Celebrate the voices and stories of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities at the DIA throughout May in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! In collaboration with AAPI community groups and professional artists, the museum will showcase a dynamic mix of traditional and contemporary dance, music, art, and more. This year’s celebration and performances include Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Mongolian, Taiwanese and Vietnamese cultures.  

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

All programs take place onsite and are free with general museum admission unless otherwise noted. 

Friday, May 2

• 6–8:30 p.m. | Drop-in Workshop: Uchiwa Paper Fans – Artmaking Studio
• 6–8:30 p.m. | Drawing in the Galleries: Japanese & Korean and Indian & Southeast Asian Art Galleries

Saturday, May 3

• 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Cultural Display & Demonstrations – Great Hall
• Noon–4 p.m. | Drop-in Workshop: Uchiwa Paper Fans – Artmaking Studio
• 1 p.m. | Opening Ceremony – Music Performance – Rivera Court
• 2 p.m. | Celebration Show – Dance Performance – Rivera Court

Sunday, May 4

• Noon–4 p.m. | Drop-in Workshop: Uchiwa Paper Fans – Artmaking Studio
• Noon–4 p.m.  | Drawing in the Galleries: Japanese & Korean and Indian & Southeast Asian Art Galleries

Friday, May 16

• 7 p.m. | Music Performance: Masayo Ishigure – Rivera Court

Friday, May 23

• 7 p.m. | Music Performance: Asian Sound Revolution – Rivera Court

Saturday, May 31

• Noon–4 p.m. | Guest Artist Workshop: Shingo Brown – Artmaking Studio
• 2 p.m. | Cultural Demonstration: Taiwanese Tea Culture presented by Jhentea – Danto Lecture Hall

Sunday, June 1

• Noon–4 p.m. | Guest Artist Workshop: Shingo Brown – Artmaking Studio

Tammy Lakkis is a producer, DJ, and songwriter based in Hamtramck, Michigan, known for her genre-defying and transnational approach to electronic music. She gained recognition for her all-hardware live sets, which oscillate between dreamy vocal house and dance floor heaters. 

Her 2021 EP Notice, released on Shigeto’s Portage Garage Sounds, put her on the map as an unconventional, one-stop-shop weaver of sound—its title track was featured on NPR Music’s 100 Best Songs of 2021. Her knack for storytelling shines through in her bold and dynamic DJ sets, which fluctuate between extremes in genre and tone, often nodding to her ancestral nostalgia for Arabic percussion and melodies.

Bring your funny bone and thinking cap as Master Storyteller Ivory D. Williams shares his trademark wit, wisdom, and humor in a fun, interactive celebration of Juneteenth.

This program is free with museum admission.

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.

Featuring puppets, games, special guests, stories, drawings, music, and dance parties, The Rainbow Beard Show celebrates curiosity, play, and shared human experiences. Join host Ricky Rainbow Beard and their friends as they explore the fun of dressing up! What does it mean to dress up? When do you do it? Why?

This participatory live theater performance is inspired by classic children’s programming like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street, and is designed for kids ages 4–8 (and their grownups).

For families of all ages.

Pride Themed docent-led guided gallery tours will be offered one hour prior to event start time, meeting at the DIA Woodward lobby entrance. The tours will be approximately 45-minutes in length.

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.

Karim Nagi has performed Arabiqa in over 500 schools, libraries, and museums across the U.S. Through a joyfully interactive performance, he shares traditional instruments, dances, geography, and vocabulary from around the Arab world. A native of Egypt now living in Chicago, Nagi has recorded 17 albums, performed on six continents, produced a play, published a book, and given a TEDx Talk. His goal is to showcase the creativity of the Arab world and dispel negative stereotypes. (60 mins.)

This program is free with museum admission. Capacity is limited—seating begins 30 minutes before the performance. In the DIA’s Lecture Hall.

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.

Join DJ Problematic Black Hottie from 6:30PM-8:30PM for dancing in Rivera Court and a cash bar in Great Hall as part of our DJ series for Tiff Massey's exhibition 7 Mile + Livernois.

7 Mile + Livernois is Tiff Massey’s gallery installation, featuring sculptures commissioned by the DIA in conversation with works by other artists from the museum’s collection. Massey’s work reimagines art’s role in the community, offering a vibrant, inclusive view of Detroit. Her art invites us to celebrate collective identity, ancestral flyness, and beauty.

Problematic Black Hottie is a DJ, taste maker, personality and an advocate for centering femininity and blackness. Based in Detroit, Michigan and raised all over the African Diaspora, she combines eclectic global and local influences with a focus on feminine music too curate a contagious vibe and introduce her crowd to a platter of delectable sounds. For PBH, her outstanding selecting skills and ability to curate a feminine-centered vibe make her unique. With a consistent trademark sound, look, and style, Problematic Black Hottie has become a Detroit staple and household name.

DJ Problematic Black Hottie’s set will not be a seated performance.

Founded in 2016 in Lviv amid the challenges of the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Yagody is a Ukrainian group dedicated to performing both traditional and contemporary folk music from the East. Their debut album, released in 2020, features the song Kalyna-Malyna with an accompanying music video. 

The ensemble is composed of three vocalists, an accordionist, a bass guitarist, a drummer, and a cymbalist, blending rich folk traditions with modern sounds. Their performances bring to life the cultural heritage and resilience of Ukraine through music.

Lou Harrison: A Celebration highlights the pioneering composer’s groundbreaking contributions to 20th-century music. Known for his exploration of alternative tunings, world music influences, and innovative instruments, Harrison's work comes to life in this performance. 

Solo piano pieces will be performed by Sara Cahill, followed by chamber music in various configurations, featuring Cahill alongside musicians from the University of Michigan. This performance offers a unique opportunity to experience the eclectic and forward-thinking sounds of one of America’s most influential composers.

Cactus Concert is a tribute to John Cage and Detroit's avant-garde scene, presented by the Detroit Bureau of Sound, with special guests Sophiyah E. and Dominant Hand. The performance features Cage’s Child of Tree, which premiered in Detroit in 1975. 

In this innovative piece, an amplified cactus becomes the instrument, with contact microphones capturing the subtle vibrations produced by the plant and the performer. The result is a unique soundscape filled with rustling, creaking, and delicate spring-like noises, blurring the lines between natural sounds and music. 

True to Cage’s philosophy of indeterminacy, Child of Tree allows chance to shape the performance, creating a constantly evolving experience for the audience.

Featured Performances:

• Sorhogton | Performed by The Throat Singer
• Binakbak Na Diwa (Strip my Soul) | Performed by Martha Bryan and Caitlyn Giles
• Heart Lantern – Yunnan Flower Lantern | Performed by J. Z. Dance Studio, Choreographed by Joanne Zheng
• Loi ve xom nho (To the Countryside) | Performed by Vietnamese American Association of Michigan-Dance Team, Choreographed by Trisha Tuyet Nguyen
• Dunhuang Fairies | Performed by J.Z. Dance Studio, Choreographed by Joanne Zheng
• Peacocks |Performed by Inner Action Dance, Choreographed by Sharon Kang
• Hmong Dance | Performed by Hnub Qub Cia Siab (Star of Hope), Choreographed by Cynthia Ly and Stephanie Yang
• Bhangra Dance Performance | Performed by RVD Academy, Choreographed by Monick Mehta
• Taiko Journey from Japan to the Great Lakes | Performed by Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) Taiko Arts Collective
• Lion Dance | Performed by Linh Son Buddhist Youth Group

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.