your Value, and Heal in an Immigrant Community with Nisha Mody
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Nisha Mody is not an immigrant, but she grew up surrounded by these brave souls. Her parents immigrated from India to the USA, which taught Nisha from a very young age to internalize the belief of working hard and earning your place by any means necessary. Like many immigrants and children of immigrant parents, Nisha remembers vividly the lectures …
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Maybe you’ve taken a chance and left your comfortable life to start over in a new country. Maybe you thought, “I'm experienced, I'm established. beginning again should not be that difficult.” Only to realize several months later, you can't seem to figure out where you belong, or what you should be doing in the place you now call home. This is exact…
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What would you do if I said, ‘The world doesn’t want you to like yourself.’ Would you nod your head in agreement? Would you roll your eyes and mutter something about getting over it? Or would your reaction depend on the day or what happened to you the week before? If most of your days feel like the world isn’t excited to see you win, I get that. As…
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Finding your identity is a huge struggle amongst immigrant children. Not only do they have to deal with cultural differences, but they have to navigate the difficult world of acknowledging and breaking generational patterns. Cassandra Le is the first generation daughter of immigrant parents who fled Vietnam as refugees in the 80s. She now resides i…
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Many immigrant children grow up with the expectation of landing a job in corporate America. Having faced the struggles of immigrating to a new country and working multiple jobs to keep the family afloat, immigrant parents want their children to live a life of stability, respectability, and acceptance. Shop all available merch including our signatur…
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Immigrants start at the ground level yet are expected to meet shoulder to shoulder with their peers on every level. That’s why episode 3 of The Navigating Culture Podcast is about taking control of immigrant stereotypes! Shop all available merch including our signature “Not Today, Aunty” sweatshirt! In this episode of The Navigating Culture Podcast…
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So often immigrants think that they must get outside approval in order to prove they are becoming successful citizens. No matter how hard they try and the things they accomplish, it never seems like it’ll be good enough. That’s why episode 2 of the Navigating Culture Podcast is about redefining what success looks like to you! Shop all available mer…
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When someone asks, "What does it mean to be successful?' What do you think? What person jumps to your mind. It's true that when we were younger, we may have had one version of success we aspired to, but as we grow (physically and in other ways) it's okay for this vision to shift and change with you. That’s why episode 1 of the Navigating Culture Po…
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Navigating Culture, hosted by Anya Cherrice, helps immigrants and people from immigrant communities redefine archaic ideas of success and live on their own terms (even if Aunty disapproves). An immigrant from Trinidad, Anya understands the pressure immigrants feel from their community, the people in their new homes, and even from themselves to buil…
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This series, we’ve been looking at some prominent Chinese personalities from Sydney’s history. As we’ve learned, there has been a small but strong Chinese presence in Australia right from the start of colonisation. But what about other Asian communities? Walk down any main street in Sydney and you’ll find restaurants serving Thai food, Malaysian di…
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In the stories of Chinese and Asian people in Australian history, there’s one group that’s noticeably missing: women! There were many notable Chinese men in Sydney’s early days and in the 20th century. If you’ve been listening to this podcast series, you’ve discovered some of them. But where are the ladies? Many historians have glossed over Chinese…
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Sun Johnson was the editor of Australia’s first national Chinese newspaper, which started publication in 1894. He was born in Hong Kong and educated in London, before moving to Australia as a young man. Sun used his linguistic skills to create a Chinese-Australian dictionary, aimed primarily at helping Chinese people deal with Australian merchants.…
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William Liu was a tireless campaigner for the rights of other Chinese Australians to live and settle peacefully in this country. Earlier in his life, he had been instrumental in exporting Australia’s department store model to China and Hong Kong. William fervently believed that economic ties between the two countries was the key to a strong relatio…
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Mei Quong Tart was one of the most recognised figures in Sydney during the late 1800s. He was an entrepreneur and philanthropist – and most importantly, he opened Sydney’s very first cafes. Yes, we owe our fantastic cafe culture to a Chinese immigrant who spoke with a Scottish accent. We know a lot about the life and works of Mei Quong Tart because…
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John Shying is the first known Chinese person to arrive in Australia and make a life Down Under. He emigrated to the colony at Sydney as a young man in 1818, just 30 years after the First Fleet. He was a skilled tradesman and earned his keep as a carpenter before moving out west and becoming a publican. John Shying was a keen property developer, bu…
