Artists Share From Their Visa Journey as 4N’s Publisher Announces New Open Call

This year my creative studio Special Special launched a new magazine that celebrates foreign artists while providing a practical, yet hard-to-come-by resource. 4N (“foreign”) Exchange is a biannual print magazine that showcases extraordinary foreign talent in America. This community-driven publication exclusively features creatives who are applying for O-1 visas or green cards, to act as a platform for artists of any medium.

Immigrants pursuing an artist visa in the US (also known as the O-1) must be able to prove–through ample amounts of published features and other notable aspects of their work–that they have an “extraordinary ability” and therefore are worthy of staying in the country.

4N was born out of necessity, as an answer to a question we kept asking ourselves at Special Special–What if artists could have more ownership over the way their work is shared in print? What if we could publish our friends’ work, and allow them to choose how it should be laid out to best support their visa application?

I’ve endorsed 11 applications so far, and have seen the stress that the visa process can cause on applicants. And Special Special’s in-house designer, Panny Chayapumh, has been on the O-1 visa for the past eight years. We quickly realized that this idea for a magazine needed to be realized, and have been able to shape the 4N community with our experience on both sides of the process.

In addition to launching the first two issues this year, we also hosted programming that allowed the featured artists to talk openly about visas and immigration–subjects that only continue to become more socially and politically complicated as time goes on. 4N’s goal is to honor and highlight the work of foreign artists and foster a community of creatives who can lean on each other for support.

Artists from the first two issues of the magazine got candid about their experiences with immigration in two different iterations of 4N Exchange this year, an event series where the artists in print discuss their experiences among peers–the first at Printed Matter in June, and the second at the Museum of Chinese in America in October.

Here are some takes the artists shared of their visa journeys so far:

On Community Support/Guidance

“Some aspects of the International Students Office at our college…were more new to me and ad hoc. I had to become accustomed to the deadlines creeping up and thinking ‘Oh, if I want to have options like OPT, I have to start thinking about that now.’ There’s the baseline instruction of how to file your taxes, this is what you can and can’t do, but it was also through talking to other friends that I realized what the extra paperwork would constitute.” Fía Benitez, a visual artist and scholar based in LA, from Mexico City, Mexico, 4N Issue 1.

“The biggest support my family has given me is the freedom that allows me to do what I am doing now. For Asian families, art is not always the best career path in a lot of people’s minds. It’s so different because my dad wants me to go back to Thailand. And I think it’s not a bad thing to go back. Right now in Thailand, we do have success with design, but I feel like here there are more opportunities. My mom is the one who keeps pushing me and is very supportive since I was young.” Supatida Sutiratana, a graphic designer based in New York, from Bangkok, Thailand, 4N Issue 2,

On Legal and Letters:

“My first O-1 lawyer was recommended by some alumni from SVA. Through staying here you meet different people who also need the same things. So we share who we find. You prepare some questions and have different consults and get answers through talking to different lawyers. It feels like dating–you have to find that one you feel is a match, and you feel comfortable talking to.” Yi Hsuan Lai, a photographer and artist based in New York, from Taichung, Taiwan, 4N Issue 1

“I did ask one friend how to prepare for consultations, what to ask, why she chose her lawyer, and what kind of documents they requested from her. And also what kind of documents they were interested in including in the application to gauge if I’m ready for the visa or not. But besides her I didn’t have any friends who had gone through the O-1 process. So I also got a lot of advice from Reddit.” Michelle Eun Jung Ho, a book artist based in New York, from Seoul, South Korea, 4N Issue 1

“I remember when I read through the first letter that I ever asked for, and the language was very interesting. If you’ve ever read through a visa recommendation letter, it’s a little bit embarrassing. There’s very specific jargon that details this person is the absolute best.” Panny Chayapumh, a multidisciplinary creative based in New York, from Bangkok, Thailand, 4N Issue 1

“Most of the lawyer recommendations have been from my friends who were on the O-1 visa in the past two, three years. Choosing a lawyer is really hard! Finding a lawyer through friends is the faster way, because they will all have an experience to share. But it’s case-by-case.” Weiyun Chen, an artist based in New York, from Taiwan, 4N Issue 1

Self Orienting through the O-1

“If you can think of this as a game where you just check-mark a lot of things that meet the criteria, then it’ll be great. The person reviewing your portfolio and your work doesn’t come from an art background, and the only way to define you as being really talented is through those lists of things you’ve done. On the logistics side it’s not as hard as it sounds, but mentally, as an artist, it’s important to tell yourself that hey, you are still doing talented things. You have to talk to yourself about it constantly.” Taole Zhu, a visual artist from Huzhou, China, 4N Issue 1

“My goal as an artist in the US is to be a bridge between my own culture and other nationalities. I studied graphic design in Japan, but when I came to New York I actually found out about fiber art, which I really didn’t know about growing up in Japan. And I think the environment in the US allowed me to make the decision to transition the focus of my studies. I think people feel that learning is just until college, and then after you graduate it’s hard to keep learning new stuff. For me, the American Dream is to be at peace with the many contradictions that I cannot necessarily resolve, whether that’s in relation to how I identify myself, the dream or desire to move around, and then also the various obstacles and the freedom of the OPT (Optional Practical Training, or a student visa) at times. The dream that I want to achieve being in America is probably to figure out a way to be at peace with all of these different aspects that might not be realized at all. I guess that’s also why we call it a dream.” Terumi Saito, a sculptor and fiber artist based in New York, from Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan, 4N Issue 2.

“My work is about human connection and thinking about the world. I just remembered a quote from Daniel Jewesbury who said, “I’m not confused, but I’m unconvinced.” I think that’s my general attitude towards the world. I’m unconvinced by why this world is functioning this way. Are there other possible ways this world could function in, and can we potentially change it? I think that’s an attitude I’m trying to embrace and also communicate to a lot of people who are here: Start questioning the status quo, start questioning if things have to be this way, and then maybe start to make a change.” Ally Yanxiu Luo, a designer and artist based in New York, from Hangzhou, China, 4N Issue 2.

On Proving the Extraordinary

“The biggest challenge is actually psychological in a way, because it essentially asks you to look at the past 5 to 10 years of your life and your ‘achievements.’ The O-1 petition is done in a specific legal language that sounds exaggerated to the normal ear. So there’s always this imposter syndrome feeling that’s going on when I have to spend hours googling my name and then just like, save every page that has my name. I think that’s actually like one of the more challenging parts, because you always have this feeling that, okay, this is a visa for extraordinary talents—Am I really that talented?” Sixing Xu, a multidisciplinary artist based in New York, from Beijing, China, 4N Issue 2

“I’m from Taiwan, and we have a diva that is equivalent to Madonna or Beyonce—she got the O-1 visa at the same time as me. I saw her there and thought, “You got the same visa??” That’s a really weird thing, to have to prove that you’re as extraordinary as somebody that’s like, you know, the equivalent of Madonna.” Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, MOCA’s director of performance, storytelling, and community, and moderator of the second 4N Exchange, director and playwright based in New York, from Taiwan

4N Exchange Issue 1 and 2 is available at select bookstores. Follow this link to submit to the 4N open call by December, 16, 2024.

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