APAture 2024: Return
October 12, 2024 – November 9, 2024
The Oakland Asian Cultural Center co-presents Kearny Street Workshop’s 2024 APAture festival.
APAture is celebrating 25 years of supporting emerging artists from across the Bay Area! From October 13 to November 9th Kearny Street Workshop will be presenting six showcases in venues across the city.
The theme for this year is RETURN. From the Palestinian right to return, the call for Indigenous Land Back, the various migrant histories and struggle for justice in our Pacific Islander and Asian communities, and the returns we face in our own personal lives: What does the idea of return mean to you? Where and to whom are you returning?
About Kearny Street Workshop
Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) is an organization dedicated to producing, presenting, and promoting art that empowers diverse Asian Pacific American communities. Since 1972, KSW has offered multidisciplinary arts presentations and workshops to Bay Area community members. www.kearnystreet.org
About APAture
APAture is a multidisciplinary arts festival for emerging Asian-Pacific American (APA) artists to develop their art, affirm their voices, and share their work with the APA community. For the past 25 years, Kearny Street Workshop’s festival has shaped the culture of the San Francisco Bay Area by addressing the realities and narratives of APA lives.
Upcoming Showcases
APAture 2024 Music Showcase + Festival Kickoff
DNA Lounge
375 Eleventh St, San Francisco, CA
Co-presented by Kultivate Labs Balay Kreative, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center
October 13, 2024 7:00 – 10:00 PM PDT
$10 presale/$15 at the door
DNA Lounge is an all ages venue.
This year APAture kicks off with its music showcase! With rising star, Ian Santillano, headlining the night alongside an amazing line-up of emerging MCs, singer-songwriters, and electronic music artists!
Featuring Ian Santillano with Nu Tekno Sounds, Karinyo, Jaeya Bayani, Steven Cong, and Double Goat.
Curated by Steven Cheung and Isalina Chow.
APAture 2024 Visual Arts Opening Reception
Arc Gallery & Studios
1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA
Co-presented by SOMArts, ARTogether, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Opening Reception: October 18, 2024 6:00 – 9:00 PM PDT
Gallery Hours: October 12 – November 9, 2024 W, TH, 1-6pm & SAT 12-3 PM
Free, $60 all access (entry to all ticketed events with free t-shirt, drink tickets, and more!).
From murals and exhibition walls to pride month designs for local sports teams, San Jose-based artist Houyee Chow-Jiménez has been making an impact in the Bay and we’re proud to have her headline alongside an incredible ensemble of emerging artists, at APAture 2024’s visual arts exhibition at Arc Gallery & Studios! Join us on October 18th for the opening reception! The exhibition will be on view at Arc Gallery & Studios until November 9th’s closing reception.
Featuring Houyee Chow-Jiménez with Jang Lee, Joanna Kao, Laura Ming Wong, Lisa Juachon, Madi Reyes, Bhumikorn Kongtaveelert, Grace Jin, Brianna Cheng, Jackie Liu, Kea Kahoilua-Clebsch, Michelle Lin, Mehr Kumar, Marisa Goudie.
Curated by Tanza Solis and Ngân Vũ.
APAture 2024 Film Showcase
Roxie Theater
3117 16th St, San Francisco, CA
Co-presented by Roxie Theater, Kultivate Labs Balay Kreative, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center
October 22, 2024 6:00 – 9:00PM PDT
$15 / $60 all access (comes with free t-shirt, drink tickets, and more!).
These varied and poignant works explore cultural knowledge and belonging through a variety of different lenses: educational shows and music videos that foreground the lived experience of the AAPI diaspora, reflections on cultural belonging and embodiment, and a documentary that highlights Indigenous Hawaiians’ righteous struggles for self-determination.
Featuring Jalena Keane-Lee with Angelique Kalani Axelrode, Joyce Keokham, Elaine Nguyen, Sophia E. Perez, and Teao Sense.
Curated by David Cao and Lehua Taitano.
APAture 2024 Literary Arts Showcas
Arc Gallery & Studios
1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA
Co-presented by Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco and Oakland Asian Cultural Center
October 25, 2024 6:00 – 9:00PM PDT
$15 / $60 all access (comes with free t-shirt, drink tickets, and more!).
APAture and Litquake are both celebrating 25 years! So we’re teaming up to present the Literary Arts showcase featuring former El Cerrito poet laureate, Maw Shein Win, and we’ll be commemorating the release of her upcoming collection, Percussing the Thinking Jar (2024 Omnidawn Publishing).
Featuring Maw Shein Win with Sam Javellana Hill, Christine Huang, Jennifer Ng, Megan Jade Mock Noble, Noelani Piters, Danielle Shi, and Eden Julia Sugay.
Curated by Diana Fu, Matthew Choi, and Isalina Chow.
APAture 2024 Comics/Zines & Illustration Showcase
Arc Gallery & Studios
1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA
Co-presented by Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco and Oakland Asian Cultural Center
October 27, 2024 2:00-5:00PM PDT
$15 / $60 all access (comes with free t-shirt, drink tickets, and more!).
Fresh off of illustrating, Simone (Penguin Random House 2024), the newest children’s book by acclaimed author, Viet Thanh Nguyen, is our APAture 2024 featured artist in Comics, Zines, & Illustrations, Minnie Phan! Meet our showcase artists at this interactive book, prints, and makers fair.
Featuring Minnie Phan with Cesar Cueva, Jake Gavino, Kathy Huang, Nhien Lee, Lauren Miller, Ipsheeta Furtado, and Alexis Peneda.
Curated by Ngân Vū, Steven Cheung, and Tanza Solis.
APAture 2024 Performing Arts Showcase
Joe Goode Annex
401 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA
Co-presented by Joe Goode Annex, Kultivate Labs Balay Kreative, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center
November 3, 2024 7:00 – 9:00PM PDT
$15 / $60 all access (comes with free t-shirt, drink tickets, and more!).
This performing arts showcase features the works of Teo Lin-Bianco, Tatyana Topasna, Maya Rau-Murthy, Alder & the Kindred, Lily Gee, Taneesh Kaur, D. Kaur, and featured artist Kim Requesto. These works span a wide variety of disciplines—combining spoken word poetry, movement practice, multimedia, and musical performance—and explore the intimacy, vulnerability, and physicality of what Return is and should be.
Curated by David Cao and Matthew Choi.
