Author/artist Kip Fulbeck on campus April 3

Fulbeck’s own multiracial background is the springboard for conversations on ethnic stereotypes and cultural identity.

“Who Are You?” a presentation on diversity and identity by artist/author/filmmaker Kip Fulbeck, is scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, at Skidmore College.

Free and open to the public, the event will be in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall. A book signing will follow the presentation.

Known for creating work that is an insightful, wry, and an often-acidic commentary on race, identity, and popular culture, Fulbeck uses his own multiracial background as a springboard to explore ethnic stereotypes and opinions on cultural identity.

Fulbeck is currently professor and chair of the Department of Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Part poet, part comedian, and part pop culture critic, Fulbeck moves past “diversity” as a conversation only about race and inspires audiences to tackle the larger questions of who we are as individuals, how we define ourselves, and how we engage with those around us.

He is the author of several books, including Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids; Part Asian, 100% Hapa; and Permanence: Tattoo Portraits. He is the originator of “The Hapa Project,” which has been featured at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York City. Once a derogatory label derived from the Hawaiian word for “half,” hapa has since been embraced as a term of pride by many whose mixed racial heritage includes Asian or Pacific Island descent. Fulbeck photographed more than 1,200 people from all walks of life who identify as hapa – from babies to adults –construction workers to rock stars, engineers to comic book artists.

Fulbeck also is the director of a dozen short films, including Banana Split and Lilo & Me.

At UC Santa Barbara, Fulbeck has received the Distinguished Teaching Award and been named an Outstanding Faculty Member five times. In recognition for his work promoting multiracial awareness, he was awarded the inaugural Loving Prize at the 2009 Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival and also named a “Cultural Pioneer” at Harvard University.

He has been featured on CNN, MTV, the Today show, and PBS, and has exhibited his films, performances and photography throughout the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial, the Singapore International Film Festival, the National Conference on Race in Higher Education, and the Honolulu Contemporary Arts Museum.

Fulbeck's Skidmore visit is sponsored by the Office of Student Diversity Programs with generous support from Arts Administration, Asian Cultural Awareness, Asian Studies, CODA, Education Studies, Gender Studies, Speakers Bureau, Intercultural Studies, IGR, Management and Business, Office of the Dean of Special Programs, Opportunity Programs, Psychology, Social Work, and the Tang Teaching Museum.