This program explores the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, and how these genres can serve as tools to question and understand the world around us. Astria Suparak, curator, artist, and programmer of the 2024 Carnegie Museum of Art Film Series, will introduce the films.Kick Rocks runs from 2:00 to 5:00 pm and tickets are available online.
Advocacy through MUSIC - An introduction to those honorary Taiwanese pioneers
In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are excited to introduce audiences to the wide range of sounds and genres the independent and underground Taiwanese music scene has to offer. This event is more than just a musical showcase; it's a platform for pioneering artists who are using their voices to push for social change. Covering a broad spectrum of topics from politics and queer rights to indigenous culture and beyond, these musicians exemplify the power of music as a tool for advocacy and transformation. This event aims to enrich our understanding of the diverse and dynamic narratives that shape our world. Join us as we explore the rich musical landscapes and the compelling stories they tell, celebrating the spirit of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month through the universal language of music.
Come join us at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Squirrel Hill (Meeting Room B) for a special event celebrating the incredible impact of Taiwanese pioneers through music. Don't miss this unique opportunity to honor these remarkable individuals and be inspired by their stories. See you there!
The event runs from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill, and free tickets are available online.
Sight—starring Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Greg Kinnear, and Terry Chen (Almost Famous, Falling)—is based on the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, a poor Chinese immigrant who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon in the United States. Set in 1970s rural China, a young Ming faces persecution and despair at every turn; but with the support of his dedicated family and his own unwavering determination, he finds his way to America, attends Harvard and MIT, and helps develop an innovative technology that restores sight in millions. Taking on the seemingly impossible challenge of helping a blind orphan, the resilient Dr. Wang must reconcile with his own traumatic past and face the harsh reality that the strength of his own will can only go so far.It plays locally in many local theaters, and tickets are available online.
Join The Asian Studies Center team from the University of Pittsburgh for a discussion of Yunte Huang’s biography Daughter of the Dragon about Anna May Wong and her struggles for stardom in Hollywood and her fight against the Asian American stereotypes. [. . .] Recommended for adults. Contact the location to get free giveaway copies of the biography while copies last.This is a public version of the Pitt-only book club running through the Asian Studies Center this spring. The May 2 event runs from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the CLP Main Branch in Oakland, the May 15 event runs 6:00 to 7:00 pm in the CLP Squirrel Hill.
A screening of E.A. Dupont's 1929 silent film Piccadilly, starring Asian American icon Anna May Wong. The screening will be musically accompanied by local musicians, Appalasia and Tom Roberts. Come immerse yourself in their original score and experience one of early Hollywood's finest stars at her finest.The event starts at 6:30 pm in 125 Frick Fine Arts (map).
This program explores the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, and how these genres can serve as tools to question and understand the world around us. Astria Suparak, curator, artist, and programmer of the 2024 Carnegie Museum of Art Film Series, will introduce the films.Kick Rocks runs from 2:00 to 5:00 pm and tickets are available online.
Lost Soulz spins the poetic tale of rising rap sensation Sol, who abandons everything and everyone he knows to drift across the country in a once-in-a-lifetime road trip with some friends and mutual artists. Spurred on by producing original music and the constant thrill of seeking something more, Sol learns to make himself at home in strange places, and how to garner fame through epic (and oft-unconventional) means. But the truth remains that Sol is running from something, and the slow-burn pangs of a guilty conscience seem to chase his van down across the breadth of the Texas desert, even into California and the L.A. promised land.The events start at 6:30 pm at the McConomy Auditorium in the Jared L. Cohen Center on the CMU campus (map), and tickets are available online.
The talk is based on the recently published book Made-Up Asians: Yellowface During the Exclusion Era, which traces the history of yellowface, the theatrical convention of non-Asian actors putting on makeup and costume to look East Asian. Using specific case studies from European and U.S. theater, race science, and early film, the book examines the development of yellowface in the U.S. context during the Exclusion Era (1862–1940), when Asians faced legal and cultural exclusion from immigration and citizenship. By examining the makeup technology of yellowface, the talk analyzes how theatre historians should rethink key foundational concepts and historical narratives. It questions the dominance of mimesis in discussions of acting and racialize performances and argues for a broader conceptualization of theatre history.The talk runs from 12:30 to 2:00 pm and is hybrid, held in both 602 Cathedral of Learning and online via Zoom.
