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.

2008 Japanese animated movie Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) in Pittsburgh, June 13 - 17, part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2026.

The 2008 Japanese animated movie Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) will play in Pittsburgh from June 13 through 17, the first installment of Studio Ghibli Fest 2026.

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes a heartwarming family adventure. When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea. Miyazaki’s breathtaking, imaginative world is brought to life with an all-star cast, featuring the voices of Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront; the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson; GQT Pittsburgh Mills Cinemas; and the Chartiers Valley Luxury 14 + PTX. Tickets are available online. Please note, the shows on June 13, 14 and 17 are dubbed in English, while the shows on June 15 and 16 are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Vietnamese restaurant Bela Kitchen soft opening today in East Liberty.

A new Vietnamese restaurant, Bela Kitchen, will be soft opening today in East Liberty. Located on the ground floor of 211 Tower at 211 N. Whitfield St. (map) in what was most recently Blue Sky Kitchen and Bar. It will be operated by the family behind Mola, the Novo Asian Food Hall in the Strip District and the Asian stationary store DooBoo that opened in January. Previous paperwork called the forthcoming spot Viet Lounge. Hours of operation are 11:30 am to 10:00 pm Sunday through Friday and 11:30 am to 11:00 pm on Saturdays.

Korean pansori pop band Leenalchi (이날치) in Pittsburgh, November 2.

The Korean pansori pop band Leenalchi (이날치) will perform in Pittsburgh on November 2, part of its world tour spanning Canada, the US, Europe, and an August show in Incheon. A brief biography, from the band's official site:

Imagine a musical version of Hamlet set to a juicy, tripped-out bass hook.

The psychedelic riffs are courtesy of Jang Young Gyu (that’s Mr. Jang to you), Leenalchi’s enigmatic leader. Born in 1968, Mr. Jang has witnessed the unprecedented popularity of Korean culture reach every corner of the planet from within. Even on this EP, you’ll find evidence of that reach in their cover of “Let’s Live for Today” by Los Angeles rock band, The Grass Roots. Leenalchi’s version was originally recorded for Kagonada’s acclaimed adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel, Pachinko, and was used as the theme song in the final episode.

In a landscape dominated by the K-pop industry, Mr. Jang represents the country’s small but dedicated indie music scene; he is also a prestigious film composer, scoring soundtracks for some of Korea’s most celebrated movies like Train to Busan, The Wailing, and The Good, the Bad, the Weird.

The band performs at 8:00 pm at the Warhol Museum, part of its Sound Series. Tickets are available online. The Andy Warhol Museum is located at 117 Sandusky Street on the North Shore (map).

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.

2006 Japanese animated film Paprika (パプリカ) in 35mm at Row House Hollywood, June 27 and 28.

The 2006 Japanese animated film Paprika (パプリカ) will play at the Row House Hollywood on June 27 and 28, part of its MegaScreen series of screenings in 35 mm.

Experience cinema on our premium large format screen. Our main auditorium has 389 seats, a balcony, a top of the line digital projector, and 35/70 mm film capabilities

Tickets for the Satoshi Kon film are available online.

Satoshi Kon’s anime thriller stars a young dream detective named Paprika, who must stop terrorists from using a stolen machine that allows therapists to enter their patients’ dreams. The reality and dreams blur, and chaos breaks out in a not-so-far-off future.

The Row House Hollywood is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. (map), one block south of the Potomac T Station.

Japanese rock band Nemophila in Pittsburgh, July 4.

The Japanese rock band Nemophila will play in Pittsburgh on July 4, part of their North American tour.

NEMOPHILA’s music can be described as a mixture of various styles ranging from loud rock to grunge. The band displays a sound heavier than hell, while presenting a soft and gentle-cute character at the same time.

The band aims to exhibit an unpredictable mixture in their appearance and fashion along with a positive heavy metal sound bringing a smile to everyone around the world!

They will play at Crafthouse Stage & Grill in Whitehall (map), and tickets are available online.

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.

Artist in Exile: Mai Khôi & the Dissidents farewell show, July 8 at City of Asylum and online.

City of Asylum will present Artist in Exile: Mai Khôi & the Dissidents (Vietnamese Pop) on July 8.

Pittsburgh’s resident pop star and powerhouse Mai Khôi is leaving the city and starting her next chapter in Philadelphia—but not without a rockin’ farewell show. The alumna City of Asylum Artist-in-Residence returns with her group, the Dissidents.

Mai Khôi & the Dissidents was originally formed in 2016 with Vietnamese musicians, but the group was forced to disband due to government pressure. Khôi herself fled to the US in 2019, where she has lived in exile ever since. In 2021, she re-formed Mai Khôi & the Dissidents with American musicians, alongside pianist and composer Mark Micchelli. The new band features prominent members of Pittsburgh’s jazz, experimental music, and activist communities. For this performance, Mark and Khôi have composed and arranged a powerful style of music that reflects the turmoil of the world and the hope that continues to shine.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see Mai and Mark in their farewell show and give them a warm sendoff!

The concert runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Alphabet City on the North Side (map) and online. Registration for both modalities is required and can be completed online.