Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH
May 2022
Paying tribute to the local Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in a celebration of history and culture and in recognition of the communities’ struggle for inclusion and equity.
JAPANESE DANCE (ODORI) WORKSHOP WITH CHRISTINE INOUYE
Discover the beauty and grace of Japanese dance (odori) and celebratory Obon dances with Christine Inouye. The Obon festival is an annual Japanese celebration which commemorates and remembers deceased ancestors, and communal dance is the heart of each celebration. Participants will learn about Japanese culture in addition to the steps of popular Japanese festival dances.
Christine Inouye began her training in Japanese classical dance and later developed a passion for Minyo Odori or Japanese folk dance. She received her natori (Japanese professional name) in March of 2012.
Christine Inouye has provided dance instruction at various dance events such as Los Angeles Music Center’s Dance Downtown series and A Taste of Dance. Her specialty is creating traditional dances to contemporary upbeat music to bring a fresh approach to a dance form that is hundreds of years old.
GLENDALE CENTRAL LIBRARY, AUDITORIUM
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
INTERVIEW WITH BOKYUNG BYUN
We will have the great pleasure to speak to Bokyung Byun, a rising star in the guitar world. Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “confident and quite extraordinary,” Byun enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation. She is the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition and the grand prize winner of the 2021 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition – the first female guitarist to win the award in 20 years.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Byun began playing guitar at the age of six. At eleven, she took the stage for her first solo recital, leading to an early start in her teen years performing numerous concert tours around Korea. By her teen years, she had gained national attention for first-prize finishes in three renowned competitions: the Korea Guitar Association, the Music Association of Korea, and the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition.
Byun soon moved to the United States, where she briefly studied in Los Angeles before moving to New York City, where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Byun is currently on the guitar faculty of California State University Fullerton.
ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
MONDAY, MAY 16
Navigate to: Top | Teen G.E.N. Talks | Giveaway | Book Lists | Resources
OWNER AND FOUNDER OF PAPER TREATS MAI IMAI
Mai started her shop concept around 2019, combining the two things she loves — paper and food. She is second generation Japanese American and grew up in both Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
Since childhood she has had a passion for reading and writing. She was the first in her family generation to attend college (Syracuse University in upstate New York).Her career path has changed over the years and now with a family of her own, she wanted to find a way to reconnect with her Japanese culture, and she kept finding that connection through stationery. Her shop is also heavily inspired by the passion and creativity of the stationery community as well as children. When she began her small shop journey, she wanted to focus on the joy of each product more than the selling. Writing her own captions through personal stories, culture and the stationery community is what she loves the most (and packaging, too)!
ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
FRIDAY, MAY 6 @ 4:30PM
Navigate to: Top | Events | Giveaway | Book Lists | Resources
JAPANESE WINDSOCK
Grab & Go Craft Kit
In Japan, the koinobori or carp-shaped windsock was originally flown to celebrate Children’s Day on May 5. The koi fish is a symbol of strength, courage, and perseverance due to its ability to swim upstream against rapid currents.
DISTRIBUTING FROM ALL BRANCHES
STARTING MAY 16, 2022 (until supplies last)
AAPI TEA TIME! KIT
To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, we are offering samples of Wild Harvest Green Pu'erh tea. This beverage is grown in Southwestern China, where ancient tea trees reside in the fertile soil of Yunnan, known as the historical birthplace of tea. This is the same type of aged tea so poetically described in the beautiful book, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.
DISTRIBUTING FROM ALL BRANCHES
STARTING MAY 19, 2022 (until supplies last)
Navigate to: Top | Events | Teen G.E.N. Talks | Book Lists | Resources
Navigate to: Top | Events | Teen G.E.N. Talks | Giveaway | Resources
LOCAL RESOURCES
Advancing Justice-LA is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
LA vs Hate is a community centered, artist driven campaign to support all residents of Los Angeles County. Led by the Human Relations Commission, the LA vs. Hate Campaign partners with community partners from every district of the county representing a diverse coalition of voices committed to ending hate.
Tuesday Night Project (TNP) is an Asian American grassroots and volunteer-based organization fiercely devoted to bridging communities by providing programming and interactive spaces for people to connect through artistic expression and strong, creative, community partnerships.
Embracing the value of kapwa (shared being), the mission of the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture’s (FilAm ARTS) is to facilitate community synergy and transformation by advancing the arts and diverse cultural heritage of Filipinos through arts services, presentation, and education.
The Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles (KCCLA) welcomes the general public to experience the rich traditions and history of Korea through specialized programs, sponsored events, and multiple learning resources.
The mission of the Chinese American Museum (CAM) is to foster a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, America’s diverse heritage by researching, preserving, and sharing the history, rich cultural legacy, and continued contributions of Chinese Americans.
The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California works towards the goals of collecting, preserving, and sharing Chinese American history.
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) located in Little Tokyo, seeks to create a permanent center for the community where arts and culture come alive and can flourish for future generations.
JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles seeks to foster awareness and appreciation for Japan around the world by showcasing the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology.
The Asian Pacific Resource Center (APRC) is a special collection of the County of Los Angeles Public Library the emphasis of the collection is on the Asian American / Pacific Islander American experience, with core holdings on the history, art, and culture - of China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Hawaii, and American Samoa.
Stop DiscriminAsian (SDA) started as a small group of friends in New York and Los Angeles who were looking to each other for support after enduring anti-Asian attacks in March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group expanded to art workers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, and has since collaborated with other groups fighting racism, within the arts and beyond. Collectively, they descend from regions that include present-day China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, South and North Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
GENERAL RESOURCES
Stop AAPI Hate, the center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context.
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience offers an authentic and unique perspective on the American story.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco connects art to life. Their mission is to inspire new ways of thinking by connecting diverse communities to historical and contemporary Asian art and culture through our world-class collection, exhibitions and programs.
The Korean American National Museum's mission is to preserve and interpret the history, experiences, culture and achievements of Americans of Korean ancestry.
The mission of the Japanese American National Museum is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience.
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center brings history, art and culture to you through innovative museum experiences and digital initiatives.
Navigate to: Top | Events | Teen G.E.N. Talks | Giveaway | Book Lists | Resources
