The Hapa Project

The Hapa Project is a multiracial identity art project created by American artist Kip Fulbeck. The project embodies a range of mediums, including a published book, traveling photographic exhibition, satellite community presentations, and online communities.

Fulbeck began the project in 2001, traveling the country photographing over 1200 volunteer subjects who self-identified as Hapa (defined for the project as mixed ethnic heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry) Each individual was photographed in a similar minimalist style (directly head-on, unclothed from the shoulders up, and without jewelry, glasses, excess make-up, or purposeful expression). After being photographed, participants chose their own racial/ethnic terms to describe themselves, then responded to the question "What are you?" in their own handwriting. The photographs, self-descriptions, and handwritten responses were then combined and displayed as a collection.

Over 1200 volunteer participants were photographed at dozens of shoots throughout California and Hawaii, as well as Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin.

The Hapa Project was created to promote awareness and recognition of the millions of multiracial/multiethnic individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander descent in the U.S; to give voice to multiracial people and previously ignored ethnic groups; to dispel myths of exoticism, hybrid vigor and racial homogeneity; to foster positive identity formation and self-image in multiracial children; and to encourage solidarity and empowerment within the multiracial/Hapa community. Fulbeck also notes that a main objective "... was to make the book I wish I owned when I was a kid. I never knew anyone else like me, going through things I went through, not fitting in, always having to choose sides ... Identity is a personal process and I’m adamant that it should be a personal decision, not one made by a community, a government or others."

Fulbeck states that despite its utilization of common racial classifications, The Hapa Project is fundamentally a project about identity rather than a project about race: "It's about identity using race as a starting point." He argues that race in itself is not biologically determined, but socially created: "For the record, race is not a scientifically sound assumption. For example, there is no DNA difference between human beings. We are all African. Biologically, race does not exist. It is a social and cultural construct ... The U.S. is a country with a long history of social genocide (Native Americans, African slavery, etc.) and this was all due to the seeming differences we attributed to race. Yes, it is very convenient to categorize people according to race. It is also extremely inaccurate, however."

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