Eastern Idaho

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the 16^th annual Eastern Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture with acclaimed writer Ava Chin has been postponed to 2026.  More information, including the new date, will be posted when available.

The author will discuss her book Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming. Dr. Chin will be joined in conversation by Yidan Guo, a celebrated Chinese artist in residence at Idaho State University, and Robyn Achilles, the executive director of the Friends of Minidoka.

Ava Chin reveals her family's complex legacy as an embodiment of recurrent American themes in her book Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming. Transcending her personal journey uncovering family secrets and long-severed connections, Ava illuminates current issues including immigration, identity, discrimination, grief and resilience. She investigates intimate stories across the generations as relevant metaphors, and even cautionary tales, for contemporary life.

Creative and thoughtful, Ava's heart-felt speaking captivates audiences across a range of topics, including Asian Americans, diversity, family storytelling, and even personal bonds forged through food and sustainability. She consistently links individual experiences with the pluralistic—advocating to find the common ties that connect us while vowing to drive future change. Raised by her single mother and maternal grandparents, Ava imparts her unique emotional intelligence to reach listeners in small and large venues.

Ava shares insights from her heritage:

The transcontinental railroad was so important to our family not only because of the work that helped to bridge the divide between east and west, uniting us as a country physically after the Civil War, but also what it symbolized for us. There was so much pride that my great-great-grandfather had worked and labored on this railroad—the labor was so intense that many Chinese men lost their lives. These were some of the first family stories that I ever heard, and I found it nothing short of inspiring. It sparked my imagination, but also made me realize there was a great big gaping hole in the history that I was taught at school. Uncovering these stories was personally moving for me and spoke to something much larger happening in society at that time.

A Fulbright scholar and writing professor at the City University of New York, Ava's previous memoir Eating Wildly won first prize at the MFK Fisher Book Awards recognizing excellence in food writing. Ava also edited the anthology Split: Stories from a Generation Raised on Divorce with various perspectives related to growing up in a divorced family. She has been a fellow at the New York Public Library's Cullman Center, the Asian American Writers' Workshop, and the New York Institute for the Humanities, where she currently serves on the board. Her work extends to journalism, essays, fiction, poetry, and song lyrics, including several years at the New York Times as its Urban Forager columnist.

Yidan Guo’s artwork has been recognized as among the best of that produced by the rising generation of Chinese artists. When she was only 15, Yidan earned acceptance to the art School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)-the most prestigious fine art institution in China. At the Academy, Yidan completed eight years of rigorous training, received her Bachelor of Art degree in Chinese Painting. In 2005 Yidan earned a master’s degree in Philosophy from Renmin University in Beijing, China and she served as a faculty member there for several years. From 2013-2019, Yidan was a visiting professor and guest artist at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. 

Yidan has had several solo exhibitions in the United States and in China. Her artwork has been selected for inclusion in a number of juried exhibitions and group shows. Yidan’s work is part of several collections, including China Central Academy of Fine Arts, The Chinese Artists Association, Southern Utah University, Edgar & Helen Studies Center in Shaanxi, China, and University of Missouri-Kansas City Foundation. In May 2024, Yidan earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Idaho State University. As a working artist Yidan currently lives in Pocatello, Idaho.

In Yidan’s art, her goal is not only to suggest the identification of her subject, but also to share the deep emotions that she has found in herself and in her subject. Yidan’s painting conveys the deep and subtle feelings in mankind. The delicate emotions she feels from here subject results in the techniques and quality in her work. 

Yidan’s work represents a powerful combination of the ancient Asian art spirits and the contemporary art spirits, builds connections between the East and the West, the mankind souls and the universe.

Robyn Achilles is the executive director for Friends of Minidoka, the nonprofit philanthropic partner for Mindoka National Historic Site. Their mission is to preserve, protect, and educate about the lessons and legacy of the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans at the Minidoka concentration camp during World War II.

Robyn received her Bachelor of Arts from Claremont McKenna College and a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Robyn is an experienced non-profit professional and public servant with strategic and end-to-end operational experience. Her past roles have focused on education, philanthropy, communication, advocacy, and community outreach, working collaboratively with partners and school districts to build community capacity and create change. Robyn worked and volunteered in public and nonprofit leadership roles for over 20 years, including with the Community Library in Ketchum, the National Black Child Development Institute, Public Health -- Seattle & King County, San Francisco Public Health, Youth in Focus, and the Hunger Coalition.