Oakland Asian Cultural Center

Elder Voices: Chinatown Legacy Businesses Exhibition
2023-10-11 13:00 - 2024-01-22 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
“Elder Voices: Chinatown Legacy Businesses” features stories and portraits from six cultural keepers whose businesses have been and continue to be Chinatown pillars. Oral histories will feature stories about the legacy and contributions of Cam Ahn Restaurant, Green Fish Market, Draline Tong Herbs, Yuen Hop Market, Imperial Soup, and the Great China (1950s). Featuring photos by Chinatown Pretty photographer, Andria Lo.

This exhibition will be available to view during OACC’s business hours (Wednesday-Saturday, 12 PM -5 PM).

Meet the Exhibition Artists & Curator
Lead Artist

Andria Lo
Raised in Alaska and Texas, Andria Lo a freelance editorial and commercial photographer now based in San Francisco Bay Area. With a background in studio art with a degree from University of California Berkeley, her first photo book, Chinatown Pretty, was published in fall of 2020 by Chronicle Books. For more information, visit http://www.andrialo.com/about.
Contributing Artist

William Gee Wong
William Gee Wong is a print journalist, author, and amateur historian. A native of Oakland, California’s Chinatown, William was previously a journalist for The Wall Street Journal (1970-1979), The Oakland Tribune (1979-1996). He also wrote for The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco News Call Bulletin, San Francisco Examiner, East West: the Chinese American Journal, and Asian Week. William is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America, Images of America: Oakland’s Chinatown, and co-author of Images of America: Angel Island, and his forthcoming book Sons of Chinatown, A Memoir Rooted in China and America to be released in Spring 2024. For more information, visit https://www.williamgeewong.com.

Flo Oy Wong
Flo Oy Wong, co-founder of the San Francisco-based Asian American Women Artists Association, is an artist, poet, and educator. She is a recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts awards, and has been a visiting artist at various colleges and universities. She has also been featured in articles in multiple publications. Growing up in Oakland Chinatown, she spoke her family’s ancestral dialect, Hoisan-wa. In 2018, Flo published her art and poetry book, Dreaming of Glistening Pomelos, inspired by her childhood. Contemporary Asian Theater Scene presented Wong with their 2022 Image Hero Award.
Nellie Wong

Nellie Wong has published four books: Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park, The Death of Long Steam Lady, Stolen Moments, and Breakfast Lunch Dinner. Her poems and essays appear in numerous journals and anthologies, including This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color, and excerpts from two poems have been permanently installed at public sites at the San Francisco Municipal Railway. A building at Oakland High School is named after her, she is co-featured in the documentary film, Mitsuye and Nellie Asian American Poets, and a poem of hers was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She traveled to China in the First American Women Writers Tour with Alice Walker, Tillie Olsen, and Paule Marshall, among others. She taught at Mills College and the University of Minnesota, and is the recipient of the 2022 PEN Oakland/Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award.
Curator
Roy Chan

Roy Chan is an Oakland-based oral historian and urban planner committed to using the power of storytelling to build community and empower local residents to have a voice in the local decision-making process. Since 2007, he has been director of the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project/ AAPI Elder Voices Project and was previously Co-Executive Director at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Roy has previously practiced architecture and city planning in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, and is currently a program director at National CAPACD. Learn more at www.chinatownmemories.org
This exhibition is made possible by the support of the Senior Assistance Foundation Eastbay (SAFE).

“Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir” Book Launch with Curtis Chin
2023-11-17 14:00 - 15:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
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Featuring

CURTIS CHIN
A co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City, Curtis Chin served as the non-profits’ first Executive Director. He went on to write for network and cable television before transitioning to social justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in sixteen countries. He has written for CNN, Bon Appetit and the Emancipator/Boston Globe. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and more. His memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant will be published by Little, Brown in Fall 2023. He’s currently writing projects for PBS and Warner Bros. and his essay in Bon Appetit was just selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023. curtisfromdetroit.com

EVERYTHING I LEARNED, I LEARNED IN A CHINESE RESTAURANT
From filmmaker and co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Curtis Chin’s memoir about coming of age and coming out traces the author’s journey through 1980’s Detroit as he navigated rising xenophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and the Reagan Revolution to find his voice as a writer and activist — all set against the backdrop of his family’s popular Chinese restaurant. The book, which features plenty of Chinese food and Motown vibes, will be published by Little, Brown in the fall of 2023.

TERRY PARK
Dr. Terry K Park (he/him) serves as The Asian American Foundation’s Education and Narrative Change Program Officer. An award-winning educator, social justice advocate, and former performance artist, Terry has over twenty years of experience at the transformative intersections of anti-racist education, social change storytelling, and media advocacy.

Elder Voices: Chinatown Legacy Businesses Exhibition Opening Reception
2023-12-09 13:00 - 15:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
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Exhibition Opening Reception
“Elder Voices: Chinatown Legacy Businesses” features stories and portraits from six cultural keepers whose businesses have been and continue to be Chinatown pillars. Oral histories will feature stories about the legacy and contributions of Cam Ahn Restaurant, Green Fish Market, Draline Tong Herbs, Yuen Hop Market, Imperial Soup, and the Great China (1950s). Featuring photos by Chinatown Pretty photographer, Andria Lo.
Join us for the opening reception of this extraordinary exhibition on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 1 PM featuring a screening of Drawn from Life: The Creative Legacy of Flo Oy Wong, a brief discussion with the exhibition curators, and food from a few of the featured local businesses!

This exhibition will be available to view during OACC’s business hours (Wednesday-Saturday, 12 PM -5 PM).

Drawn from Life: The Creative Legacy of Flo Oy Wong (20 minutes)
As the sixth daughter of Chinese immigrants living in Oakland’s Chinatown in the 1940s-1960s, Flo Oy Wong was determined to break free of a life of pre-destined invisibility. She began her art career at the age of forty. Her poetry career started at seventy-five. Now eighty-five, her life came full circle when The Community Rejuvenation Project proposed to paint a mural of her at 723 Webster in Oakland, the former site of her family’s restaurant, The Great China. In this film, Flo’s beginnings in Oakland’s Chinatown come to life once more— this time through the eyes of another artist.
Meet the Exhibition Artists & Curator
Lead Artist

Andria Lo
Raised in Alaska and Texas, Andria Lo a freelance editorial and commercial photographer now based in San Francisco Bay Area. With a background in studio art with a degree from University of California Berkeley, her first photo book, Chinatown Pretty, was published in fall of 2020 by Chronicle Books. For more information, visit http://www.andrialo.com/about.
Contributing Artist

William Gee Wong
William Gee Wong is a print journalist, author, and amateur historian. A native of Oakland, California’s Chinatown, William was previously a journalist for The Wall Street Journal (1970-1979), The Oakland Tribune (1979-1996). He also wrote for The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco News Call Bulletin, San Francisco Examiner, East West: the Chinese American Journal, and Asian Week. William is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America, Images of America: Oakland’s Chinatown, and co-author of Images of America: Angel Island, and his forthcoming book Sons of Chinatown, A Memoir Rooted in China and America to be released in Spring 2024. For more information, visit https://www.williamgeewong.com.

Flo Oy Wong
Flo Oy Wong, co-founder of the San Francisco-based Asian American Women Artists Association, is an artist, poet, and educator. She is a recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts awards, and has been a visiting artist at various colleges and universities. She has also been featured in articles in multiple publications. Growing up in Oakland Chinatown, she spoke her family’s ancestral dialect, Hoisan-wa. In 2018, Flo published her art and poetry book, Dreaming of Glistening Pomelos, inspired by her childhood. Contemporary Asian Theater Scene presented Wong with their 2022 Image Hero Award.

Nellie Wong

Nellie Wong has published four books: Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park, The Death of Long Steam Lady, Stolen Moments, and Breakfast Lunch Dinner. Her poems and essays appear in numerous journals and anthologies, including This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color, and excerpts from two poems have been permanently installed at public sites at the San Francisco Municipal Railway. A building at Oakland High School is named after her, she is co-featured in the documentary film, Mitsuye and Nellie Asian American Poets, and a poem of hers was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She traveled to China in the First American Women Writers Tour with Alice Walker, Tillie Olsen, and Paule Marshall, among others. She taught at Mills College and the University of Minnesota, and is the recipient of the 2022 PEN Oakland/Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award.
Curator
Roy Chan

Roy Chan is an Oakland-based oral historian and urban planner committed to using the power of storytelling to build community and empower local residents to have a voice in the local decision-making process. Since 2007, he has been director of the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project/ AAPI Elder Voices Project and was previously Co-Executive Director at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Roy has previously practiced architecture and city planning in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, and is currently a program director at National CAPACD. Learn more at www.chinatownmemories.org
This exhibition is made possible by the support of the Senior Assistance Foundation Eastbay (SAFE).

