Reading and conversation with author Gina Apostol, July 23.

City of Asylum will host author Gina Apostol for a free conversation and reading on July 23. A synopsis of her latest novel, Insurrecto:

Two women, a Filipino translator and an American filmmaker, go on a road trip in Duterte’s Philippines, collaborating and clashing in the writing of a film script about a massacre during the Philippine-American War. Chiara is working on a film about an incident in Balangiga, Samar, in 1901, when Filipino revolutionaries attacked an American garrison, and in retaliation American soldiers created “a howling wilderness” of the surrounding countryside. Magsalin reads Chiara’s film script and writes her own version. Insurrecto contains within its dramatic action two rival scripts from the filmmaker and the translator—one about a white photographer, the other about a Filipino schoolteacher.

The event runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm; it's free but online RSVP is required. The City of Asylum's Alphabet City venue is located at 40 N. West Ave. on the North Side (map).

Curry on Murray closes, replaced by Japanese fusion restaurant Yukiyama.

Last week a Japanese fusion place Yukiyama opened at 2121 Murray Ave. (map), in the spot formerly occupied by Curry on Murray. It has a limited menu at the moment, but expects a fuller one shortly.

Chinese calligraphy workshop downtown, August 3.

"Chinese calligrapher," by David Boté Estrada (Creative Commons).

The downtown branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host a Chinese calligraphy workshop on August 3.

A Chinese calligraphy expert will show us pictures of her home in China, give background on the art of calligraphy, and lead a Chinese calligraphy workshop for all ages! No registration is necessary for these sessions. Seating for all workshops is available to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. You’ll want to come early to be sure you MAKE it on time.

The event runs from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. The Downtown & Business branch is located at 612 Smithfield St. (map).

Kusama: Infinity screening at Mattress Factory, August 15.

The Mattress Factory, which hosts two permanent installations by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, will hold a screening of the documentary Kusama: Infinity on August 15.

Get to know the artist behind the polka dots. Join us for a special screening of Kusama: Infinity, a documentary that looks at the life and work of Mattress Factory artist Yayoi Kusama, the top-selling female artist in the world.

Along with the film, you can experience Infinity Dots, Mirrored Room and Repetitive Vision, two Kusama rooms that are part of the Mattress Factory’s permanent collection, and explore photos and items – think a polka dot chair! – from Kusama’s Mattress Factory installation in 1996.

Tickets are $20 for the general public and $15 for students and Mattress Factory members. The movie runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and the museum is located at 500 Sampsonia Way in the North Side (map).

New Hong Kong movie The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords (掃毒2天地對決) in Pittsburgh, from July 12.

The new Hong Kong movie The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords (掃毒2天地對決), starring Andy Lau, will open in Pittsburgh on July 12.

A former triad member-turned-property tycoon (Andy Lau) offers a $100 million bounty to eliminate the number one drug dealer in Hong Kong (Louis Koo), who has recently upped his business by collaborating with Mexican drug lords. The bounty sets off a shootings frenzy and a battle of minds between the two titans.

The movie will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Pirates sign 17-year-old Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-Che / Zheng Zong-Zhe (鄭宗哲)

On July 9 the Pittsburgh Pirates signed 17-year-old Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-Che (鄭宗哲). The contract is reported to be around US $300,000. He is the 10th Taiwanese player to sign with Pittsburgh, and the first since 2014. (Initial reports were using a different Romanization system, which provided an alternate English spelling of his name.)

Host families needed for 45 visiting Japanese Pony-league baseball players in August.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania shares news of a group of visiting Pony-league baseball players from Japan and the need for host families in Pittsburgh during their August 5 - 10 stay. Those interested should contact the organizers at the bottom of the flyer.

Ghost Fleet, a documentary on present-day slave fishermen of Thailand, continues in Pittsburgh through July 17.

The 2018 documentary Ghost Fleet which opened in Pittsburgh on July 5, will continue through July 17. A synopsis, via the documentary's official site:

Ghost Fleet follows a small group of activists who risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen who feed the world’s insatiable appetite for seafood. Bangkok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul, a Thai abolitionist, has committed her life to helping these “lost” men return home. Facing illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination for justice inspires her nation and the world.

And in a Hollywood Reporter review:

During the voyage, [the filmmakers] encounter a handful of escaped slaves from Thailand, Burma and Cambodia hiding out on remote islands far from home. They all have similar stories of how they were promised jobs and then wound up imprisoned at sea, working in sordid conditions where accidents could happen at any time — one man tells the gruesome tale of his friend getting decapitated by a fishing net — and where escape was the only viable option. But even if they did manage to get free, the men were often hunted down and thrown into illegal prisons run by the fishing corporation, which was in cahoots with local police.

It will play at the Harris Theater in the Cultural District (map), and tickets are available online.

EXO's "Love Shot" at next K-pop Dance Class, July 13.

The weekly K-pop Dance Class at Yanlai Dance Academy will do Exo's "Love Shot" for its seventh meeting on July 13. The class is held each Saturday from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, and the cost is $18 for a drop-in session. Yanlai Dance Academy is located at 2260 Babcock Blvd. in the North Hills (map).

We Are Here: Asian Pacific Islander American Artists in Pittsburgh at Cultural District Gallery Crawl, July 12.

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council will host Art on the Walls Reception - We Are Here: Asian Pacific Islander American Artists in Pittsburgh from July 12. It will open as part of that evening's Gallery Crawl through the Cultural District and will remain on display through December.

Event Details
As part of Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council's exhibition series, Art on the Walls, "We Are Here: Asian Pacific Islander American Artists in Pittsburgh" features art by April Brust, Wen Gao, Pralhad Gurung, Eriko Hattori, Sesame Kim, Huei-Hsuan Sun, Estelle Tian,Patty Tran, Marieke Van Der Maelen, Grace Wong, and Ariel Xiu. The exhibition is available on display in GPAC's Big Room from July through December 2019. You can view the exhibition during July's Gallery Crawl on Friday, July 12.

About the Exhibition:
Although Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) have been present in Pittsburgh since the 1870s and represent an ever-growing community in the city and in the country at-large, APIA’s continue to struggle for representation. This exhibition aims to provide visibility for this community: for the first time in Pittsburgh’s history, every exhibiting artist in "We Are Here" identifies as APIA. While some of these artists create work directly informed by their race, family backgrounds, and socio-political history, all possess an identity created in the context of omission and discrimination.

By giving a physical space for viewers to look at and engage with these artists’ work, we hope to set a precedent for the local art scene, educate the larger public, develop dialogue, and voice that "We Are Here," we have been here, and we will continue to create.

The event is free but online RSVP is required. It runs from 5:30 to 8:00 pm on the 12th in the GPAC Big Room on the 7th floor of 810 Penn Ave. (map).