Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided.

For ages 6 - Adult (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

Use rubber stamps and fabric markers to give your own personal meaning to a decorated piece of silk fabric. 

Make your own paper bag sculpture using a variety of unusual materials.

This year’s celebration show will share the journey into Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Polynesian, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese cultures through music and dance.

Samples of Thai delicacies by James Beard Award-nominated Chef Genevieve Vang will also be shared.  

Director’s Note: America is created by people from different parts of the world. We came here bringing the threads of our culture that have been woven into the fabric of our great country, the American dream. 

Our country’s fabric is rich with color, texture, contrast, and aesthetics. Migrating to America creates a new section of our tapestry, the rich history of our ancestral thread is woven into our evolving culture. Sometimes the migration is not measured in miles but in transition of thought, from our old traditions to the ways of our new land. Our ancestor’s influences have laid a path to the present and technologies have made history more accessible, allowing us to add more depth to our rich fabric of life. 

With 150 years of Asian Americans in Michigan, we can use our resources to spread the arts as a universal language, expressing ourselves in a global community, showing our sense of beauty, and our challenges.

Featured Performances:

• Plum Blossoms | Performed by ArtLab J, Choreographed by Joori Jung
• Morning Light | Performed by J.Z Dance Studio, Choreographed by Joanne Zheng
• Blossom | Performed by Inner Action Dance Team, Choreographed by Anna Lou
• Hakka Umbrella Fusion | Performed by Wind Dance Chinese Cultural Group, Choreographed by Sharon Dow
• Thank you Mekong River | Performed by Ntxhais Tshiab Ci, Choreographed by Brea Yang
• Love the Fickle Lantern | Performed by Vietnamese American Association of Michigan-Dance Team, Choreographed by Loan Anh Pham
• Bulaklakan | Performed by Magkapuso Group of Salvation Army Farmington Hills Corps, Choreographed by Flor Penner
• Snow Plateau | Performed by J.Z Dance Studio, Choreographed by Joanne Zheng
• Dancing Stories of Bollywood Beats | Performed by Indian Rhythms of Dance - The Life Mantra Academy, Choreographed by Forem Mehta
• Joyful Nature of Bangladesh | Performed by Michigan Kalibari Nrityangan, Choreographed by Mohua Das Sarkar
• Chilugen, Revolving of Four Seasons | Performed by Eric Gantumur
• Warrior Horse | Performed by Xiao Dong Wei and Austin Liczbinski
• The Last Time | Performed & Composed by Shin Hoo Yong
• Let’s Celebrate with the Lion Dance! | Performed by Buddhist Family Youth Group of America - From Linh Son Monastery in Warren Mi (Representing Vietnamese American Association)

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage American Month programs are developed in partnership with the DIA’s auxiliary group Friends of Asian & Arts Cultures and funded in part by the Freeman Foundation.

Registration for programs in Rivera Court is highly encouraged - capacity will be limited.

Please arrive early - 5 minutes prior to performance start any open seats will be forfeit and given to visitors who are on-site, regardless of registration.

Photo Credit: 2022 AAPI Cultural Show

Join Sajeev Visweswaran in the Art-Making Studio for a closer look at some of his artwork and a chance to explore different relief print making techniques.

Sajeev Visweswaran is a visual artist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While he works in many media and styles, drawing always comes at the center of his work. He has maintained a focus on minimalist lines and measures etchings throughout his repertoire. Sajeev's works draw on the tension between the mundane activities of every day life and his political sensibilities, between his young life in village India and the world of fine art. He is fascinated by the intersection of the personal and the political, presence and absence, the domestic and the public. 

For this year's annual Mopper Lecture Dr. Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, will present “The Civic and the Global: the Cultural Mission of the Victoria & Albert Museum.” His lecture will focus on the V&A’s founding commitment to design, education and beauty. Tracing the museum’s genesis from its Victorian roots, Dr. Tristram Hunt will consider how the V&A’s civic foundations engendered a world-class collection; a growing family of nationwide museums; and a mission to inspire creative endeavor in each new generation. 

