Opening reception for "JADED: Remind Me, My Dream" October 23; exhibition runs through December 18.

The opening reception for "JADED: Remind Me, My Dream" at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater will be held on October 23.

Seventeen AAPI artists from JADED use the creative process to explore layered identities and stories, while making space for dreams, grief, and connection. Through painting, sculpture, sound, film, wood, glass, and textiles, the artists reflect on messages held in their bodies, personal histories, and memories. 

The exhibition’s opening reception includes a Kintsugi Grief Bowls workshop with artist Kiyomi Knox, which uses the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold to symbolize the beauty that can exist in brokenness. Performing artist Arieux meditates on death, loss, and grief with a procession inspired by the ancient Chinese profession of corpse walkers.

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Remind Me, My Dream features works by Arieux, Anne Chen, Shimul Chowdhury, Sara Dtantirojanarat, Eriko Hattori, Sarah Khadraoui, Kiyomi Knox, Jules Lee, Justin Lin, Arthur Lindsay, Brent Nakamoto, Quartz/Court, Kimberly Rooney 高小荣, SEONI, Becky Sungja Kim, Zim Syed, and Zoyakeko. Led by women and non-binary artists, JADED is Pittsburgh’s first AAPI artist collective celebrating AAPI art & culture in Pittsburgh.

Remind Me, My Dream is curated by Sara Tang in partnership with JADED and commissioned by KST in conjunction with Maree ReMalia’s WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER.

Photo Credit: Justin Lin

The opening reception runs from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and tickets are available online. The exhibition will run through December 18. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located at 5941 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map). 

Maree ReMalia: WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER, October 23 and 24 at Kelly Strayhorn Theater.

The Kelly Strayhorn Theater will present "Maree ReMalia: WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER" on October 23 and 24.

What happens when karaoke becomes a way to express grief, memory, and joy?

Set in a “karaoke-funeral-lounge”, WOWEO follows Korean adoptee and ballerina-turned-experimental dance-maker Maree ReMalia as she navigates the grief of losing a parent who raised her and the absence of a parent she never met. Blending dance, storytelling, and pop music, this solo performance explores the longing to understand where we come from. It honors both the pain of early separation and the deep bonds we form with family beyond blood ties.

Sing, laugh, and journey with us as WOWEO asks: How can we hold grief and memory while still making room for joy, connection, and new ways forward?

Audience will be seated on stage. Late entry and re-entry will not be permitted for this production. 

*with post-show discussion
⁺ with ASL interpretation
^ karaoke afterparty with Liana Maneese

Photo Credit: Kitoko Chargois

The shows are 7:30 pm on Friday the 23rd and 2:30 and 7:30 pm on Saturday the 24th. Tickets are available online. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located at 5941 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map).  

Author Min Jin Lee returns to Pittsburgh November 16 for Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures series.

Author Min Jin Lee will return to Pittsburgh on November 16 as part of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Ten Evenings lecture series.

At last, the National Book Award finalist and NYT bestselling author of Pachinko returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic: Min Jin Lee has written a masterpiece by turns sweeping and intimate, one that reckons with ambition and moderation, lust and loyalty, personal dreams and familial loyalty.

In schools and churches, hotel rooms and nail salons, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped, dingy apartments and luxury, gated communities, the men, women, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow less forgiving with each passing year.

Poet and translator Arthur Sze in Pittsburgh, April 27, for Pittsburgh Arts & Lecture's Ten Evenings series.

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will host poet and translator Arthur Sze on April 27, 2027, as part of its Ten Evenings series.

“Now more than ever, dismantling walls and cultural barriers will help to find the common ground that seems to be shifting and eroding underfoot. ‘Translation,’ Sze affirms, ‘builds bridges and makes connections.’”—Veronica Corpuz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Transient Worlds: On Translating Poetry is a personal guide to global poetry in translation by 25th U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze. Focusing on an accessible selection of key works, Sze takes readers through nearly two millennia of poetry from every part of the world, constructing fifteen different “zones” of literary discussion with a critical focus on the artistic dimensions of translation itself. Using multiple translations of the same source poems—as well as original poems written by translators—he explores deep connections between the acts of writing and reading. Sze invites readers to consider their own acts of engaged reading as a creative pursuit, giving them tools to begin translating poems themselves as well as tools that will unlock foreign-language works as inspirational sources. At its core, this unique anthology, published in association with the Library of Congress, showcases a profound goal of global literary citizenship: to open works up to all readers and to encourage poetic creativity at the fundamental level of language itself.

Copies of Transient Worlds are available to purchase from White Whale Bookstore. After the lecture, the author will sign books in the Music Hall Foyer. 

The talk will be held at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland (map), and tickets are available online. 

