Life & Work with Lotus Lens Collective of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lotus Lens Collective.

Hi Jenny, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our collective started pretty organically. I started hosting monthly screenings at Atlanta Chinatown mostly because I wanted to create more opportunities for people to come together around Asian cinema. Over time, others with similar intentions and interests started coming to the events wanting to support/be involved. We started getting together to plan events, bounce ideas off each other, and figure out what we wanted to build together. Over the past year, this group has grown into a cohesive collective.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road. I think anytime you’re trying to organize something with a group of volunteers, there’s going to be some challenges. We all have our own jobs, projects, and lives so it’s hard to even find a time for all of us to meet.

Beyond that, I’d say promotion and reaching people have been our biggest challenges. We know there’s a demand for the kinds of events we’re creating, but it’s hard to find our people. There are so many great events happening across Atlanta, especially within the Asian community, but there isn’t always one obvious place to find them.

At the same time, I think these challenges have helped us become more intentional about what we’re building towards. We’re not just interested in putting on individual events; we want to create something that makes it easier for people to find each other and discover Asian-centered arts and cultural programming designed for and by Asian people.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
One of the things that makes Lotus Lens Collective so special is that all of us (Anna, Chris, Kimbo, H.A., Tenacity, and myself – Jenny) bring something different to the table. We have varied backgrounds, interests, skills, and perspectives and I think that diversity is well reflected in the events we create.

I also think what sets us apart is that we’re not trying to be a traditional organization or event company. We’re a group of people who genuinely care about creating more spaces for Asian communities, artists, filmmakers, and audiences to connect. There’s a lot of heart behind what we do, and I think people can feel that when they come to our events.

What are your plans for the future?
We hosted monthly events at Atlanta Chinatown throughout the first half of 2026, which was a really fun and ambitious experiment for us.

For the latter half of 2026, we decided to slow the pace down a little and focus on one or two larger events – and give us time to think about what we’ve learned and put more energy into planning for 2027.

We’re especially excited about some potential partnerships we’re exploring for next year. One of our biggest goals is to work more closely with other Asian community organizations in Atlanta, both on programming and execution.

There are already so many amazing people and organizations doing interesting work in the community, and we’d rather build alongside them than try to reinvent the wheel. We’re excited about the possibility of bringing different groups, artists, filmmakers, and community members together and seeing what we can create collectively.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotuslenscollective/