Rachel TonThat and Miyabe Shields with the North Shore AAPI Coalition

Rachel TonThat, a multidisciplinary artist and writer working across community art, installation, and research-based art writing, and Miyabe Shields, a PhD biochemist and public educator for natural and alternative medicines for neurodivergent communities, are leading an imagination team in collaboration with the North Shore AAPI Coalition. Based in Salem, MA, this team initially came together in 2024 to advocate changing the dated imagery of an Asian man on the Salem city seal, a process which stirred a lot of controversy. Through CISJ, this team is exploring the role of public artmaking in fostering more equitable and inclusive understandings of the diverse histories that shape Salem today.