Jasmine M. Cho's The K-pop Kitchen book launch event, with Kpop dance workshop and Random Play Dance, October 9.

Join local artist and author Jasmine M. Cho for the launch of her new book The K-pop Kitchen on October 9 at Level Up Studios, followed by a Kpop dance workshop and a Random Play Dance party. The event runs from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, including a book signing from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, a Kpop Dance Workshop from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, and a Random Play Dance Kpop Dance Party from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. And, each purchase of the book, either at the event or pre-ordered, enters you into an entry for one dozen custom cookies made by Jasmine. (More details are available at her social media post.) RSVP required. Level Up Studios is a dance studio located at 4836 Penn Ave. in Bloomfield (map).

More about the book, from Jasmine's website:

Korean Recipes and Idol Fun Facts for Fans of Kpop Demon Hunters, BLACKPINK, BTS, and More

I wrote this cookbook for fans of K-pop who want to learn more about Korean culture and its food <3

Loaded with delicious Korean dishes that K-pop groups like BTS, TWICE, H.O.T., and HUNTR/X would enjoy on and off the stage, The K-pop Kitchen presents recipes for delicious Korean snacks, meals, and treats that define the most iconic elements of South Korean culture.

Slurp up some delicious preshow ramyeon, heat up some voice-soothing samgyetang, or explore the lineage of K-pop with recipes from the Joseon Dynasty. For a quick snack inspired by street food from Seoul, learn how to make gimbap, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), or Korean corn dogs. And don’t forget a treat: From hotteok (Korean sweet pancakes) to bingsu (Korean shaved ice), this book will transport you backstage as you make delicious meals at home.

Community Dinner with Maree ReMalia, October 5 at Kelly Strayhorn Theater.

The Kelly Strayhorn Theater will host a Community Dinner with Maree ReMalia on Monday, October 5.

Join artist Maree ReMalia and Founder & Executive Director of Foster Love Project, Kelly Hughes, for a conversation about adoption, identity, belonging, and the creative process behind WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER (WOWEO), a new performance that touches on these themes. Enjoy a free buffet-style dinner catered by Manduhandu in the KST Lounge, arranged with a cozy living-room-style setup. Share your experiences and questions as we get to know Maree and look ahead to the world premiere of her original performance, co-presented by KST and Hatch Arts Collective.

Tickets are available online. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located at 5941 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map). 

Jasmine M. Cho's The K-pop Kitchen book launch event, with Kpop dance workshop and Random Play Dance, October 9.

Join local artist and author Jasmine M. Cho for the launch of her new book The K-pop Kitchen on October 9 at Level Up Studios, followed by a Kpop dance workshop and a Random Play Dance party. The event runs from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, including a book signing from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, a Kpop Dance Workshop from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, and a Random Play Dance Kpop Dance Party from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. And, each purchase of the book, either at the event or pre-ordered, enters you into an entry for one dozen custom cookies made by Jasmine. (More details are available at her social media post.) RSVP required. Level Up Studios is a dance studio located at 4836 Penn Ave. in Bloomfield (map).

More about the book, from Jasmine's website:

Korean Recipes and Idol Fun Facts for Fans of Kpop Demon Hunters, BLACKPINK, BTS, and More

I wrote this cookbook for fans of K-pop who want to learn more about Korean culture and its food <3

Loaded with delicious Korean dishes that K-pop groups like BTS, TWICE, H.O.T., and HUNTR/X would enjoy on and off the stage, The K-pop Kitchen presents recipes for delicious Korean snacks, meals, and treats that define the most iconic elements of South Korean culture.

Slurp up some delicious preshow ramyeon, heat up some voice-soothing samgyetang, or explore the lineage of K-pop with recipes from the Joseon Dynasty. For a quick snack inspired by street food from Seoul, learn how to make gimbap, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), or Korean corn dogs. And don’t forget a treat: From hotteok (Korean sweet pancakes) to bingsu (Korean shaved ice), this book will transport you backstage as you make delicious meals at home.

Robust lineup of AAPI exhibitions and performances at Kelly Strayhorn Theater this fall, from October 5.

The Kelly Strayhorn Theater has announced its Fall 2026 lineup and it features numerous exhibitions and performances by local AAPI artists. An excerpt from its press release:

Our upcoming season features a powerful lineup of AAPI artists. The season is led by WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER by artist Maree ReMalia, a Korean adoptee and ballerina-turned-experimental dance-maker. The work explores her experience as she navigates the grief of losing a parent who raised her and the absence of a parent she never met. ReMalia's performance also comes with a movement workshop and a community dinner where people can dive deeper into the loaded topics of adoption, memory, loss, and joy.

Curated alongside is Remind Me, My Dream, a visual arts exhibition by JADED, Pittsburgh’s first AAPI artist collective celebrating AAPI art & culture in Pittsburgh.