At a time of growing cultural divides, increased awareness of colonial legacies, and public demands for 
transparency and accountability in arts organizations, Dr. Hunt makes a powerful case for the continued civic 
mission of museums.

Sponsored by the Dr. Coleman Mopper Memorial Lecture Fund in collaboration with the Visiting Committee for European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and the European Paintings Council.

Since founded in 1966, the University of Michigan's Gamelan Ensemble has explored classical and new music composed for gamelan, helped in the training of an important generation of scholars of Southeast Asian music, and exposed students from all areas of the university to the vibrant culture of Indonesia. The U-M's Gamelan Ensemble is one of the oldest in the U.S. and the Year of 2023 marks the 56th anniversary of the U-M Gamelan ensemble.

University of Michigan's Javanese Gamelan Kyai Telaga Madu (“The Venerable Lake of Honey”) and Balinese Gamelan Madu Biru (“Blue Honey”) will perform traditional music from the islands of Indonesia. The ensemble consists of several types of percussion orchestras including the incredibly rare and ancient gamelan selonding. From stately and soothing to dynamic and exciting, the variety of moods and styles will keep any listener entertained. Audience members will also be welcome to participate and try playing these rare and beautiful instruments.

Samples of Indonesian delicacies will also be shared.

This event is supported by:

• Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Michigan
• Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at University of Michigan
• Perhimpunan Mahasiswa Indonesia di University of Michigan (Indonesian Student Association at the University of Michigan) (PERMIAS)

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage American Month programs are developed in partnership with the DIA’s auxiliary group Friends of Asian & Arts Cultures and funded in part by the Freeman Foundation. 

Registration for programs in Rivera Court is highly encouraged - capacity will be limited. 

Please arrive early - 5 minutes prior to performance start any open seats will be forfeit and given to visitors who are on-site, regardless of registration. 

Spend the evening celebrating the vibrancy of Hmong culture. Hmong, which means "free people," is an ethnic minority whose ancestors originated from Mainland China more than 2,000 years ago. The Hmong migrated across the forested highlands of Southeast Asia, now known as Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

Learn about the traditional Hmong arts, including Hmong Song Poetry known as kwv txhiaj (pronounced "kuh tziah"), classic and modern dance performances, and a Hmong New Year courting and wedding ritual with the ancient bamboo reed instrument called qeej (pronounced "gheng"). Also discover the secret language and symbolism of Hmong embroidery woven in tribal garments and prized story cloths known as paj ntaub (pronounced "pa ndau").

Caroline Vang Polly from the Michigan Hmong Women's Association will share the heroic story of the "Secret War," which resulted in the Hmong relocating globally. There will also be a tribute to the brave Hmong veterans who fought alongside the American CIA during the Secret War of Laos.

Samples of Hmong delicacies by James Beard Award-nominated Chef Genevieve Vang will also be shared.

This event is supported by:

• Michigan Hmong Women's Association
• Special Guerrilla Unit Veterans and Families of Michigan Inc. (SGUVFM)
• Ngianhormua Yang, Adjunct Instructor at the College for Creative Studies and at Lawrence Technological University
• Thai Feast
• Amanda Hang Collection
• Lee Pao Xiong, Director of the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University, St. Paul and professor of American Government/Political Science and Hmong Studies.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage American Month programs are developed in partnership with the DIA’s auxiliary group Friends of Asian & Arts Cultures and funded in part by the Freeman Foundation. 

Registration for programs in Rivera Court is highly encouraged - capacity will be limited. 

Please arrive early - 5 minutes prior to performance start any open seats will be forfeit and given to visitors who are on-site, regardless of registration. 

Come to the studio to make your own paper versions of the flowers you find in our collection that inspire you.

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided.

For ages 6 - Adult (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.