Love and Protect Mural Series
2024-01-26 12:00 - 2024-03-02 17:00 | CA
“Love and Protect” is a condemnation of violence and a commitment to uplift, nourish, fortify and pay homage to our communities so that when we rise, we rise up together. On April 10th-11th, 2021, local Asian and Black Bay Area visual artists and community members came together to produce a series of mobile public art murals in Oakland Chinatown for communities impacted by Asian hate crimes.
Artists Cece Carpio of Trust Your Struggle Collective and Tommy Wong of Civic Design Studio and Good Good Eatz brought together local artists who are deeply rooted in the fight for racial and environment justice.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Emory Douglas, Tarika Lewis, Cece Carpio, Robert Liu-Trujillo, Elaine Chu, Priya Handa, Miguel “Bounce” Perez, Eric Norberg, Karen Seneferu, Malik Seneferu, Thitiwat Phromratanapongse, Cecilia Dong, Catherine McMahon, Ming Mur-Eay, Elokin Orton Cheung, Harrison Street Senior Art Collective, Deanna Brownfield, Malik Byers, Greer Nakagawa Lee, Maya Looney, Lauryn Marshall, & Asians 4 Black Lives.

"The Six: The Untold Story of RMS Titanic’s Chinese Passengers" Film Screening & Discussion with Research Team Members
2024-01-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
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When RMS Titanic sank on a cold night in 1912, barely 700 people escaped with their lives. Among them were six Chinese men. Arriving in New York with the other survivors, the six were met not with compassion, but suspicion and slander. Less than 24 hours later, they were expelled from the country, and vanished. What became of them, and why did they disappear so completely?
Join us on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 7 PM for a film screening and discussion of The Six: The Untold Story of RMS Titanic’s Chinese Passengers. Together, we will embark on an epic journey that crosses continents, as an international team of investigators sets out to uncover the truth about the six surviving Chinese passengers of the Titanic, and to right a century-old injustice. The Six is an extraordinary story of survival and dignity in the face of racism and anti-immigrant policy that still reverberates today. It was directed by Arthur Jones, produced by Luo Tong for LostPensivos Films, and executive produced by James Cameron.
This film includes subtitles in Chinese.

STEVEN SCHWANKERT
Steven Schwankert is an explorer and writer based in New York. He is the co-creator and lead researcher of The Six, a book and documentary film project revealing the story of RMS Titanic’s Chinese passengers. In 2006, he discovered the unknown fate of Royal Navy submarine HMS Poseidon, which became both the book, Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine《波塞冬号正传》and the documentary film The Poseidon Project. In 2007, he and his team discovered two century-old wooden shipwrecks in Mongolia’s Lake Khovsgol.

GRANT DIN
Grant Din is a genealogist, historic researcher, and nonprofit consultant based in Oakland who was a member of the international research team for The Six. He has worked with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and many other local nonprofits and has spoken about Angel Island immigrants and Asian Americans to many local and national organizations. Grant is co-curator of an exhibit at the former immigration station in Angel Island State Park about the wartime detention of Japanese immigrants on Angel Island, Taken From Their Families.

Lunar New Year x Black History Month 2024: Celebrating Asian & African-American Solidarity
2024-02-03 11:00 - 16:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
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Join us on Saturday, February 3, 2024 as we partner with the Malonga Arts Residents Association (MARA) for the Oakland Asian Cultural Center’s second annual Lunar New Year x Black History Month Community Celebration.
We welcome our community back for another celebration of Asian and African-American solidarity through art, music, and dance.
We are thrilled to present this year’s incredible lineup of Black and Asian martial artists, musicians, and dance groups including Blood Moon Orchestra with Van Anh Vo and special guest Kev Choice, Diamano Coura drummers, Carla Service Dance-A-Vision Entertainment, Kenneth Pitts’ Martial Arts student, and CAL USA Lion Dancers.
In addition to a full day of performances, we are bringing back a local vendor marketplace, a children’s zone with Eastwind Books, and an exhibition on Black and Asian solidarity.
This event is part of OACC’s ongoing Open E.A.R.S. for Change initiative started in 2020 to build stronger relationships among local APIA and Black communities.
This event is funded by The City of Oakland Cultural Affairs Grant and the CA State Grant for Stop the Hate (CDSS), and sponsored by Ava Community Energy, Alameda County Behavioral Health/Health Equity Division, and Council President and District 2 Council Member, Nikki Fortunato Bas.

Program Emcee

Miko Lee
Miko Lee is an activist, storyteller and educator. She believes in the power of story to amplify voices. Miko is Director of Programs for Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality and is lead producer of APEX Express on KPFA Radio focused around AAPI activists and artists. She is also on the National Advisory Committee of Teaching Artists Guild. Miko’s career has been rooted in the nonprofit world, first as a theater actor, director and writer and then as an artistic director and an arts education leader.
Performer Spotlights
Headliner: Blood Moon Orchestra with
Van-Anh Vo and special guest Kev Choice

Van-Anh Vo
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo is one of the finest performers of Vietnamese traditional instruments in the world and a rapidly emerging composer. A Vietnamese-American artist, Vo’s mission has been to build a bridge between both cultures. Her Blood Moon Orchestra’s mission is to promote cultural understanding and respect while raising awareness about political and social issues through the use of musical instruments of diverse cultures, pushing boundaries, and expanding and exploring the sonic capabilities of their respective instruments.

Kev Choice
Kev Choice is a pianist, composer, emcee, producer, educator, and activist, hailing from Oakland, CA. He began studying piano and rapping at the age of eleven. After graduating from Skyline High School in Oakland, he went on to earn music degrees from Xavier University of Louisiana and Southern Illinois University.
Additional Performers

Cal VSA Lion Dance
Cal VSA Lion Dance, founded in 2012 through the Vietnamese Student Association’s Culture Show, is UC Berkeley’s one and only student-run lion dance team. Earnestly serving the local bay area for the past 11 years, they’ve developed a tight-knit team of students and alumni connected by culture, passion, and camaraderie.

Carla Service Dance-A-Vision Entertainment Group
Performers from the Carla Service Dance-A-Vision Entertainment Group, both youth and adult will perform on this day in honor of bringing us all together. Carla has been in business for over 35 years as a performer, choreographer, and dance teacher, mentoring youth through adulthood.

OH-IN Taiko
OH-IN (桜音) means “sounds of cherry”. Producing not only the powerful sounds of taiko but also the sensitive and elegant parts of taiko sounds in their playing style. OH-IN Taiko performers are sharing three songs on this day: Phoenix, Komen no Mizudori (water bird song), and Richmond Wind.

Diamano Coura
Diamano Coura is a not-for-profit community African arts organization with a cultural focus. Located at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, the company is dedicated to the preservation, education, and appreciation of traditional West African music, dance, theater, and culture.

GER Youth
GER‘s Mongolian traditional dances not only express distinct ethnic identities and promote family unity and mutual understanding among different Mongolian ethnic groups, but they also show the daily routine of nomadic lifestyle, imitating the movement and manner of deities, mystical creatures, legendary heroes and the grace & beauty of Mongolian women through smooth and elegant movements of their arms.

Pitts Martial Arts Academy
Kenneth Pitts is a master instructor and the owner of Pitts Martial Arts. He has been teaching martial arts for more than 35 years. Master Pitts holds a 7th-degree black belt in Taekwondo, a 2nd Dan in judo, is a Mestre in Capoeira, and teaches Escrima, Tai Chi, and kickboxing.

Toishan Benevolent Association
The Toishan Benevolent Association has served the greater Bay Area community for the last 22 years with different cultural programs. They promote Chinese ethnic culture in different forms of performances: lion’s dance, dragon dance, traditional art dance, tai chi demonstration, kung fu demonstration, and youth kung fu.
Featured Exhibitions

Bandung to the Bay
Eastside Arts Alliance will be partially reinstalling their exhibition “Bandung to the Bay”, which consists of historical, archival documents connected to the International Bandung Conference and Bay Area Asian & Black activist solidarity movements like the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense.

Love + Protect Mural Series
“Love and Protect” is a condemnation of violence and a commitment to uplift, nourish, fortify and pay homage to our communities so that when we rise, we rise up together. On April 10th-11th, 2021, local Asian and Black Bay Area visual artists and community members came together to produce a series of mobile public art murals in Oakland Chinatown for communities impacted by Asian hate crimes.
Artists Cece Carpio of Trust Your Struggle Collective and Tommy Wong of Civic Design Studio and Good Good Eatz brought together local artists who are deeply rooted in the fight for racial and environment justice.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Emory Douglas, Tarika Lewis, Cece Carpio, Robert Liu-Trujillo, Elaine Chu, Priya Handa, Miguel “Bounce” Perez, Eric Norberg, Karen Seneferu, Malik Seneferu, Thitiwat Phromratanapongse, Cecilia Dong, Catherine McMahon, Ming Mur-Eay, Elokin Orton Cheung, Harrison Street Senior Art Collective, Deanna Brownfield, Malik Byers, Greer Nakagawa Lee, Maya Looney, Lauryn Marshall, & Asians 4 Black Lives.

ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066
2024-02-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
“ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066” Day of Remembrance Film Screening & Discussion
In honor of Day of Remembrance, join us on Thursday, February 15, 2024 for a screening of ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066 followed by a discussion of the film with film director Jon Osaki and film producer Lauren Kawana.
Day of Remembrance, on February 19th, marks the day in 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, giving the U.S. Army the authority to forcibly remove and incarcerate Americans of Japanese ancestry residing on the West Coast during WWII. Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on their families, community, and our country. It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.