In November, KST's Freshworks residency will showcase musician lys scott, a first-generation LGBTQIA+ Thai American artist, exploring the liberation of individuality, sexuality, and relationships with their immigrant family.

Community Dinner with Maree ReMalia

Co-Presented by KST and Hatch Arts Collective

Monday, October 5 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.

Pay What Moves You: $0 - $25

Acts of Remembrance Workshop with Maree ReMalia and David Bernabo

Co-Presented by KST and Hatch Arts Collective

Wednesday, October 7 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.

Pay What Moves You: $10 - $25

Maree ReMalia: WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER

Co-Presented by KST and Hatch Arts Collective

Co-Directed by Adil Mansoor, Produced by and Created with Hatch Arts Collective

Friday, October 23 | 7:30pm - 8:45pm (with post-show discussion)

Saturday, October 24 | 2:00pm - 3:15pm (with ASL interpretation) | 7:30pm - 8:45pm (followed by karaoke afterparty with Liana Maneese in the KST lobby)

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.

Pay What Moves You: $20 - $35

JADED: Remind Me, My Dream

Friday, October 23 - Friday, December 18

Opening Reception: Friday, October 23 | 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.

Pay What Moves You: $0 - $20

Freshworks: lys scott, chronicles of a crazy girl

Friday & Saturday, November 6 - 7 | 7:30pm - 9:00pm (including post-show discussion) 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.

Pay What Moves You: $15 - $30

The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater's Alloy Studios is located at 5530 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map). 

JADED presents PONY UP, Year of the Fire Horse Celebration, June 20 in Lawrenceville.

JADED Pittsburgh, the city's first Asian American & Pacific Island (AAPI) artist collective, will present PONY UP, a concert in celebration of the Year of the Fire Horse, on June 20.

PONY UP is a festival along the Allegheny River ft. performances, live music, and AAPI vendors sharing art, food, & services.

JADED presents PONY UP to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse. On the cusp of the summer solstice, we will harness the power of the sun to uncover our wildest and most unnameable desires. We seek to enliven ways before and beyond the forces of capitalism, fascism, and imperialism that have conspired to deaden our dreaming. What spiritual traditions and collective rituals can give us strength to return ourselves to ourselves? To dance, to scream, to nourish, to mourn, to ghost, to river, to attune to what has been attenuated. To take the reins and pony UP.

🐴🐴PERFORMER LINEUP🐴🐴
LEXCD
FORMOSA
Viii Dorsey
Philophilm
412 Step
Monkey Wenches LLC

We're also looking for volunteers, which includes a free ticket to the event. Help us make this party a reality! Sign up here.

Tickets are available online. The event will be held at Tree Pittsburgh,located at 32 62nd St in Lawrenceville (map). 

Author Min Jin Lee returns to Pittsburgh November 16 for Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures series.

Author Min Jin Lee will return to Pittsburgh on November 16 as part of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Ten Evenings lecture series.

At last, the National Book Award finalist and NYT bestselling author of Pachinko returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic: Min Jin Lee has written a masterpiece by turns sweeping and intimate, one that reckons with ambition and moderation, lust and loyalty, personal dreams and familial loyalty.

In schools and churches, hotel rooms and nail salons, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped, dingy apartments and luxury, gated communities, the men, women, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow less forgiving with each passing year.

Author Kelly Yang in Pittsburgh October 22, part of Words & Pictures series.

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will present author Kelly Yang on October 22, part of its Words & Pictures series.

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.

Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.

Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they’ve been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.

Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?

It will take all of Mia’s courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and pursue her writing dreams?

Kelly Yang is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of the Front Desk series, winner of the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. Her books include Front Desk, Three Keys, Room to Dream, Parachutes, New From Here, and other middle grade and young adult novels. She was born in China and grew up in Los Angeles. She went to college at the age of 13 and graduated from UC Berkeley at the age of 17 and Harvard Law School at the age of 20. After law school, she founded The Kelly Yang Project, a writing and debating program for children in Asia. Prior to becoming a novelist, she wrote for many years for the South China Morning Post, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

The talk starts at 6:00 pm and will be held at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland (map). The event is free but registration is required.

Author R.F. Kuang returns to Pittsburgh, September 10, part of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures "New & Noted" series.

Author R.F. Kuang will returns to Pittsburgh on September 10 as part of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures "New & Noted" series.

College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.

Then shocking news arrives: Lily’s grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, she’s drawn into a journey of self-discovery—piecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.

Taipei Story asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language can’t bring you any closer to the people you’re trying to reach? What if you search for your family’s history, but your family doesn’t want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understanding—of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.

The event starts at 7:00 pm and will be held at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland (map). Tickets are available online and purchase includes a copy of Taipei Story. 

