Finding light in a red state

Close-knit group: Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians coming together to celebrate Hari Raya at an event in St Louis.

ON her first day as an arts teacher at a community college in St Louis, Missouri, Norleen Nosri mingled with her new colleagues in the college’s art studio.

Some of the professors asked Norleen, an accomplished ceramic artist, about her birthplace.