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About the Film

ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066 is a documentary feature film about the false information and political influences which led to the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. The film sheds light on the people and politics that influenced the signing of the infamous Executive Order 9066, which authorized the mass incarceration of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans, and chronicles one of the most dark, twisted, and nefarious cover-ups in American history.

In today’s climate of fear and “fake news”, the story of the unjust World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans is a cautionary tale about this country’s democracy and the fragile balance of power within our government. While the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans has been acknowledged as a “mistake,” ALTERNATIVE FACTS challenges the historical narrative and promotes healthy dialogue about race, religion, and the importance of speaking out when our democracy falters.
About the Director

Jon Osaki is a native San Franciscan and has served as the Executive Director of the Japanese Community Youth Council since 1996. During Jon’s tenure as Executive Director, JCYC has grown to become one of San Francisco’s most successful child and youth development organizations, annually serving over 6,000 children and youth from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Under Jon’s leadership, JCYC’s programs have received national recognition for achieving outstanding outcomes for young people and the organization is frequently called upon by the City of San Francisco to implement new initiatives for children and youth.
Jon is also an award-winning filmmaker who has directed and produced promotional, educational, narrative, and documentary films. Over the past few years, he has had films screened at film festivals and community events across the country. As a filmmaker, Jon views this genre as the next step in his lifelong pursuit of social justice and equity.
Currently Jon’s first feature documentary, ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066 is broadcasting nationwide on PBS stations. In addition, he has recently received the “Activism in Film Award” by the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, “Outstanding Achievement Humanitarian Award” by the Best Short Film Competition, and the “Health Equity Community Award” by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum.

About the Film Producer

Born and raised in Hawai’i, Lauren Kawana currently works in the San Francisco Bay Area as an independent documentary director, producer, camera operator and editor. She has worked on doc shorts, series, and feature films such as Try Harder! directed by Debbie Lum; FREE: The Power of Performance directed by Suzanne LaFetra and David Collier, and Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw directed by Rick Goldsmith.

"Love & Protect" Mural Series Closing Reception and AR Workshop
2024-02-29 16:00 - 19:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
“Love & Protect” Mural Series
Closing Reception & AR workshop
Join us for the closing reception of the “Love & Protect” Mural Series, and meet and celebrate with some of the artists, learn how the AR exhibit was created in collaboration with Black Terminus AR, and learn how to create your own!
Closing Reception & AR Workshop Schedule
4:30 PM: “Love & Protect” Muralist Talk
5:00 PM: Augmented Reality Workshop w/ Black Terminus AR
6:00 PM: Celebration
“Love and Protect” murals are a condemnation of violence and a commitment to uplift, nourish, fortify and pay homage to our communities so that when we rise, we rise up together. On April 10th-11th, 2021, local Asian and Black Bay Area visual artists and community members came together to produce a series of mobile public art murals in Oakland Chinatown for communities impacted by Asian hate crimes. This exhibit reflects and resonates calls for unity among global communities historically impacted by systems of oppression. Artists Cece Carpio and Robert Trujillo of Trust Your Struggle Collective, and Tommy Wong of Civic Design Studio, brought together local artists who are deeply rooted in the fight for racial and environmental justice. Damien McDuffie and the Black Terminus AR team then collaborated to turn the murals into an amazing augmented reality experience.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Emory Douglas, Tarika Lewis, Cece Carpio, Robert Liu-Trujillo, Elaine Chu, Priya Handa, Miguel “Bounce” Perez, Eric Norberg, Karen Seneferu, Malik Seneferu, Thitiwat Phromratanapongse, Cecilia Dong, Catherine McMahon, Ximaps Dong, Ming Mur-Eay, Elokin Orton Cheung, Harrison Street Senior Art Collective, De’Ana Brownfield, Malik Byers, Greer Nakagawa Lee, Maya Looney, Lauryn Marshall, & Asians 4 Black Lives.

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"Method Sampling: How to Build the Future Together" Documentary Film Premiere Screening & Discussion with Ensemble Mik Nawooj
2024-03-01 19:00 - 20:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
“Method Sampling: How to Build the Future Together” Documentary Film Premiere Screening & Discussion with Ensemble Mik Nawooj
Join us for the Bay Area premiere of the documentary film, “Method Sampling: How to Build the Future Together” featuring Ensemble Mik Nawooj, on Friday, March 1, 2024, at 7 PM. After the screening, we will have a Q&A with producer JooWan Kim and co-producer Christopher Nicholas.
Method Sampling is the principle that any paradigm shifting change only happens by sampling and reframing differences that spark innovation. In this film, we will see how Kim tests his hypothesis, meeting a disabled choreographer who revolutionized modern dance, a self-taught Black mycologist who wrote the first books on Cordyceps cultivation, and a tiny house builder with a shipbuilding background who looks at houses as inverted boats. Additionally, Ensemble Mik Nawooj uses Method Sampling by fusing hip-hop and classical music to magical effect.
This film explores how Method Sampling may allow society to overcome the challenges it faces today.
*There is limited seating for this event

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About Ensemble Mik Nawooj

Ensemble Mik Nawooj (EMN)’s Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience is part concert, dance party, and club night featuring original music that samples from classical and hip-hop—all presented in an underground setting like the New York scene that birthed hip-hop. Their music uniquely challenges the MCs and classical musicians pushing the boundaries of both hip-hop and concert music, creating something completely new. The program includes seminal works of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven, deconstructed and reimagined with funky rhythms and rapid-fire rhymes.
Led by composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, the Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience featuring EMN creates Metamusic by sampling principles of Hip-Hop and Classical. Executed with resident MCs, a lyric soprano, woodwinds, French horns, strings, piano, and drums, the music is rigorous, nuanced, accessible, and free from the dogmas of Western European concert music aesthetic. The result is seamless tête-à-tête with “textures swimming through the sound…like the world’s fastest ping-pong game” (Pitchfork) and is considered the “cutting edge of hip-hop” (Huffington Post).
In today’s climate of fear and “fake news”, the story of the unjust World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans is a cautionary tale about this country’s democracy and the fragile balance of power within our government. While the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans has been acknowledged as a “mistake,” ALTERNATIVE FACTS challenges the historical narrative and promotes healthy dialogue about race, religion, and the importance of speaking out when our democracy falters.
About the Film Producers
Korean composer JooWan Kim, starting his formal composition studies in the U.S. at 20, embraced Zen meditation and Sundo. A pivotal moment occurred with the success of a novelty piece featuring an MC and chamber ensemble, reshaping Kim’s compositional direction. This marked an escape from the conventional concert music aesthetic. Kim developed Method Sampling, involving borrowing and reframing rationales from various fields. His work has gained recognition on platforms like National Geographic, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Pitchfork, and the United Nations. He is represented by Opus 3 Artists.
Christopher Nicholas received a dual B.M. in Songwriting and Vocal Performance from Berklee College of Music in 2004 and an M.M. in Jazz Studies in 2009 from the University of North Texas. In 2010, alongside his college friend, composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, Christopher co-founded the Oakland based Hip Hop Orchestra Experience. Together, they have run the organization resulting in features, collaborations and commissions from Amazon, National Geographic, NPR, Pitchfork, ESPN, United Nations, and more.

Passage: A Dancing Moons Festival Art Exhibition
2024-03-06 12:00 - 2024-03-24 17:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Passage: A Dancing Moons Festival Art Exhibition
As part of its Dancing Moons Festival 2024, the Oakland Ballet presents Passages, an exhibition celebrating the creativity, culture, and artistic expression of these participating AAPI artists: Sanjay Vora, Dave Young Kim, Ranu Mukherjee, Mark Shigenaga, JaYing Wang, and Kyong Ae Kim. Through captured movements, paintings, photographs and works on paper, stories of the past, present and what is yet to come ultimately become the bond that ties us all together. Also included in this exhibition are the voices of 8th grade AAPI students from St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Oakland.
This exhibition is open March 6, 2024 – March 24, 2024, and will be available to view during OACC’s business hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12 PM – 5 PM.
Curated by Sanjay Vora and the Oakland Ballet.

