Joi— And also, it's on the internet, so it doesn't feel that real, but in general, people who are into fashion or follow Extra Virgin, only want to know what we’re selling — they're not focusing on us. Running Extra Virgin is more about the products, the advertising and the people. We’re building a community. We receive so many questions based on politics, China and xenophobia. Actually, we don't think that much about it in the context of Extra Virgin — not because we don't care. Of course we do. But it doesn't relate to what we do. Right now, people hear 'China,' they directly link it with politics and xenophobia.
In journalism there is not much Asian representation, especially not from primary sources. Unfortunately, whenever people talk to someone who's Asian, you almost become a political spokesperson even if the discussion has nothing to do with politics.
In speaking with Joi and Susie, it was clear that they didn’t want their entire existence as artists to revolve around Chinese politics. There’s a clear line between wanting to prioritize Asian voices, versus making Chinese artists the default voice of China. We rarely force white American artists to speak on American politics — there is an inherent privilege that comes with being able to be seen only for your art and not for your potential as a political subject. But, they see their future as something bigger than politics, and as something bigger than a pop-up.
Joi— Since we have a bigger space, we're curating other events. We're going to have our friend, who's a really talented singer. She's going to sing and DJ at the opening. We're also featuring artists because we don't want to keep the walls blank.
You're also curating a community gathering as opposed to a sole pop-up. Would you do more event-related activations?
Joi— Eventually. Right now we're mainly focusing on the clothing, but we want some other stuff to go into the space. In the future, we want to do fun stuff, because just selling clothes isn't fun enough [laughs].
Susie— Especially with all the pop-ups nowadays... There are so many! We need to find something that's different.