NoMAA Outstanding awards for Veronica Liu
A Fil-Can blooms in Manhattan
By By Aida E. D’Orazio
Fri 22nd July 2011
A multi-talented and multi-awarded Filipino-Canadian young woman has made the news again in New York recently.
Last year, Torontonian Veronica Liu was a recipient of three outstanding awards from: the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) a grant for the completion of her novel, Your Chinese Tea is Getting Cold; the Community Arts Fund for coordinating an arts fair, and the Citizens Committee of New York City for a video oral history project on immigration.
Veronica Liu
Last month, The New York Times, The Manhattan Times and The Uptown News each devoted a whole page to Lius latest entrepreneurial endeavour and literary efforts to educate, inform and entertain literary and art lovers with her setting up of Word Up, the newest, possibly even first, pop-up bookstore at 4157 Broadway near W. 175th St. in Washington Heights.
What really created the excitement was more on how it came about and the collective effort it spawned. According to Gloria Pazmio of The Manhattan Times, The Word Up bookstore was at first only an idea in the heads of Veronica Liu, a resident of Washington Heights and managing editor of Seven Stories Press, Sandra Garcia Betancourt and Diana Caba, of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA).
Describing it as a book of connect the dots, Liu said that she, Betancourt and Caba came together to finally solidify the pop-up bookstore idea after many conversations about the possibility of having a book festival join the Uptown Arts Stroll. It was then that they reached out to Vantage Properties, which owns and manages commercial real estate in Northern Manhattan. Vantage then partnered with NoMAA to donate the Broadway space for a month, just when Liu, Betancourt and Caba had hoped: during June, for the Stroll.
What followed after was a community work of love - volunteers rushing to help unpack and organize the hundreds of books that come from different places. All the books which range from comic books to novels, history and literature, some in Spanish and other languages, are on consignment, and many come from small presses.
The stir over this once empty space, formerly occupied by a pharmacy, had aroused curiousity in the neighbourhood at first. That curiousity has now turned to joy and pride. The community is thrilled to have a neighbourhood bookstore which does not only sell books but also hosts events featuring local artists and writers. And the good news is that the bookstore may remain open not only for a month but for a longer time.
Meanwhile, Lius mom, FCT Chair Dr. Victoria Santiago, had this to say when contacted: Dont fuss over this. She doesnt like publicizing her work. But I want to let you know that the reason I did not show up at the FCT Victoria Invitational Basketball Tournament (May 21 and 22) was because I was in New York. I had attended a 3-day workshop/seminar and was to leave for Toronto afterwards. But Veronica called Air Canada, paid the change fee and persuaded me to watch a must see play that she produced for the kids from Washington Heights and the South Bronx. It was about American history in the words of the kids, a 16-week program. The play was published in a book form and the authors (the kids) had some sort of book signing after the play for those who bought a book. Venue was very fitting, at the Morris-Jumel Mansion a big house that General Washington used as his headquarters before and after he was president. She found her calling, and this makes me very proud of her.
As it turned out, this experience was one of the reasons why Liu was inspired to open the Word Up bookstore.
Her mom further said, How I wish shes doing all these in Toronto. But, shes happier in NYC. She gave up a full scholarship in UBC. Everything paid for including the dorm, pero underwhelmed daw siya (but she was underwhelmed).
A Fil-Can blooms in Manhattan
Fri 22nd July 2011
A multi-talented and multi-awarded Filipino-Canadian young woman has made the news again in New York recently.
Last year, Torontonian Veronica Liu was a recipient of three outstanding awards from: the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) a grant for the completion of her novel, Your Chinese Tea is Getting Cold; the Community Arts Fund for coordinating an arts fair, and the Citizens Committee of New York City for a video oral history project on immigration.
Veronica Liu
Last month, The New York Times, The Manhattan Times and The Uptown News each devoted a whole page to Lius latest entrepreneurial endeavour and literary efforts to educate, inform and entertain literary and art lovers with her setting up of Word Up, the newest, possibly even first, pop-up bookstore at 4157 Broadway near W. 175th St. in Washington Heights.
What really created the excitement was more on how it came about and the collective effort it spawned. According to Gloria Pazmio of The Manhattan Times, The Word Up bookstore was at first only an idea in the heads of Veronica Liu, a resident of Washington Heights and managing editor of Seven Stories Press, Sandra Garcia Betancourt and Diana Caba, of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA).
Describing it as a book of connect the dots, Liu said that she, Betancourt and Caba came together to finally solidify the pop-up bookstore idea after many conversations about the possibility of having a book festival join the Uptown Arts Stroll. It was then that they reached out to Vantage Properties, which owns and manages commercial real estate in Northern Manhattan. Vantage then partnered with NoMAA to donate the Broadway space for a month, just when Liu, Betancourt and Caba had hoped: during June, for the Stroll.
What followed after was a community work of love - volunteers rushing to help unpack and organize the hundreds of books that come from different places. All the books which range from comic books to novels, history and literature, some in Spanish and other languages, are on consignment, and many come from small presses.
The stir over this once empty space, formerly occupied by a pharmacy, had aroused curiousity in the neighbourhood at first. That curiousity has now turned to joy and pride. The community is thrilled to have a neighbourhood bookstore which does not only sell books but also hosts events featuring local artists and writers. And the good news is that the bookstore may remain open not only for a month but for a longer time.
Meanwhile, Lius mom, FCT Chair Dr. Victoria Santiago, had this to say when contacted: Dont fuss over this. She doesnt like publicizing her work. But I want to let you know that the reason I did not show up at the FCT Victoria Invitational Basketball Tournament (May 21 and 22) was because I was in New York. I had attended a 3-day workshop/seminar and was to leave for Toronto afterwards. But Veronica called Air Canada, paid the change fee and persuaded me to watch a must see play that she produced for the kids from Washington Heights and the South Bronx. It was about American history in the words of the kids, a 16-week program. The play was published in a book form and the authors (the kids) had some sort of book signing after the play for those who bought a book. Venue was very fitting, at the Morris-Jumel Mansion a big house that General Washington used as his headquarters before and after he was president. She found her calling, and this makes me very proud of her.
As it turned out, this experience was one of the reasons why Liu was inspired to open the Word Up bookstore.
Her mom further said, How I wish shes doing all these in Toronto. But, shes happier in NYC. She gave up a full scholarship in UBC. Everything paid for including the dorm, pero underwhelmed daw siya (but she was underwhelmed).