Dancing Moons Festival 2024
2024-03-14 19:30 - 2024-03-16 19:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Oakland Ballet Company & the Oakland Asian Cultural Center presents
Dancing Moons Festival 2024
Featuring works from Elaine Kudo, Phil Chan, Caili Quan, and Seyong Kim!
Performance Dates:
Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 7:30pmFriday, March 15, 2024 at 7:30pmSaturday, March 16, 2024 at 2:30pm & 7:30pm

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Details About the 2024 Program Below:

Oakland Ballet Angel Island Project
Based on Huang Ruo’s composition, Angel Island, which took its inspiration from the poems carved into the walls by detainees held at the immigration station between 1910-1940, OBC will realize this 70-minute oratorio for 4 voices and strig quartet in a two-year phase.
In spring 2024, several selections will be presented as “works in progress” as part of the Dancing Moons Festival 2024. Next year, 2025, the rest of the choreography will be realized and the entire work performed with live music.
About Ballet des Porcelains or The Teapot Prince:
A lost 18th Century Divertissement, the original ballet was performed in 1739 at the Chateau de Morville near Paris. It was presented once more, in 1741, in the garden of the château before being virtually lost forever. Not much survived of the 15-minute divertissement, no sets, costumes or choreography, but the score and the libretto which are kept at the National Library of France in Paris.
In 2021, Phil Chan was commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art to reimagine the ballet’s centuries-old plot – creating a new version of the story more appropriate for today’s diverse audiences. Says Chan, “Now, instead of it being about, ‘Let’s triumph over Asian people,’ it’s about Asian people saying, ‘Hey, don’t treat us as porcelain dolls. See us with nuance.’”

About Exquisite Corpse:
The work borrows its name from a parlor game invented in 1925 by a group of artists and writers including André Breton and Marcel Duchamp. Participants took turns drawing sections of a body, then folding the work to hide their contributions. The next player added to the whole without knowing how the final result would appear. By emphasizing free play, unpredictability and collaboration, the game was quite popular in Surrealist circles in the 1920s and 30s.
Playing off this concept, Chan, Kim and Kudo have created three works each: a solo (the head), a group piece (the torso) and a duet (the legs), and the nine sections will be woven together to create an “exquisite corpse.”

"Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America" Book Release Reading with William Gee Wong
2024-03-24 13:00 - 14:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
“Sons Of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted In China And America” Book Release Reading With William Gee Wong
William “Bill” Gee Wong will read from his newly published book “Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America”, followed by a conversation with Harvey Dong, of Eastwind Books, and a book signing.

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About William Gee Wong

A native of Oakland, California’s Chinatown, William received his B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley and M.S. at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His print journalism career was spent at The Wall Street Journal and The Oakland Tribune. He also worked for The San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco News Call Bulletin, and has written for the San Francisco Examiner, East/West Chinese American Journal, and Asian Week, among other publications.
In the mid-1960s, Wong served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines. From 1995-1996, he was a regional commentator for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.
Wong is also the author of “Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America, Images of America: Oakland’s Chinatown”, and co-author of “Images of America: Angel Island”.

About “Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America”

William Gee Wong’s father entered the U.S. legally as the “son of a native,” despite having partially false papers. Sons of Chinatown is Wong’s evocative dual memoir of his and his father’s parallel experiences in America during the Chinese exclusion era and in the subsequent decades.

"Dalit Dreamlands: Toward an Anti-Caste Future" Exhibition and Opening Reception
2024-03-29 12:00 - 2024-06-08 17:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Dalit dreamlands: toward an anti-caste future
Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), ARTogether, Discostan, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center co-presents “Dalit Dreamlands: Toward an Anti-Caste Future” – a landmark multimedia Dalit art exhibition and dance party that will bring together over 30 multiply marginalized artists from Dalit*, Adivasi*, Bahujan*, Afro-Indian, Indo-Caribbean, and Muslim communities to showcase the depths of creativity and community.
Dalit Dreamlands, curated by Manu Kaur (they/them) and supported through AAWAA’s Emerging Curator’s Program, will center queer and trans caste abolitionist futurisms through art across various mediums, including fashion design, music, performances, films, paintings and visuals. One of the headlining artists, Malvika Raj, is a Dalit artist who challenges the casteist restrictions present in the Madhubani style of painting, by incorporating pro-Dalit assertions into her intricate and hypnotizing designs. Nazrina Rodjan is a queer Indo-Surinamese artist who integrates the history of indentured labor and femme resilience within her large paintings of indentured Indian women.
London-based trans Dalit artist Mya Mehmi from Pxssy Palace will be one of four guest DJs and performers at the opening reception dance party in collaboration with Discostan’s Arshia Fatima Haq. Dalit Dreamlands is a historic event that marks one of the first queer Dalit-centered spaces to exist in California.
*Dalit is a caste marker for caste-oppressed communities formerly known as Untouchables, Adivasi refers to tribes who are indigenous to South Asia, and Bahujan is an umbrella term that includes all caste-oppressed communities.

CURATOR
Manu Kaur
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Rinku Kumari, Jessie Sohpaul, Shivam Kamble, Nazrina Rodjan, Manpreet Singh, Malvika Raj, Seema Mattu, Mya Mehmi, Seema Hari, Shyama Kuver, Akhil Kang, Kaushik Tadvi, Rahee Punyashloka, Aravind Chedayan, Ajay Madhukar Dhoke, Shweta Ashokraj, Kamna Singh, Anika Nawar Ullah, Aindriya Barua, Ramnath Siddi, Siddi Tribe of Karnataka, Nrithya Pillai, Dalit Queer Project, Parth Pawar, Imaan Abbasi, Sri Vamsi Matta, R V Purusothaman (Purushu Arie), Shradha Raj, Jay Sagathia, Dee Chawla, Mia Kaur, Riri Kumbhar, Rohini bhadarge, John Spencer, Kulpreet Rana, & Simrah Farrukh
Event graphic by Parth Pawar.

Opening Reception Dates
April 6, 2024:
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM @ Oakland Asian Cultural Center
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM @ ARTogether, Oakland

Both venues are only 4 blocks away from each other. Enjoy both in the same evening!

ZINDAGI DANCE PARTY
April 6, 2024 from 8:00 PM – 1:00 AM @ 7th West, Oakland
Featuring Dalit Bahujan DJs: DJ Anjali, DJ Arshia, and DJ Seema Hari

Register

Southeast Asian New Year Celebration
2024-04-20 12:00 - 15:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
southeast asian new year celebration
Join us on Saturday, April 20, 2024, 12 PM – 3 PM, for an afternoon of performances, workshops, and vendors as we celebrate the Iu Mien and Cambodian New Year.

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WORKSHOPS
Khmer Traditional Costumes & Games with Sovandy Hang
Mien Egg Net making with the Iu Mien Scholarship Fund (IMSC)

FEATURED VENDORS
Mama Saing Kitchen and Zoey Tea House
Author David Saechao
TJStorybooks
Author Koy Saechao
May Saelee’s Traditional & Modern Mien Clothes & Jewelry
Nai Lium Saetern’s Mien Clothing
Persimmon and Roots

CHILDREN’S READ ALOUD

Koy Saechao is the author of “Count Yietc to Ziepc in Mien with Me!” and “Color in Mien with Me!” Beyond her passion for writing, Koy also holds the role of President at the Sacramento Iu Mien Association, Inc. She is passionate and dedicated as a community leader, alongside being a devoted mother and an avid marathon runner.

Theresa Saechao-Rother is a children’s book author. Theresa has work experience in educational advocacy, community engagement, business development and partnership. Her goal is to create diverse books, characters, and tales of adventure for children to enjoy.

PERFORMING GROUPS

Oakland Khmer Angkor Dance Troupe
Oakland Khmer Angkor Dance Troupe was established in 1996 to preserve Cambodian culture through cultural dances. The goal of Khmer Angkor is to develop and empower young leaders to support their peers and help them navigate life’s challenges.

Lotus Biangh Sieqv (Lotus Flower Girls)
Lotus Biangh Sieqv (Lotus Flower Girls), is a Iu Mien dance group that was formed to preserve and share traditional Iu Mien dances within the Iu Mien community and for younger generations.

Warn Luang Saechao & Ensemble
Iu Mien master flautist, Warn Luang Saechao, will perform traditional Iu Mien songs.

Thank you to our sponsors! Ava Community Energy, Nikki Fortunato Bas, Council President & District 2 Councilmember

Philippine Master Culture Bearers of T’boli, Yakan, Kalinga People: Weaving Workshop
2024-04-27 13:00 - 16:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Philippine Master Culture Bearers Of T’boli, Yakan, Kalinga People: Weaving Workshop

Photo Caption/Credit: (Left to Right) Virgie Nicodemus; Boi Myrna Bebing Pula, photo by Gabriel Nivera; Evelynda Otong Hamja, photo by Artu Nepomuceno; Jenny Bawer Young
Join visiting T’boli master culture bearer Boi Myrna Bebing Pula, Yakan master weaver Evelynda Otong Hamja, Kalinga Master Weaver Jenny Bawer Young and CulturAid’s Virgie Nicodemus for an afternoon of conversation, epic story-telling, weaving, dance and meryenda as a part of KULARTS’ Spring 2024 Philippine Master Artists in Residency Program.

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Meet the Philippine Master Culture Bearers

Virgie Nicodemus works with CulturAid, a non-governmental agency providing resources, funding, training and services for indigenous Philippine artisans and culture bearers.

Boi Myrna Bebing Pula is a master T’boli culture bearer born in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. Her mother was a T’nalak weaver and food producer, while her father was a village chieftain and legal advisor. A T’boli cultural expert, storyteller, weaver, translator, and writer, Boi Myrna is a recipient of Tubas Talimbong Award of Excellence in Culture and the Arts. She has represented the T’boli people in Europe, Australia, Asia, and the USA.

