Introducing VC Archives Artists-In-Residence
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Visual Communications is proud to announce the VC Archives Artists in Residence, a program years in the making, rooted in our commitment to resourcing artists as stewards, creators, and extensions of our community-first values.
This residency invites four artists to engage with the Visual Communications Archives, one of the largest repositories of Asian American and Pacific Islander media history, as both a site of research and a space for creative reflection. Grounded in our ongoing renewal practices, the program centers process over product, offering artists the time and space to question, experiment, and connect without the pressures of rapid production.
At its core, this residency is a response to the urgency and constraints that so often shape creative work. Here, artists are encouraged to deconstruct their own processes and imagine new relationships between archives and storytelling.
With support through mentorship, peer dialogue, and access to various archival resources, each artist will craft their own path within the archive, contributing to a living, breathing record that continues to grow alongside our communities.
We are honored to welcome our inaugural cohort, four visionary artists whose practices reflect a deep commitment to uplifting communities through media arts.
Mia Barnett
Mia Barnett (she/her) is a filmmaker and organizer based in Los Angeles with a passion for building community. Her documentary short APATHY IS NOT AN OPTION was produced in association with Asian American Documentary Network and played at CAAMFest and New Orleans Film Festival. Mia organizes with Nikkei Progressives, a grassroots activism organization based in Little Tokyo. Music is one of her lifelong passions, and she plays clarinet with the Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles concert band and jazz band. Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Mia graduated from Kenyon College with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Political Science. In her free time, she enjoys reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, and going to karaoke.
Derek Benig
Derek Benig is a Filipinx American director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, California by way of SF, DC, Boulder and Boston. He is an alumni of Emerson College. His films have played at BIFF, VC Film Fest, DisOrient, DCAPA, SAPFF, HAAPI Fest, SDFFF and New Filmmakers LAamong other film festivals. When he is not working, you can find him doing live sound at Tuesday Night Cafe or playing tabletop roleplaying games with his friends.
Habiba Hassaan
Habiba is a filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist with a rich, multicultural background, born in Egypt and currently based in Los Angeles. Holding a BFA in Animation from California State University Long Beach, she brings a dynamic approach to storytelling, blending traditional techniques with mixed media. Her work often explores themes of identity and belonging, rooted in her diverse experiences. Her films have a distinctive, experimental style that reflects her passion for challenging conventions and crafting visually compelling narratives.
Linda Wei
Linda is a storyteller who had seven different names by the time she turned seven – gifts, errors, and impositions from clashing cultures and institutions. As a first-generation Chinese-American adopted into a Black and mixed-race family, she found refuge in the visual arts amid a tangle of identities. Ever since, she has fiercely championed the right to choose one’s own name and tell one’s own story. Linda studied international affairs at Georgetown University and Film Directing at CalArts. She advocates for narrative agency beyond the screen, mentors teens at WriteGirl LA, and was a 2024 Flaherty Fellow and 2022 Sundance Collab Community Leader.