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Eddie Woo is Leader of Mathematics Growth at the NSW Department of Education and he teaches at Cherrybrook Technology High School, the largest secondary school in NSW. He is known for his innovation and personal approach in the classroom, which in 2012 led him to start posting videos online for a student who was sick with cancer and missing a lot o…
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Professor Charlie Teo is one of Australia’s leading brain surgeons and is known for operating on brain tumours that have been considered by many others as ‘inoperable’. He’s the only Australian neurosurgeon to be Board Certified in both Australia and the US, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, has also been named the Most Trusted Pers…
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Louise Zhang is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture and installation. She designed the playful Monkey Tower lantern for the Sydney Lunar Festival. With an interest in horror cinema, particularly the body horror genre, Zhang is interested in the dynamics between the attractive and repulsive. By exploring how themes of…
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Ien Ang, is a Professor of Cultural Studies at Western Sydney University. Ien is Chinese and was born in Indonesia but her parents migrated to The Netherlands when she was 12. Her books, including Watching Dallas, Desperately seeking the audience and On not speaking Chinese, are recognised as classics in the field and her work has been translated i…
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Dai Le is a champion for diversity and, as a result, founded DAWN, a platform that gives voice to diverse and inclusive talent who are shaping today’s society. Dai speaks, consults, and help organisations understand the economic and social benefits of leveraging diversity and inclusion as part of their business development, market innovation and co…
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Kate Bagnall is a historian and expert on Chinese migration in Australia. Kate’s fascination with China start decades ago and she’s currently co-editing a publication on Chinese Australian women, from some of the earliest women who settled here from China. It’s an important initiative because, as Kate says, we tend of think of Chinese Australian hi…
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Laurens Tan splits his time between Las Vegas, Beijing and Wollongong. He designed the Ox lantern for the Sydney Lunar Festival. Laurens was born in The Hague to Chinese Indonesian parents from Surabaya. At the age of 12, they migrated to Australia and while Laurens first got started in music and playing in bands, he eventually turned to studying a…
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Angela Foong is a fashion designer who co-founded the Newcastle-based label ‘High Tea with Mrs Woo’ with her sisters, Rowena and Juliana. The siblings were born in Malaysia and their family migrated to Australia in 1988. Fascinated with the memory, and the memoir of clothing, they explore the ability of fashion to unfold a great yarn. They describe…
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Dr Geoff Lee is the Member for Parramatta. In March 2015, Dr Geoff Lee won the NSW seat of Parramatta for the second consecutive term. This is the first time in 60 years the seat has been held by a Liberal Party member for two consecutive terms. However, Geoff wasn’t always a politician and says he fell into it accidentally. He’s now Member of the …
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Pamela See is one of the artists featured in the Sydney Lunar Festival in 2019. Born in Brisbane to Chinese Malaysian parents who migrated to Australia, Pamela is the artist behind the beautiful sheep lantern inspired by the traditional art of Chinese paper cutting. Her technique bears resemblance to Foshan papercutting that emerged during the Song…
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Ky Chow is media consultant and journalist. Ky has worked as a television and radio reporter and writer for Australia's top news organisations including the ABC, Sky News, the Australian Financial Review and SBS. Ky was the first male Chinese-Australian news reporter and his consulting work includes media training, freelance writing, video producin…
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Jackie M is an expert on South-East Asian cuisine and has a whopping 1.9 million followers from around the world. She is a TV presenter, writer and pioneer of live video streaming, having broadcast the first of what would become a weekly cooking show back in 2012. Jackie moved to Australia at the age of 17, studied IT and learnt multiple languages …
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Born in Australian to Chinese parents who were educated in Australia – but who came from Papua New Guinea – Brad says he wasn’t surrounded by many Asian traditions while he was growing up. Now Brad is founder of HaymarketHQ, a startup hub with a particular focus on helping startups grow into Asian markets. The hub also provides space for events and…
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Elaine Chia is CEO of City Recital Hall, one of Sydney’s leading arts, entertainment and festival venues. Her career spans music, theatre and visual arts, and she is a passionate advocate for the arts. Elaine’s formal introduction into arts management began with the Australian Youth Orchestra. Her role on her first symphony orchestra tour was to so…
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Marina Go is chair of the Wests Tigers NRL Club and has been named by Boss magazine as one of the country’s 20 True Leaders. She is author of the business book for women, Break Through: 20 Success Strategies for Female Leaders and has forged a successful board career after spending decades as a leading figure in the media industry. Marina is Chair …
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