Lani Cupchoy, Ph.D.
“I seek to ignite a new wave of creative spirit and inspire humanity to carry oneself the same way we try to navigate life – with passion, light, and joy!”
About
Welcome! As a possibilitarian and multi-ethnic native of Los Angeles, CA, I am proud to share my creative works as a public intellectual-creative seeking to interconnect different worlds rooted in a self-reflexive patchwork of cultural consciousness which has manifested in academia-teaching, film, visual art, music, photography, and modeling. An important part of my journey was …
Academic Portfolio
“My journey as a public intellectual-creative has guided me toward a few core beliefs that inform everything I do, create, and teach.”
Award-Winning Filmmaker
“Film has a timeless power — perhaps beyond that of any other medium I have ever utilized — to provide a platform for voices and stories that need to be told from our communities.”
“Listening to the whispers of my heart, I picked up my childhood pastels and paintbrushes to cope with the stress of grad school and this important step led me to an enriching journey as a creative spirit.”
Visual Artist
Recording Artist
“Music is strongly tied to energies and emotions. If I can’t communicate verbally with you … my music will.”
Photographer
“I believe that the eyes are the windows to the soul and my role is to photograph that essence.”
“I have discovered that an image is often a reflection of a team of creatives – photographers, make-up artists, hair artists, accessory-wardrobe artists – performed by the model.”
Model
Books:
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Echoes of Memory reconstructs the experiences of civilians on Sanzao Island during the Japanese occupation of China (1937–1945). Drawing on oral histories, family archives, poetry, and historical research, the book documents survivor testimony and community memory to illuminate everyday life, survival, and the transmission of memory across generations.
“Two generations of effort resulted in the first reconstruction, in English, of war crimes committed by the Japanese army in Sanzao.”
“While past trauma can never be erased, it must be heard — and not repeated. The Cupchoys listened with their hearts.”