{"id":5371,"date":"2019-09-09T17:39:27","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T21:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2021-04-21T10:15:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T14:15:42","slug":"rich-tu-is-talking-about-his-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/rich-tu-is-talking-about-his-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Rich Tu is Talking About His Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 7<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

MTV\u2019s digital design director is using his podcast to spark a conversation about work, identity and how the children of immigrants are changing the creative space.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rich Tu knows how to stay busy. The New Jersey native and first generation Filipino-American has made a name for himself at institutions like SVA, ADC, Nike, and MTV, where he is the VP of Digital Design. He\u2019s on the board of AIGA NY, continues to do freelance illustration work, and somehow still makes time to record a podcast called First Generation Burden<\/em>. Launched in 2016, First Generation Burden, <\/em>now in its fourth season, is a free-flowing conversation with creatives who have recent roots that reach around the globe. We caught up with Tu as he prepared for an AIGA-hosted conversation and live podcast on the creative first generation experience.
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When I came across First Generation Burden,<\/em> it seemed like such an important conversation. I\u2019m curious about why you chose the word \u2018burden\u2019, as opposed to \u2018experience\u2019 or \u2018journey’ or something\u2026? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something a little less heavy? To be honest, it was inspired by the Master of None<\/em> series that Aziz Ansari did. It was 2016 and I was living in Portland, Oregon<\/a>, working at Nike. I knew I wanted to create a podcast that focused on immigrants and the creative space. A friend was talking about first generation burden in reference to Master of None<\/em>. To be honest, I’ve never actually seen the show. [laughs]<\/em> I just knew that the phrase resonated with me, specifically then, in the summer of 2016. It was still Trump versus Hillary. There was so much rhetoric around the immigrant experience, and the creation of the \u2018other’ through Trump’s rhetoric. So the name resonated because it felt like it spoke to that negativity. But there’s also the underlying thought that when you are the child of an immigrant or an immigrant yourself, you’re part of a history and a cultural exchange by being in this new place\u2014say America\u2014and there is a burden on you to do right by the sacrifice that your parents or your family made on your behalf. So it is both the burden upon the immigrant to make right by their family sacrifice and the burden of being the \u2018other\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a burden on you to do right by the sacrifice that your parents or your family made on your behalf.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Where did you grow up?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was born and grew up in New Jersey. My parents immigrated from the Philippines in the \u201860s. I’ve only been back to the Philippines a handful of times but there’s a large immigrant contingent, specifically Filipino, in New Jersey. It’s a big community, so you still grew up in the Filipino culture, but through the lens of Americanization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m guessing the seeds of your own \u2018first generation burden\u2019 story were always percolating. Why did you decide to make it a public conversation? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, a couple of things. I knew how to make a podcast and how to make content. So the actual creation part wasn’t a barrier to entry. And then from a storytelling perspective; it was just something that I was talking about with my friends of different cultures and races and backgrounds. It was something that was in our DNA literally, but also in our everyday conversation. And also, I’ve always been around creatives and makers. So it all just kinda fall into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by First Generation Burden (@firstgenburden)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>