Evelynda Otong Hamja is a fourth-generation master Yakan weaver from Lamitan Basilan. She works with a Yakan weavers collective, Tuwas Yakan Weavers of Basilan in Zamboanga City.

Jenny Bawer Young is the Master Weaver, co-founder, and driving force behind Kalingafornia Laga, a women’s collective dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Kalinga culture in the Bay Area. She was born and cradled by a family that bears the Kalinga Traditional way of life. She is the daughter of Maria and Cirilo “Sapi” Bawer, who is internationally recognized as a Culture Bearer of Indigenous Knowledge, Skills, and Practices of the Kalinga people. Since childhood, Jenny’s parents and grandparents passed their knowledge and practice of Kalinga traditional arts—particularly laga (backstrap weaving), music, chants, and dances—to her siblings.

How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: A Fireside Chat with Clinician, Speaker, Coach, and Author Jeanie Y. Chang, LMFT
2024-05-03 14:00 - 15:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
how k-dramas can transform your life
Can a show like Squid Game change the world? In How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: Powerful Lessons on Belongingness, Healing, and Mental Health, licensed marriage and family therapist, speaker, and executive coach Jeanie Y. Chang explores how the wildly popular K-Drama global phenomenon can not just entertain us, but also help us grieve from losses, heal trauma, improve our overall mental health, and navigate the complicated roadmap of life no matter what challenges we may face. Join us for this innovative book launch event that is sure to provide insights and inspiration!
Susan Kim, a startup advisor and angel investor as well as former CEO of Edmodo, will be moderating the event. Susan calls herself an avid K-Drama fan.

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MEET THE SPEAKER

Jeanie Chang
Jeanie Chang is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She is an accomplished international speaker, providing keynotes and offers workshops for corporations, community organizations, and colleges addressing the intersectionality of mental health and identity, DEIB and psychological safety, as well as education about topics such as burnout, resilience, mindfulness, stress, and mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and suicidality. She serves as a subject matter expert on mental health for media outlets around the world. Jeanie is the Founder and CEO of Noona’s Noonchi®, LLC, a global wellness company. Her book with Wiley Publishing titled, “How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: Powerful Lessons on Belongingness, Healing, and Mental Health” hits shelves on May 7.
ABOUT THE BOOK

In How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life, celebrated licensed mental health professional Jeanie Y. Chang explores the powerful interrelationship between Korean dramas, mental health and belongingness. In the book, you’ll explore what K-Dramas have to teach us about our own wellbeing and how we can use the lessons they teach us to live better and more meaningful lives.The author discusses:

How powerful and dialectical forces determine our emotions and what Korean culture can teach us about how to best harness and manage those feelings
The realities of cultural identity and the impact that having readily identifiable media touchstones can have on our lives
How to develop your empathy and compassion by using K-Dramas as a guide and starting point

Perfect for any K-Drama fans and enthusiasts, How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life is also a must-read for anyone interested in how pop culture can deeply affect and better our lives.

Interwoven Stories of Culture, Belonging, and Change, Featuring Ishami Dance Company
2024-05-10 20:00 - 21:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Interwoven Stories of Culture, Belonging, and Change
A journey through cultural stories, memories and histories. What is the journey of a story and how does it shift, evolve and change? Using South Asian contemporary movement and music, Ishami Dance Company creates a unique experience of love and displacement, love and longing, resilience and regeneration.
This program is co-presented by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, ARTogether, and World Arts West.

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ABOUT ISHAMI DANCE COMPANY

Ishami is an Award-nominated South Asian Contemporary dance company who combine elements of South Asian Classical and Folk dance forms with Western dance forms, treading the line between traditional and modern. Ishami was founded by Amit Patel & Ishika Seth to spark conversations through art. After four sold-out shows in the Bay Area, they toured their original production “Pehchaan,” to New York earlier this year. Ishami’s mission is to explore, unite and amplify the diverse voices, stories and histories of the South Asian diaspora and dismantle social and cultural constructs. They aspire to show the beauty, depth and immense range of South Asian Contemporary movement locally and across the globe.

Movement Workshop: Interwoven Stories of Culture, Belonging, and Change, Facilitated by Ishami Dance Company
2024-05-11 11:00 - 12:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
movement workshop: Interwoven Stories of Culture, Belonging, and Change
A workshop designed for anyone who is curious, open and willing to explore movement. This is not a technique or choreography class, it is rooted in improvisation, movement meditation and sharing energy with fellow movers. All ages and abilities are welcome.
Limited spots available!
This program is co-presented by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, ARTogether, and World Arts West.

Register

ABOUT ISHAMI DANCE COMPANY

Ishami is an Award-nominated South Asian Contemporary dance company who combine elements of South Asian Classical and Folk dance forms with Western dance forms, treading the line between traditional and modern. Ishami was founded by Amit Patel & Ishika Seth to spark conversations through art. After four sold-out shows in the Bay Area, they toured their original production “Pehchaan,” to New York earlier this year. Ishami’s mission is to explore, unite and amplify the diverse voices, stories and histories of the South Asian diaspora and dismantle social and cultural constructs. They aspire to show the beauty, depth and immense range of South Asian Contemporary movement locally and across the globe.

Premiere Short Film Documentaries From Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra’s 2018 Performance with Angela Davis and Janice Mirikitani Followed by a Live Performance
2024-05-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Premiere Short Film Documentaries From Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra’s 2018 Performance with Angela Davis and Janice Mirikitani Followed by a Live Performance
Join us for a screening of two short films of Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra performance in 2018, Go For Broke! and Down By The Riverside, featuring Janice Mirikitani and Angela Davis. Followed by a live performance by Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra and Voices Of A Dream.
This event is part of OACC’s ongoing initiative to support, highlight, and cultivate Black and Asian solidarity within our Oakland and greater Bay Area communities.
Go for Broke! is dedicated to the courageous Japanese American men and women who served and died for their country in World War II while their families were imprisoned. In this film, Janice Mirikitani shares her mother’s memories of their incarceration and her own testimony. “Go for Broke” was the motto of these brave soldiers in their fight to defend democracy.
Down By The Riverside – Requiem for a King commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and work, and the 50th anniversary of his assassination. Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra premiered Down By The Riverside at the 2018 San Francisco International Arts Festival. Featuring spoken word by Dr. Angela Davis, the documentary includes Spirituals and Gospel songs performed by Voices Of A Dream.

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ABOUT ANTHONY BROWN

Composer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, Guggenheim and Ford Fellow, Smithsonian Associate Scholar, and GRAMMY® nominee Dr. Anthony Brown has collaborated with Max Roach, Cecil Taylor, Pharoah Sanders, Zakir Hussain, Steve Lacy, Anthony Davis, and the San Francisco Symphony. Dr. Brown holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in music (ethnomusicology) from UC Berkeley and a Master of Music degree in jazz performance from Rutgers University. He is currently Artistic Director of Fifth Stream Music and the internationally acclaimed Asian American Orchestra.
fifthstreammusic.org

ABOUT ANTHONY BROWN’S ASIAN AMERICAN ORCHESTRA

In the global community of the 21st century, Anthony Brown’s Orchestra presents music that blends the sonorities and improvisational approaches of the jazz tradition with Asian musical instruments and sensibilities. In 1997, leaders of San Francisco’s Asian American creative music movement founded the Asian American Jazz Orchestra (AAJO), under the auspices of a San Francisco-based, federally funded multimedia consortium project to provide education nationally about the Japanese American internment experiences of World War II. The AAJO featured critically acclaimed musicians Anthony Brown, Jon Jang, Mark Izu, Hafez Modirzadeh and Francis Wong, as well as other San Francisco Bay Area jazz and world music artists, many of whom possessed fluency on a variety of traditional Asian instruments.

AAPI Mental Health & Wellness Jam 2024
2024-06-01 12:00 - 16:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
AAPI Mental Health & Wellness Jam 2024
Saturday, June 1, 2024 | 12 PM – 4 PM
Join OACC and PEERS for an AAPI Mental Health and Wellness Jam, where we will embrace the warmth of our community and celebrate joy. We hope to create a space where Asian American and Pacific Islander communities can access tools and resources to address the needs of the whole person, and have many options for how they want to practice mental health and wellness.

We will cultivate a space of joy, and engage in wellness practices through free workshops that allow us to move our bodies and express our creativity.

Registration is free and required for entry. Early registration is encouraged to sign up for your preferred workshops. Space is limited per workshop. It ensures adequate food and planning for facilities. Same day registration is allowed, but we cannot guarantee there will be space for last minute sign-ups for our workshops. This event is open to those ages 18 and over, including AAPI and allies!

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MOVEMENT ACTIVATION WITH SPULU

By way of Tongan South Pacific Roots, Ohlone Territory (Oakland, CA), and proud immigrant parents, SPULU is a creative entrepreneur, storyteller and multidisciplinary performing artist whose work has been showcased all over the world via social media in response to social issues facing Pasifika communities throughout the diaspora.

SPULU will be facilitating a movement activation that will bring that Tongan funk with an East Oakland bliss. A space for affirmation and hella positive movement!

ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS
Sign up for up to two 50 minute workshops throughout the day on our registration page.

Sound Session with Lisa Suguitan Melnick & Rachel Lastimosa
Connect to meditative and relaxing space, build collective energy with sound using voice and instruments, play with resonance, and ground oneself with the power of frequency. Receive a sound bath to complete the experience. Please bring a mat or blanket to lay on and something to cover your eyes with for a more relaxing experience.

Available Workshops
Sound Bath Workshop Round 1 (1:30 PM – 2:20 PM)
Sound Bath Workshop Round 2 (2:30 PM – 3:20 PM)

Meet the Facilitators:
Lisa Suguitan Melnick, third generation Filipinx-American of Ilokano and Cebuano roots, leads meridian-opening sessions emphasizing stretching, meditative breathing postures, and energy awareness/restoration.
IG: @lisatitalisa

Rachel Lastimosa, Unceded Ramaytush Ohlone Territory; SF, CA – a second generation Ilokana via Kalinga Apayao, Ilocos Sur and Ifugao, Philippines, Rachel is an interdisciplinary artist who has toured nationally and internationally. She founded AGASAN in 2018, creating wellness spaces for BIPOC and queer communities and is currently a Counseling Psychology masters student at CIIS, in Expressive Arts Therapy. www.agasan.org IG:@ibilin_music, @agasan_project, @dirtybootsband

Writing Workshop with Shizue Seigel
This workshop will encourage writing and sharing about mental health and mental health self-care. This will include a short talk on mental health stigma, and will touch on the current increases in mental health stresses, isolation and the need to find support.

Available Workshops
Writing Workshop Round 1 (1:30 PM – 2:20 PM)
Writing Workshop Round 2 (2:30 PM – 3:20 PM)

Meet the Instructor
Shizue Seigel is a Japanese American writer, editor and visual artist who founded Write Now! SF Bay in 2015 to support writers and artists of color through workshops, events and anthologies. The child of deeply traumatized Japanese American incarcerees, she attempted suicide at 17 to drop out of the model minority. Her work draws on 60 years of lived experience on healing through the arts, spirituality and community. She has been widely published in literary journals and anthologies, and her eight books include five Write Now! anthologies of Bay Area BIPOC writers and artists.

Tea Ceremony Led by Fabula Tea
Fabula Tea specializes in creating one-of-a-kind ceremonial tea experiences and intentional rituals. Their exquisite teas and unique approach offer a place of connection and opens you to new ways to de-stress, practice mindfulness, and step into your higher self so you can bring more peace and harmony into your life.

Available Workshops
Tea Ceremony Workshop Round 1 (1:30 PM – 2:20 PM)
Tea Ceremony Workshop Round 2 (2:30 PM – 3:20 PM)

"Longing for Attachment" Exhibition
2024-06-14 12:00 - 2024-07-27 17:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Longing for Attachment
Exhibition Dates: June 14 – July 27, 2024
ARTogether and Oakland Asian Cultural Center co-present “Longing for Attachment,” an exhibition curated by Bushra Gill featuring 30+ Bay Area 1st/2nd generation immigrant and refugee artists reflecting on the notion of attachments.
As immigrants, refugees, and their descendants, we make choices on what to hold onto and what to let go of when moving to another country or culture. Being too attached to a place or way of being can make it hard to form connections to anything new. But our connection to a place is also related to our quality of life and well-being– it links us to neighborhoods and communities where we have lived. Anyone who has migrated from another country or grown up in an immigrant family knows these attachments run deep and true, not needing to be present to have a prominent place in our hearts.
We invite you to join us in reflection of our relationships to attachment, and to celebrate these Bay Area refugee, immigrant, and children of immigrant artists.
Exhibition Dates: June 14 – July 27, 2024
Gallery Hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12 PM – 5 PM
Location: Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th St, Ste 290, Oakland, CA

Check out the accompanying audio tour for this exhibition, facilitated by the curator Bushra Gill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FewN3Nu0o8o

Curator

Bushra Gill is interested in finding order within the chaos of everyday life through art. She was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and emigrated to Houston, Texas, with her family as a small child. Drawn to art from a young age, she graduated from Pratt Institute in 1994, with a BFA in sculpture. She spent many years of working as a museum educator at various galleries and museums including The Museum of Modern Art, The Drawing Center and The Rotunda Gallery, while also working as a studio assistant to various artists including Maya Lin, Ursula von Rydingsvard and Maria Elena Gonzalez, as well as a career as a clothing designer and boutique owner in New York. In 2009, she moved to northern California with her family and returned to making art. In recent years, Gill has participated in many exhibitions in galleries across the United States.
Exhibiting Artists
Amanda Messina Gerodias
Anita Sulimanovic
Bushra Gill
Christina Xu
Chupis
Dion
Eva Agus
Ezra Mara
Fernanda Martinez
Glish Group (Timofey Glinin & Anastasia Shubina)
Hargun Mahal Mann
Jaide Lin
Lark
León Hernandez
Leyla Jamil Rzayeva
Linah Sofi
Lorraine Lawson
Mariel Paat
Martin Rodriguez Serrano
Michelle Lin
Narges Valibeigi
Ngân Vũ
Nhien Le
Peter Gee
Renacimiento
Ria Sharma
Russel Arelis
Salma Arastu
Shooting Within
Tatiana Carvalho
Ujjayini Sikha
Vreni Michelini Castillo
YouBeen Kim
Yuting Wang
Performing at the Opening Reception

Nadhi Thekkek (@navadancesf) is a dancer, choreographer, and the Artistic Director of Nava Dance Theatre. Nadhi uses the south Indian dance form of bharatanatyam to navigate place, identity, and politics through the lens of her lived experience as a child of immigrants and an unapologetic South Asian, diasporic woman. She reimagines how bharatanatyam can serve marginalized narratives that need to occupy space in the US right now. Her latest work “Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies” sources community interviews, historical texts, and poetry to explore the intersections of labor, agency, and belonging in our South Asian ancestry. Through Nava Dance Theatre, Nadhi also produces and co-facilitates the Unrehearsed Artist Residency Program, where South Asian dancemakers create art that challenges the status quo. For more information on Nadhi, visit www.navadance.org.

Roopa Mahadevan (@roopama) is a leading second-generation Indian classical and crossover vocalist in the American diaspora known for her powerful, emotive voice and collaborative versatility. She leads Roopa in Flux, an ensemble featuring musicians in jazz, soul/R&B, and various global traditions, directs the innovative choir Navatman Music Collective, and sings for leading bharathanatyam/contemporary dancers. She is a soloist on Grammy Award-winning Calling All Dawns, and has been in residence at Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Hedgebrook, MASS MOCA, and Ryder Farm. FOr more information visit, www.roopamahadevan.com.

"Searching for Kapwa" Film Screening and Discussion
2024-06-22 13:00 - 15:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Searching for Kapwa Film Screening and Discussion
Saturday, June 22, 2024 | 1 PM – 3 PM
Inspired by the pre-colonial Filipino value kapwa, or shared identity, Searching for Kapwa is a feature-length film that follows filmmaker Larry D. Lariosa’s quest to understand his ancestral roots and find his place in the arc of history. As a child of immigrants and a queer brown person living in polarized America, Larry’s journey unpacks the complicated history of the Philippines, and its lasting impact on the diaspora.
Ultimately, the film is a densely layered exploration into what it is to be American, and the legacy of the generations we all carry within us. Searching for Kapwa was featured in the 2022 United States Asian America Festival, awarded the Kinship Award at the 2023 DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, and was the Centerpiece feature at the 2023 San Diego Filipino Film Festival.
Searching for Kapwa will be preceded by an 8-minute comedy short, “Operation Prutas”, by writer/filmmaker Ara Chawdhury.
You can learn more about this film at www.searchingforkapwa.com

Register

ABOUT ALCHEMY & TWINE PRODUCTIONS

Larry D. Lariosa is a first generation Filipino-American with a 24-year career as a mental health therapist. He is also an accomplished songwriter and musician.
Terrence Marcotte is a Nurse Practitioner in public health and has a background in visual arts and design.
Together as Alchemy & Twine Productions, their mission is to create compelling art in service of social justice. By sharing untold stories and connecting the dots between past and present, they seek to create change and empower communities. Larry and Terry live in Oakland with their 3 chihuahuas. This is their first feature length film.

