BIG FAN GREEN ROOM PAN-ASIAN PANEL DISCUSSION

Keen to hear from and connect with other musicians and those working in the industry?

Join us for a special panel discussion where we delve into themes of Music, Creativity & Community.

Asian in Aotearoa’s Jenna Wee will be joined by talented Pan-Asian creatives ASHY, Swap Gomez (CHAII, Yoko-Zuna / SAE Lecturer), Danielle Hao-Aickin (Ersha Island / Youth Arts), where they’ll reflect on what’s going on in their worlds right now, and what they hope for the future.

A guaranteed evening of good vibes, insights and inspiration.

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JENNA WEE

Jenna Wee (黄心怡) founded Asian in Aotearoa; a podcast ofuncensored conversations exploring the lives and work of young-ish Asiancreatives. Since launching in November 2020, the platform has featured nearly50 artists (including musicians, actors, directors, writers, theatre-makers,poets, designers) and counting. Jenna is a marketer by trade, as well as acertified coach, and event MC of Malaysian-Chinese, Japanese, Pākehā andMelanau descent.

ASHY (Ashy Batchelor)

ASHY is aneffervescent pop artist & songwriter hailing from New Zealand. She’s amusical chameleon, delving into sub-genres of R&B, dance and contemporarysounds, and is known for her incredibly polished production, shimmering vocals,and catchy melodies. She has amassed over 3.5 million streams across allplatforms, enjoyed chart success & has worked with leading pop producersfrom New Zealand, Australia, and the US. 2023 was a definitive year for ASHY,performing at NZ’s biggest festival; Electric Avenue and immediately followingwith 8 performances as an Official Showcasing Artist for SXSW in Austin TX. Shethen released her debut EP ‘Status’ in June 2023. The lead single 'NoMan's Land' entered the NZ Charts at #1 and her previous single off the EP‘Do Not Disturb’ spent multiple weeks on the Radioscope Airplay charts.The release of her EP gained recognition from the likes of Rolling StoneAustralia in their September Print Issue, naming ASHY as one of ‘8 KiwiArtists Tipped to Takeover’. It was also placed at No.9 on Rolling Stone’s‘Top 25 New Zealand Albums of 2023’. For 2024, ASHY performed a number of showsat her second SXSW in Austin TX and followed with a successful writing week inNashville. She is about to head to the UK to perform at The Great EscapeFestival, a string of London shows and writing collaborations in the UK &Sweden.

SWAP GOMEZ

Originallyfrom Bangladesh, Swap Gomez has garnered a reputation in Aotearoa as amulti-faceted creative, being a professional drummer, video/content director,producer, editor and events manager. He has toured and recorded with artistsaround the world such as Ed Sheeran, The Veronicas, Yoko-Zuna, CHAII, SWIDT,Tom Scott, MELODOWNZ, Sachi, P-Money, Ladi6, DJ Disk (Herbie Hancock), P-Diggs(Shapeshifter), Vernon Reid (Living Color) and has directed music videos forVillainy, Jess B, P-Money and more. Swap also runs and curates the annualDrummers Day Out, an event that celebrates the Kiwi drumming community,showcasing clinics and panel talks performed by NZ’s leading working drummers.He has also been in industry advisory roles and spoken at conferences for NZ onAir and Creative NZ while currently an executive board member of the AotearoaMusic Producers Guild and lecturer at SAE Institute. Swap currentlyperforms full time with CHAII, Yoko-Zuna and The Delivery Boyz. Most recentlyfinishing up a CHAII & Yoko-Zuna tour across the UK and USA.

DANIELLE HAO-AICKIN

Danielle Hao-Aickin 郝丹丹 (She/Her) is a Chinese-New Zealandemerging Creative Producer,photographer, and musician passionate about herheritage to Xi’An, China. She is currently the General Manager at youthenterprise and charity Youth Arts New Zealand, and also one half of theindie-pop duo Ersha Island 二沙岛 alongside her younger sibling. Danielle grew up in China (Xi’An 西安,Guangzhou 广州, and Beijing 北京) and is fluent in both Mandarin and English.She studied classical piano at the Beijing China Conservatory of Music for 2years before moving to New Zealand at the age of 16. Having gone throughsignificant moves in her life, she is deeply passionate about her mixed raceidentity and Asian representation.

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