A Guggenheim Fellow, Yunte Huang has taught at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is a professor of English. The author of “Inseparable” and the Edgar Award-winning biography “Charlie Chan”-both National Book Critics Circle Award finalists-Huang speaks frequently about American popular culture. At once a reclamation of Wong’s life and a trenchant social commentary, “Daughter of the Dragon”, with its lyrical writing and period illustrations, becomes a truly resonant work of history that reflects the raging anti-Chinese xenophobia, unabashed sexism, and ageism toward women that defined both Hollywood and America in Wong’s too-brief time on earth.The lecture starts at 6:00 pm in the Alcoa Room of the Barco Law Building (map).
Prophecies & Soy Sauce Shots is an experimental performance with artists Caroline Yoo and Davine Byon. They dance together, rejecting the permanently aspirational future and reflecting on the consequences of ancestral dreamwork. The performance asks, are we dreaming in resistance of or within the confines of colonized standards of success? They move through three vignettes, using projections, sculpture, music, and the exchange of dreams. This new performance in process pieces together a messy, precious home in the diaspora, and asks whose dreams – past, present, and future – we are living for.The shows run from 7:30 to 9:00 pm each night and include a post-show discussion. Tickets are available at "pay what moves you prices" online. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located at 5941 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map).
Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for Pittsburgh-based artists and collaborators. It supports playful exploration in performance through interdisciplinary work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia. The program provides artists with financial resources, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design, professional development, and encouragement for creative risk-taking.
🧺🌸 PITT JSA MATSURI 🌸🧺
Join us for Pitt JSA’s annual spring festival! From delicious food 🍙 to awesome vendors like Origami PGH and amazing live performances 🎤 including guest performer Mei Semones 💕You won’t want to miss out!
Matsuri will take place on March 24th from 4-9PM in WPU lower lounge, so bring your friends and join us for an unforgettable experience — hope to see you there!! 🌸
In the meantime keep an eye out for our Matsuri countdown 👀🙌🏼
A screening of E.A. Dupont's 1929 silent film Piccadilly, starring Asian American icon Anna May Wong. The screening will be musically accompanied by local musicians, Appalasia and Tom Roberts. Come immerse yourself in their original score and experience one of early Hollywood's finest stars at her finest.The event starts at 6:30 pm in 125 Frick Fine Arts (map).
Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.The movie opened here in June 2023 and had multiple runs over the last six months. It is scheduled to play now at the Cinemark theaters in the North Hills and Robinson, and tickets are available online.
Invite you to the first symposium focusing on mental health issues within the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population. This event, titled "Flourishing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities and Beyond: Developing Cross-Cultural Awareness, Advocacy, and Alliance," was spearheaded by two doctoral students, Christina and Jenn, and kindly supported by Dr. Moon. The symposium will be held on Thursday, March 7th, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM at the Ohara Student Dining Room. Lunch and CEs will be provided. Please RSVP as space is limited.Registration begins at 8:30 am with programming running through 5:30 pm. The event is held in the O'Hara Student Center Dining Room and registration may be completed online.
🧺🌸 PITT JSA MATSURI 🌸🧺
Join us for Pitt JSA’s annual spring festival! From delicious food 🍙 to awesome vendors like Origami PGH and amazing live performances 🎤 including guest performer Mei Semones 💕You won’t want to miss out!
Matsuri will take place on March 24th from 4-9PM in WPU lower lounge, so bring your friends and join us for an unforgettable experience — hope to see you there!! 🌸
In the meantime keep an eye out for our Matsuri countdown 👀🙌🏼
City of Asylum will present the world premiere of the concert adaptation of Yan Pan's "One-Log Bridge" on March 10.
The world premiere of the One-Log-Bridge concert adaptation.
This concert adaptation of One-Log Bridge has been created especially for the Alphabet City stage and audience, exploring (through music) cross-cultural exchange as well as the latitudes of the human experience—from pain and hurt to community and joy. One-Log Bridge is the creation of composer Yan Pang, who combined elements of traditional Chinese opera and American musical theater to produce a unique show that premiered in December 2023 at the New Hazlett Theater. Based on Yan Pang’s own story, the play tells the story of an aspiring composer from China moving to America to pursue their dream. What will they find stateside? Friendship, community, and love? Or racism, humiliation, and alienation? What about both?
A Note from Yan Pang: “My creations intricately interlace Chinese and American cultural aspects. This amalgamation generates harmonious tensions that serve as the foundation for performances addressing social justice, belonging, and my own experiences as a first-generation Chinese immigrant woman. One-Log Bridge endeavors to transcend norms, challenging expectations by venturing beyond the confines of traditional classical composition.”
This program features a concert and dance performance followed by a talkback with the performers.