Precious Beings Exhibition & Closing Reception
2024-08-01 12:00 - 2024-09-07 17:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
PRECIOUS BEINGS
Finding the connections between endangered ecosystems and the violence inflicted upon Indigenous women.
Exhibition Dates:
Aug. 1, 2024 – Sept. 7, 2024

Closing Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, 5 PM- 7 PM
(Link to Register Below)

Western scientific thought has long approached both nature and people of color as territories to be dominated, inspected, and mined for information and resources. Ecofeminism has made persuasive arguments connecting women and nature.
Kim Shuck’s (Cherokee) beadwork seeks to encourage more awareness of the biome around us and our place in that biome. Curious creatures of all kinds populate Kim’s beaded world. It is a world created bead by bead not to question or harvest but to recognize and acknowledge relationships and community. These precious beings are not fragile, though they have been subjected to violent environmental change. We are all subject to these changes.
Barbara Mumby’s (Patawomeck, Pamunkey, and Mattaponi) portraits of women seek to shift regressive narratives about how beauty is defined, particularly for Indigenous women and women of color. The artist creates work, not to cater to the male gaze, but to shift power into the hands of the sitter. Intimate stories of family, love, trials, and victories are subversively woven into each brush stroke, resulting in large-scale, vibrant works that force viewers to acknowledge their presence and force. These women refuse to be ignored, sexualized, erased, or defined by others.
Together, Shuck’s and Mumby’s work sit in dialogue with one another. Interwoven threads reach between and connect our endangered animals and plants to the silencing of and violence inflicted upon Indigenous women.
This exhibition’s closing reception will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, 5 PM – 7 PM.

Gallery Hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12 PM – 5 PM
Location: Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th St, Ste 290, Oakland, CA

Register

Featured Artists

Barbara Mumby (Patawomeck, Pamunkey, and Mattaponi) descends from the Powhatan Confederacy, specifically the Patawomeck, Pamunkey, and Mattaponi Peoples. She was born and raised in California’s rural Central Valley, where her family’s Native American heritage and work as migrant farmers greatly influenced her passion for social justice. The arts became an integral part of her life and worked as a coping mechanism for the poverty and instability surrounding her.
Barbara is an artist, activist, curator, consultant, and Indigenous Narrative Shifter; she uses the arts to challenge inaccurate and outdated perceptions of Indigenous Peoples and other marginalized communities. She views the arts as a powerful and effective tool for survival and an instrument to unite communities and move public policy.

Kim Shuck (Cherokee) is the 7TH Poet Laureate of San Francisco Emerita and a silly protein. She has been making textiles well before she was in school, and thinks of the textile process as a first language. Kim has an MFA in textiles from San Francisco State University, and in Indigenous circles, her beadwork is celebrated across the country. Many of the pieces shown here represent endangered and extinct biota from places that are important to her.
Creative Work Fund has supported many of Kim’s pieces in this exhibition.

BomBay to the Bay: a Garba Dance Festival
2024-08-03 17:00 - 21:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Saturday, August 3, 2024 | 5 PM – 9:30 PM

*ONLINE REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
Join us on August 3, 2024, 5 PM – 9:30 PM, at BomBay to the Bay: A Garba Dance Festival featuring live music by Bay Area garba legends Madhvi and Asim Mehta, a dance lesson, community dancing, and artists to explore! Garba is a Gujarati indigenous and folk dance practiced by all ages to live drumming, singing, and instrumentals during joyous celebrations.
Arrive at 5 PM for a short garba class dressed in your own cultural finery. This multiracial, multireligious, and multiethnic garba festival supports an Oakland-style expansive vision of solidarity and joy, so get ready to dance Bay to Bay, across the world! This event is co-hosted by Reetu Mody and OACC and sponsored by the Activate Oakland Event Sponsorship Program.
While this event is free, registration is required.

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Live Music and Performance By:

We’ll be welcoming Bay Area garba legends Madhvi and Asim Mehta alongside their percussionist and live dhol player, Parimal Zaveri. Madhvi and Asim are bringing raas-garba music with a flair to BomBay to the Bay!
Website: http://www.kampmusic.com/bio.htm
EVENT Q&A
Dress Code:
Dress up to dance! Feel free to wear South Asian, traditional Gujarati, attire from your heritage, or anything that is colorful, slightly formal, and easy to move in. All global attire is welcome and we encourage everyone to participate fully in the dancing and opportunity to dress up.
For Gujarati garba celebrations, people often wear elements of traditional Gujarati attire including a chaniya choli (a long wide skirt with a crop top and scarf) and/or kediyu or kafni pajama (a gathered long sleeve shirt and pants). Traditional clothes for garba are colorful, embroidered, mirrored, and often have cowrie shells on them. In the dance space people will take their shoes off to honor the feminine divinity/goddesses. If you are able to take your shoes off (we know that different accommodations require people to wear shoes), we suggest you take them off.
Garba is one of the many circle folk dance traditions that exist all over the world and all those heritages are welcome to join together here. If there is a piece of attire from your cultural background you would love to wear- this is the place for it!
What should I do if I want to wear shoes?
Because there will be many barefoot dancers, please wear indoor shoes.
What if I don’t know how to do the dance?
You’ll learn! Like all folk dance traditions, everyone does the dance together from ages 1-100. You’ll move in your own style and the steps are easy to pick up. The point is to experience the exhilaration and the joy of moving together, not to look exactly the same. If you need a break, there will be chairs to watch other dancers and there are artists to visit both in the auditorium and the adjoining artist room.
Who should I bring?
Everyone is welcome! This is a space committed to liberation for all people all of the world and is explicitly about joy in a multiracial, multireligious, and multiethnic folk dance space.
What should I bring?
Bring shoes you are comfortable taking off (if you are able to), a water bottle, and dandiya sticks (two Gujarati dancing sticks) if you have them.
What if I am not South Asian, can I still attend?
Yes! Everyone is welcome. And if you have South Asian clothing that you want to rock as a non-South Asian, this is an event you are welcome to do so at. Just bring your love and respect!
Is garba a spiritual practice?
Like many folk dances, garba is connected to spirituality. Gujarati garba dance is connected to indigenous and tribal practices and Hinduism. Many people of different religious backgrounds, including Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Christianity, also practice culturally in Gujarat. At this garba, we will be honoring the feminine divine, which will be symbolized by a matke/matlo (a pot) in the center of the room.
What if I want to donate at your event?
This event is completely free to attend! We will be accepting Venmo and Zelle donations, which will be given to Palestine Legal and Middle East Children’s Alliance. Each group provides support for Palestinians in different ways, with Palestine Legal using the judicial system and Middle East Children’s Alliance providing direct support on the ground in Gaza.
Why did you want to host this event?
Reetu Mody grew up with garba as one of her childhood’s most joyful and inclusive practices. As a resident of Oakland, she wanted to create an event that uplifts how Oakland as a city continues to enable cultural artistry, acceptance and inclusion of immigrants, sanctuary, mutual aid, joy, and care for all communities. At this event, we want to create a small space of belonging for all. This event seeks to embody equity, global liberation, anti-caste, anti-Islamophobia, pro-LGBTQ2IA, pro-immigration, and pro-neighborhood practices. For us, this means caring, living, and celebrating together. Feel free to read more with this KQED article, too.
Why can’t I register online anymore?
If we have reached our maximum registration capacity, you can no longer register online. We will allow people into the event on a first-come, first-served basis at the beginning of the garba. We will prioritize those who registered online as we near capacity throughout the night. If you did not register online, you may have to wait in line.
Will there be food?
Please note that there will NOT be food at the garba, but Renaissance Plaza and the surrounding neighborhood have several restaurants.

Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: Hālau O Keikiali’i in Performance
2024-09-07 13:00 - 16:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 1 PM – 4 PM
Join us on Saturday, September 7, 2024, from 1 PM – 4 PM at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center for an unforgettable afternoon of vibrant Hawaiian arts and culture. Featuring performances by Halau o Keikiali’i (ancient and modern Hula), Hawaiian music artists Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche on `ukulele and Steven Kanahe Espaniola on Hawaiian slack key guitar and falsetto, and many Hawaiian arts and crafts vendors.
Don’t miss this celebration of Hawaiian culture, tradition, and community!
OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange.

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About the Performers

Hālau O Keikiali’i‘s primary focus is on cultural traditions, including hula kahiko (ancient dance), hula `auana (modern dance), oli (chant), mele (traditional songs), himeni (modern songs), nā mea hula (arts, crafts, implements), lole hula (hula attire), ‘ōlelo (language), and mo’olelo (stories).
Following tradition, they share what they learn with different communities so that others too can benefit from a better understanding and appreciation of Hawaiian culture. It is within the stories told in the mele, and its morals and values, that people can truly be enriched in their personal lives.
Hālau O Keikiali’i hopes to reach people far and wide, touching everyone who may or may not be exposed to the Hawaiian culture and sharing with them in this spirit.

Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche is the Kumu Hula (Master teacher) for Hālau o Keikiali’i, is the Director for the Kaululehua Hawaiian Cultural Center in South San Francisco, and has been teaching hula and Hawaiian cultural arts for over 25 years. With a mission to preserve and perpetuate all things Hawaiian, Kawika spends his life learning, teaching, and sharing his culture through the hula and cultural arts, and continues to teach throughout the globe.

Raised in Aliamanu, Hawai’i and now residing in the California Bay Area, Steven Kanahe Espaniola is a self taught multi-instrumentalist Hawaiian artist specializing in Ki Ho’alu (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar), ‘Ukulele, Upright Bass, and Leo Ki’e Ki’e (Traditional Hawaiian falsetto). Of Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese and Spanish descent, his ethnicity is as diverse as his unique sound which preserves the integrity of the traditional with a flourish of the modern.

