 She joined the Basement Workshop in 1972 and there, learned about Asian American activism and making art along with other Asian American artists, including Arlan Huang.Between 1972 and 1979, Arai worked at Cityarts Workshop as a resource center coordinator and mural director, painting a series of community murals in New York City’s Lower East Side.Cityarts’ first project in Chinatown, "A History of Chinese Immigration to the U.S.", involved many Basement Workshop members.