Case Study 9
WASHING 洗作
Community Storytelling / Public Audio Installation / Cultural Preservation
CLIENT: Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC)
LEAD ARTISTS: Lily Xie & Jenny Henderson
SERVICES PROVIDED
• Audio Editing
• Sound Cleanup & Mastering
• Youth Mentorship
• Creative Technical Consulting
• Public Installation Audio Preparation
• Community Storytelling Support
• Educational Workshop Facilitation
PROJECT OVERVIEW
“Washing 洗作” was a community-centered public storytelling project focused on preserving the voices, memories, and lived experiences of Boston Chinatown residents impacted by displacement, environmental inequity, and highway-related air pollution.
Produced in collaboration with the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), artist Lily Xie, and community contributors, the project gathered interviews from Chinatown residents discussing their relationship to neighborhood identity, environmental conditions, cultural survival, and generational change within the community.
John Kind Studios contributed through audio post-production, technical consulting, mentorship, and educational support to help shape the final public listening experience.
The completed work was later presented publicly in Chinatown through an outdoor audio installation designed to bring residents and visitors together through collective storytelling and shared cultural memory.
ROLE & CONTRIBUTION
John Kind Studios was contracted to:
• Edit and organize multiple hours of resident interviews
• Improve overall sound quality and listening clarity
• Prepare final audio mixes/mastering for public playback
• Mentor a youth audio editor throughout the process
• Teach audio editing fundamentals and workflow techniques
• Support collaborative community storytelling development
The project included educational workshops focused on:
• Basic audio editing
• Story-focused listening
• Sound cleanup techniques
• Dialogue editing workflows
• Public storytelling through audio media
Project documentation also included direct collaboration with project leadership through review sessions, creative meetings, and iterative post-production support.
CREATIVE & CULTURAL IMPACT
Rather than functioning purely as a technical production project, “Washing 洗作” operated as a form of cultural preservation and public memory work.
The audio interviews captured:
• Community concerns surrounding environmental injustice
• The emotional impact of displacement
• The changing identity of Chinatown
• Resident memories and lived experience
• Generational perspectives on survival and belonging
By preparing the interviews for public installation playback, the project transformed oral histories into a shared public experience accessible directly within the neighborhood itself.
The final installation encouraged:
• Community engagement
• Intergenerational dialogue
• Public reflection
• Cultural visibility
• Neighborhood storytelling through accessible media
MENTORSHIP & EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT
An important part of the project involved mentoring youth participants in audio editing and post-production techniques.
John Kind Studios facilitated workshops and collaborative instruction focused on helping emerging creatives understand:
• Editing workflow organization
• Audio storytelling
• Dialogue refinement
• Critical listening
• Collaborative production processes
This mentorship element reinforced the project’s larger mission of community participation and creative empowerment through accessible media education.
PROJECT OUTCOME
The completed work became part of a larger public-facing art and storytelling initiative highlighting the resilience and cultural identity of Boston Chinatown.
The project demonstrated John Kind Studios’ ability to contribute to:
• Public humanities initiatives
• Community storytelling campaigns
• Mission-driven arts projects
• Educational media collaboration
• Public installation media preparation
• Socially engaged creative production
KEY TAKEAWAY
“Washing 洗作” represents how audio production can function beyond entertainment — serving instead as a tool for preservation, education, public engagement, and cultural memory.
The project reinforced the value of combining technical production skills with mentorship, community collaboration, and emotionally grounded storytelling to support organizations and artists creating meaningful public impact.