AAPI Voters Have Power Exhibition
2024-09-18 12:00 - 2024-11-09 17:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
AAPI VOTERS HAVE POWER

Exhibition Dates:
Sept. 18, 2024 – Nov. 9, 2024

The Oakland Asian Cultural Center presents “AAPI Voters Have Power,” a powerful new exhibition where art meets activism in a loud call for civic engagement. Dedicated to mobilizing the San Francisco Bay Area Asian Pacific Islander community for this fall’s crucial elections – locally, statewide, and nationally – this exhibition features artwork by artists across the country, including the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund’s 2020 and 2024 Creative Catalyst cohort artists and youth artists from City Studio.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, despite being a vibrant and prominent demographic, only 54% of Asian Americans are likely to vote. Historically, our voting rates have not reflected our growing influence and the urgent issues we face. “AAPI Voters Have Power” underscores why it’s essential for each of us to participate actively in the electoral process. Each vote carries the weight of shaping policies that affect our daily lives, from education and healthcare to civil rights and representation. Voting is critical to shaping our collective future.
EunSook Lee, Executive Director of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, shares, “We know the AAPI vote can make or break elections. What will happen in November will determine the future of democracy in the United States, and AAPI communities will be central to that. Art and social change start at the personal level, and we are grateful that these phenomenal artists have created work that speaks to the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience today.”
Through compelling artwork and storytelling, “AAPI Voters Have Power” illuminates the power of our collective voice and the impact of our votes on the future of our communities and democracy at large. We hope to impart the following message to you: your voice is crucial, and your vote can drive meaningful change. Let’s make a difference this fall!
This show will be open from September 18, 2024, to November 9, 2024, during OACC’s business hours (Wed-Sat, 12 PM—5 PM).
Special thanks to the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund and their 2020 and 2024 cohort artists participating in this exhibition.
Participating Artists
Hena Ashraf
City Studio
Kat Evasco
Tori Hong
Lehuauakea
Katie Quan
Sonia Rao
Cindy Shih
Aparna Sindhoor PhD.
The artwork used in the exhibition flyer is “Abolitionist Elder” by Tori Hong (www.ntxoo.art).
Gallery Hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12 PM – 5 PM
Location: Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th St, Ste 290, Oakland, CA

"Simone" Book Release & Reading
2024-09-22 13:00 - 14:30 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Sunday, September 22, 2024 | 1 PM – 2:30 PM
Join us for the release of Simone, an exciting new picture book, with words by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen and art by illustrator Minnie Phan. Simone is an unforgettable story of a Vietnamese American girl whose life is transformed by a wildfire.
Arrive at 12 PM for a children’s coloring activity led by Minnie Phan, followed by a reading, live drawing, Q&A, and book signing starting at 1 PM.
Viet and Minnie hope Simone inspires a generation to pick up a pencil, to create daringly, and to dream fiercely a new vision for a more collective, collaborative, and compassionate future.
This event is co-sponsored by Eastwind Books of Berkeley.

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Meet the Creators of Simone

Viet Thanh Nguyen (author of Simone)’s debut novel, The Sympathizer, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, is a New York Times bestseller and is now an HBO TV series directed by Park Chan-wook. He is the editor of The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives and the Library of America volume for Maxine Hong Kingston and he co-authored Chicken of the Sea, a children’s book, with his then six-year-old son, Ellison. His most recent books are The Committed, the sequel to The Sympathizer, and his second children’s book, Simone, illustrated by Minnie Phan.

Minnie Phan (illustrator of Simone) is a Vietnamese American illustrator and designer creating visual communications that spark delight. Her debut picture book was The Yellow Áo Dài, written by Hanh Bui. Minnie’s work also includes animation and comics, and she has created art for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Public Library, and a 250-square-foot mural for Google among others. Her most recent children’s book publication is Simone, written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen.

A Short Film Screening and Book Reading Exploring Cambodian & Queer Identity with Jean-Baptiste Phou
2024-09-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
“My Mother’s Tongue”/ “Coming Out of My Skin”

A Short Film Screening and Book Reading Exploring Cambodian & Queer Identity with Jean-Baptiste Phou

Friday, September 27, 2024 | 6 PM | FREE

Join us for a special screening and book reading of recent works by Jean-Baptiste Phou, a writer and multidisciplinary artist born in Paris to Chinese-Cambodian parents:
“My Mother’s Tongue”, is a short film that tells the story of a mother and son who don’t share a language, her being born in Cambodia and him in France. They have difficulties communicating until something unlocks when she suddenly falls very ill.
“Coming Out of My Skin”, is a compelling memoir of a gay Asian man living in a white world that deftly aspires for a reconciliation that can empower people of sexual and racial minorities to inhabit their bodies joyfully.
A discussion will follow the screening and reading facilitated by CERI board member, Mory Chhom.
This event is co-presented with the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI).

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Meet the Speakers

Photo by Annie Gozard
Jean-Baptiste Phou is a writer and multidisciplinary artist born in France to Chinese-Cambodian parents. As an actor, he has performed in plays, musicals, and films. He has also written, directed, and produced his own plays, including ‘Cambodia, Here I Am’ and ‘l’Anarchiste’, the latter adapted from Soth Polin’s novel. He is also the author of ‘Coming Out of My Skin’ (Seagull, 2023) and ‘80 mots du Cambodge’ (l’Asiathèque, 2024). In addition to theater and writing, he explores other mediums such as sound, image, and performance. His work tackles issues around identity, migration, and minority experiences.

Mory Chhom (she/her) is a 1.5-generation Cambodian American born in a refugee camp in Thailand and raised in Modesto, California. She has dedicated the last 20 years of her career to achieving health equity for refugees and immigrants. Currently, she is the Director of Population-Focused Prevention Early Intervention at RAMS.

Speed Weave Loom Mending
2024-09-29 13:00 - 15:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Speed Weave Loom Mending

Sunday Sept. 29, 2024 |
1 PM – 3 PM

2024 年 9 月 29 日星期日下午 1 点至下午 3 点

Bring a clothing item that needs repair to this mending class to experience the joy of quickly repairing a sock or knitted clothing using a speed weave loom, needle and thread. No experience necessary. Attendees only need to bring their well loved clothing item. Cantonese or Mandarin interpreter can be arranged upon request. Registration required with a $10 hold fee, funds returned when you show up for the class.
This workshop is supported by Stop Waste. Stop Waste helps Alameda County’s businesses, residents, and schools waste less, recycle properly, and use water, energy, and other resources efficiently. They’re a public agency governed by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board, and the Energy Council. For more information, please visit Stop Waste’s website: https://www.stopwaste.org/about-stopwaste
您有没有那双袜子或衬衫您舍不得丟的？您可以带来您仍然喜欢的旧袜子来参加这个修补班！您将体验到使用高速织布机、针和线快速修补袜子的乐趣。无需经验，参加者只需携带需要修理的袜子就可以。请打电话或前来安排粤语或普通话翻译。需要报名。登记时需要付＄十元。当你们参 加这 课堂时，这十元是会返还给你们。

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"Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong." A Book Reading and Conversation with Author Karen Fang
2024-10-11 18:30 - 20:00 | Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA, 94607, United States
Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong

A Book Reading and Conversation with Author Karen Fang

Friday, October 11, 2024 | 6:30 PM | FREE
You might not know the name Tyrus Wong, but you probably know some of the images he created, including scenes from the beloved Disney classic, Bambi. Yet, when he came to this country as a child, Tyrus spent a month alone at Angel Island. How did he go on to have a long and prosperous career drawing animation cels, storyboards, and greeting cards that shaped the American imagination?
This reading and book launch shares the inspiring story of Tyrus Wong’s remarkable 106-year life, from the paintings and fine art prints he made working for Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, to the unique handmade kites he designed and flew on the Santa Monica beach. Showing how Tyrus found American communities that nurtured his artistic talent, author Karen Fang will cover everything from Tyrus Wong’s work as a studio sketch artist for Warner Bros. to the best-selling Christmas cards he designed for Hallmark and other greeting card companies.
Join us for the launch of Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong, to celebrate a multi-talented Asian American artist and pioneer.
Q&A and discussion will be facilitated by Le Tang, a Lead Story Artist at Pixar Animation Studios.

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Meet the Author

Karen Fang is a film scholar and visual culture critic who writes and speaks for museums and film festivals around the world. Known for previous books about Hong Kong cinema and nineteenth-century British interest in exotic objects, Karen often writes about the intersection of Eastern and Western aesthetics. Her work has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, Hyperallergic, Nikkei Asia, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She is also a prominent contributor to The Engines of Our Ingenuity, a long-running, widely distributed public radio series about science and innovation, where  her episodes always focus on the visual arts. A Sunday painter, Karen’s favorite media are watercolor and pen and ink.
Meet the Discussion Facilitator

Le Tang is a Vietnamese-American artist and storyteller, with over 18 years in the animation industry. He started his career in animation at Lucasfilm Animation as a Story Artist, and from there moved onto such studios as Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, and Disney. He is currently at Pixar Animation Studios as a Lead Story Artist, having worked on such films as Toy Story 4, Onward, Elemental, and Inside Out 2.
