ABOUT THE ARTISTS

https://www.sitachay.com

REMA HASUMI is a New York-based sound designer and improviser, whose eclectic background spans classical, jazz, and experimental music. The foundation of her music is grounded in a wide range of pianistic expressions that are at times contemplative and at others assertive. Her recent work involves compositions and improvisations with analog synthesizers, electronics, and vocals. Hasumi’s music has been described as one that “is able to capture those elusive moments when silence becomes music and music becomes silence” (Jakob Baekgaard, All About Jazz) and that “begins with a delicate piano rumination, wandering, searching, finding a state of gentle deliberation that suddenly fades” (Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz). Her musical influences span across various musicians, including Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Bley, Terry Riley, Arthur Russel, and many more.

Hasumi’s “Mothers,” a seven-track album dedicated to the collective experience of motherhood, will be released digitally on July 1, 2025. The music represents the journey of mothers striving to protect their creative paths while navigating the deep emotions that come with parenting and the process of redefining their identities. Each track explores a different emotional landscape, yet all share excerpts of piano improvisation from a single recording session, which serves as an undercurrent throughout the album. This undercurrent reflects the ongoing, profound, and dynamic experience of motherhood. The album features a series of collaged soundscapes, consisting of synthesizers, piano, and vocals performed by Hasumi, with contributions from Austin White on electric bass and synthesizers on three tracks. Each track’s sound elements are improvised separately and then combined using a collage approach rather than traditional composition. The final mix is designed to offer a three-dimensional, holistic, and stimulating listening experience. The album will be available for digital download and streaming, with a beautiful cover photograph by Aline Müller. Her works, including the album cover photo, are part of the Life Is Art Is Motherhood Is Art exhibition. The development of “Mothers” was made possible, in part, by a grant provided by CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing).

https://rema-hasumi.com/

LE LY HAYSLIP is an internationally known Vietnamese-American author, philanthropist, peace activist, and speaker. She grew up in Ky La (now known as Xa Hoa Quy), Vietnam during the American-Vietnam War. She wrote two best-selling memoirs—When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace, based on her painful and ultimately triumphant journey from a traumatizing childhood in war-ravaged Vietnam to her new life in America. Having grown up in Central Vietnam as a woman, Le Ly shares a perspective that is unique when it comes to the Vietnam War. She received raving reviews for both books, including from The New York Times and The Washington Post. When Heaven and Earth Changed Places was included in the 1990 edition of Reader’s Digest’s Today’s Best Nonfiction. Her memoirs, having been published in 17 different languages throughout the world, are now used in several universities as course material to study women in history, the American/Vietnam War, and other topics. In 1993, the books were adapted into the film “Heaven & Earth,” directed by the award-winning director Oliver Stone and starring Hiep Thi Le and Tommy Lee Jones.

Le Ly’s life as a humanitarian began after she arrived in the US in 1970 and became a US citizen, but she returned to her native Vietnam in 1986. Her shock from the devastation, poverty, and illness left by the war became the impetus for her two philanthropic organizations, East Meets West Foundation and Global Village Foundation. Both organizations dedicate their efforts to humanitarian relief, education, and development to help rebuild Vietnam through providing basic needs (shelter, clean water, medical facilities, education), establishing revolving loan programs, and finding homes for several hundred orphaned children. Hayslip continues to lead groups and delegations in cultural and anthropological studies in her home village.