Korean Liberation Day Celebration at Carnegie Museum of Art, August 15.

Photo by Sunni Park, via brookstakahashi.com.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host a Korean Liberation Day Celebration in Perilla People’s Garden on August 15.

Korean Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol) commemorates the liberation from Japan’s colonial rule of 35 years. To celebrate Korean Liberation Day, we will host an ice cream party in the garden. The ice cream features the flavors of perilla seeds.

The event starts at 6:00 pm and is free and open to the public.

The Perilla People's Garden is an exhibit in the 59th Carnegie International by Pittsburgh artist Ginger Brooks Takahashi,

whose Perilla People's Garden is an expression of her intersecting interests in gardening, culinary arts, ethnobotany, colonial histories, and contemporary conditions of migrations.

More information about the garden and its progress is available on the artist's website.

Korean bluegrass band Country Gongbang in Pittsburgh, June 13.

The Korean bluegrass band Country Gongbang will play in Pittsburgh on June 13, part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

Country Gongbang is South Korea’s first and only bluegrass band, pioneering a distinctive blend of contemporary bluegrass with K‑pop sensibilities. Singing in both English and Korean, the group bridges musical cultures while carving out a unique voice in the global bluegrass scene.

In 2023, Country Gongbang received the International Band Performance Grant from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), recognizing their groundbreaking artistry. The award led to their historic 2024 U.S. tour, where they performed at major venues and festivals, including the legendary Grand Ole Opry in Nashville—becoming the first Korean band to perform on its iconic stage.

In 2025, the group was nominated for the IBMA Momentum Awards for Band of the Year and Vocalist of the Year, marking a historic milestone for a Korean bluegrass ensemble.

The band features Yebin Kim (mandolin, lead vocals), Hyunho Jang (banjo), Jongsu Yoon (fiddle), Sunjae Won (guitar), and Keeha Song (bass).

Blending tradition with bold innovation, Country Gongbang brings a vibrant new perspective to bluegrass music.

“South Korea’s Country Gongbang demonstrates that the basics of bluegrass aren’t limited exclusively to the realms of the western world.”
— Bluegrass Today

 The show runs from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at Dollar Bank Stage @ Arts Landing.

Korean bluegrass band Country Gongbang in Pittsburgh, June 13.

The Korean bluegrass band Country Gongbang will play in Pittsburgh on June 13, part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

Country Gongbang is South Korea’s first and only bluegrass band, pioneering a distinctive blend of contemporary bluegrass with K‑pop sensibilities. Singing in both English and Korean, the group bridges musical cultures while carving out a unique voice in the global bluegrass scene.

In 2023, Country Gongbang received the International Band Performance Grant from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), recognizing their groundbreaking artistry. The award led to their historic 2024 U.S. tour, where they performed at major venues and festivals, including the legendary Grand Ole Opry in Nashville—becoming the first Korean band to perform on its iconic stage.

In 2025, the group was nominated for the IBMA Momentum Awards for Band of the Year and Vocalist of the Year, marking a historic milestone for a Korean bluegrass ensemble.

The band features Yebin Kim (mandolin, lead vocals), Hyunho Jang (banjo), Jongsu Yoon (fiddle), Sunjae Won (guitar), and Keeha Song (bass).

Blending tradition with bold innovation, Country Gongbang brings a vibrant new perspective to bluegrass music.

“South Korea’s Country Gongbang demonstrates that the basics of bluegrass aren’t limited exclusively to the realms of the western world.”
— Bluegrass Today

 The show runs from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at Dollar Bank Stage @ Arts Landing.

Dozens of "teen time" events at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branches for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has planned lots of "teen time" creativity events for many of its branches for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month in May 2026, featuring programs on Japanese book binding, shadow puppets, ceramics, Korean schoolyard games, and paper folding.

Free guided tour of Peregrination: Xiaojing Yan at Contemporary Craft, May 2, for exhibition's final day.

Contemporary Craft will host a free guided tour of Peregrination: Xiaojing Yan on May 2, the exhibition's last day.

Peregrination: Xiaojing Yan 闫晓静

Peregrination, a long and meandering journey…

Xiaojing Yan explores migration, cultural hybridity, and the connection between identity and nature. Born in China and now based in Toronto, she draws from ancient Chinese folklore and rituals, reinterpreting them through a contemporary lens. Her work transforms traditional narrative into personal symbols, weaving together heritage, memory, and her own ideation of nature. Natural motifs serve as metaphors for movement and transformation, reflecting the fluid passage between cultures and histories. Yan’s work becomes a meditation on belonging, creating a landscape uniquely her own. In this act of peregrination, she invites viewers to reflect on the universal and spiritual search within an ever-shifting cultural world.

The tour runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, and free tickets are available online. Contemporary Craft is located at 5645 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).