Hiraku Morilla, 40, has been the director of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection since 2014, curating exhibitions and events about the American artist in the museum¡¯s facilities in Yamanashi Prefecture. Morilla advocates for the LGBTQ+ community through his work, combating discrimination and the stigmatization of HIV.
1. Can you tell us about your cultural background? I¡¯m Japanese and Nuyorican (New York Puerto Rican). Expressing both Asian and Latino cultural identities at once has always felt disjointed ¡ª they¡¯re so far apart that embodying both never feels seamless.
2. How was your experience growing up in the Bronx? I was surrounded by rhythm and style. The way we spoke had cadence. The way we moved had rhythm. Manhattan was right there, but it felt like a different universe. We walked through metal detectors every morning at school. That¡¯s what it looks like when a system abandons the community.
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