Holding the Moment: A Speaker Series
Rainier Arts Center
3515 S Alaska Street
Seattle, WA 98118
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In the face of rising censorship and cultural erasure, storytelling is resistance.

Mirror Stage presents Holding The Moment: A Speaker Series—a bold new series for voices fighting to be heard, featuring artists, educators, journalists, and activists who challenge systems of silence and invisibility through the power of story.

These interactive events explore identity, memory, politics, and art—connecting personal truth to collective liberation. From confronting anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric to exposing cultural appropriation and reclaiming erased histories, each talk invites us to resist oppression and build belonging.

Free and open to all ages, each 90-minute talk includes time for Q&A. Come listen. Speak up. Take part.

When Putsata Reang was eight years old, she didn’t understand why her skin was brown when almost all of her classmates’ skin was white. So she put an eraser to her arm and began to rub, hoping to become white. A decade later, feeling disoriented by the dawning realization that she is gay, Putsata put a razor to her wrist. But ultimately she was too ashamed to end her own life. That’s because when she was a baby, and her family fled war in her native Cambodia, her mother had saved her life.

Today, an increasing number of Americans like Putsata are at risk of erasure because of external forces such as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and internal forces, such as shame and discrimination. Putsata discusses the dangers of dwelling on differences and encourages audiences to share their personal stories as an antidote to erasure.

Putsata Reang (she/her) is an author and journalist whose debut memoir, Ma and Me, was awarded the 2023 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association prize for nonfiction and was recognized as a finalist for the 2023 Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Ms. magazine, Politico, and The Guardian. Reang has held several prestigious residencies and was a fellow of the Jack Straw Writers program and Alicia Patterson Foundation for journalists. Reang lives in Seattle.