Creating Space Los Angeles hosted a groundbreaking community mental health event earlier this month in collaboration with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) and Rideback Rise.

Over 200 individuals congregated for a five-hour guided mental health session at Rideback Ranch, a creative campus and performance space in LA’s historic Filipinotown. Participants engaged in art and talk therapy, journaling, guided meditation, and an audience Q&A with a distinguished panel of AAPI figures.

The why, who, and need for Creating Space

Fashion designer Phillip Lim founded and co-hosted the initiative to address critical mental health gaps in the AANHPI community following an inaugural event in July at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

“We are self-healing creations—we just need to make space to realize it. If you don’t have space, you cannot observe, cannot reflect, cannot create and cannot heal,” Lim said. He aims to destigmatize mental health and encourage Asian Americans to embark on crucial first steps in their own health journeys.

Co-hosts Lisa Ling, a renowned journalist and Melvin Mar, a film producer best known for his work on hit shows Fresh Off The Boat and American Born Chinese joined Lim. Dr. Jenny Wang, a clinical psychologist and author of Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans, facilitated panel and Q&A discussions.

“Asian American identity has always been in evolution. In the context of mental health, our community is currently in a struggle for reclamation and rebirth,” Wang said. “We are working to shed the stigmas of the past that kept us from accessing the growth and healing that our current and future generations deserve.” 

Creating Space for everyone

Despite the glossy L.A. venue and high-profile names, the event was not exclusive. Creating Space aimed to extend its reach beyond specific industries, attracting individuals beyond entertainment and AAPI activist circles. Notably, the diverse audience included college students from USC and non-AAPI participants.

Brian Pang, Development Director at Electronic Arts and a volunteer for the event expressed delight in seeing new faces.

“One thing I was really hoping for, which was accomplished, is we were able to break out of the echo chamber a little bit,” Pang said. “There are some people who showed up who weren’t as active in the Asian American community. They hadn’t gone to many Asian American events. Some people even mentioned that this was one of their first few that they’ve ever been to and felt so emboldened and empowered from it.”

The event provided a much-needed respite for those immersed in creative work or dealing with compassion fatigue. Pang, heavily involved with numerous Asian American organizations, expressed gratitude, thanking Dr. Wang for creating space.

“I’m just very grateful for having an event like this in a series like this. The way I see it is mental wellness and mental health are underpinning everything that we do. If we don’t take care of ourselves, then we can’t do this community work that we all do,” he said.

See also: Cultivating a space for Asian mental health conversations

Creating Space for the past and future

Within Creating Space’s diverse demographic, shared stories and understanding emerged. Discussions delved into various topics, including parenting and family. 

Dr. Wang and Ling shared anecdotes on motherhood, prompting attendee Ryan Alexander Holmes, a mixed Black and Chinese actor, content creator, and activist, to open up about caring for the mental health of his own parents.

“I was surprised that there were so many others in the Asian community that wanted to share their very emotional experiences,” Holmes said. “Growing up Asian American, I’d always believed that emotional repression was the norm. The event was very healing for me in many ways. It made me feel that I wasn’t alone in the way that I feel deeply and process my emotions.”

Both Holmes and Pang agreed they would like to have semi-regular Creating Space events and additional resources. They called for counseling, workbooks, courses, tools, and even online check-ins that could elevate Creating Space’s programming into a more significant movement.

The Creating Space team hopes to expand into other cities in the future.