All tagged interview

Discussing the Creative Process and the Importance of Instilling Cultural Literacy in Children Through Media with Kathleen Sarnelli Kapukchyan

On March 1, 2024,  the “Vardavar!” episode of Mickey Mouse Funhouse went live, heralding the  first instance of Armenian cultural representation in Disney programming and mainstream children’s television media at large. Kathleen Sarnelli Kapukchyan, a Staff Writer for the show, was the creative force responsible for bringing this vision to the television screen, and I got to ask her a few questions about her process as a writer and the deeper implications of media representation in regards to cultural literacy for children. Read on to learn more about how Kathleen approaches her craft as a writer and how the celebrated “Vardavar!” episode came to fruition. 

Nydya Mora of Virgens de Los Angeles Uses Photography to Combat Cultural Erasure Amid Gentrification in L.A.

Meet Nydya Mora, a native Angeleno who documents the murals and shrines of the Virgen de Guadalupe all over Los Angeles and publishes them on her Instagram page, Virgens de Los Angeles. Read on for our discussion on Nydya’s heritage which inspired this project, the pride she has for her home city, and the urgent need to combat cultural erasure amid gentrification, particularly in the Latinx communities of L.A.