For Asian American Heritage Month (APAHM) this year, we’re honoring the land and its lifelong stewards. This past year taught us that the fight for abolition and climate justice are deeply connected. Demilitarization and stopping deforestation are our best medicine against deadly pandemics, among other harmful outcomes of the human-made climate crisis.
This month, we celebrate the many ways Asian and Pacific Islander Americans take care of each other and the earth through community organizing, queer farming, politicized art and more. Find ways to celebrate APA environmental justice with us all month long!
Our calendar
We’re co-organizing and sponsoring a handful of exciting offerings this APAHM! Check them out below.
- APRIL 30 – MAY 23, 2021 Sowing Agency exhibit MAY 1 @ 18MR We’re so proud to be a community partner for the new exhibition, Sowing Agency! Sowing Agency is inspired by the fight for environmental justice, activating Asian Americans to engage in the issues of today’s climate crisis while working to realign our relationships with the Earth and highlighting collective leadership by BIPOC communities. This exhibition is presented by Asian American Women Artists Association and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center.
See the art IRL at SOMArts in San Francisco from April 30 through May 23. Or join us online through events listed below!
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MAY 13 – 23, CAAMFEST The Asian American film festival, CAAMFEST, is back with online screenings and on-demand films! Check out their Pacific Showcase, curated in partnership with Pacific Islanders in Communication in order to bring stories from the Pacific Islands to you.
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MAY 15 – Environmental Resiliency and AAPI Leadership in Action Panel How can Asian American communities engage in the issues of environmental justice and today’s climate crisis? RSVP to a conversation on building environmental resiliency and leadership through art and organizing! Featuring artists and activists:
- Angela Basbas Angel
- Priya Handa
- Pam Tau Lee
- Cheuk-Ning Li
Moderated by exhibition curator Lisa Pradhan and 18MR’s sumi dutta. Co-presented by the Asian Art Museum and AAWAA.
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MAY 15 – Asian American Writers Workshop Presents: New Pacific Islander Poetry Our friends at AAWW are presenting a reading and celebration of Pacific Islander poetry, hosted by Craig Santos Perez, and featuring William Nu’utupu Giles, Jocelyn Kapumealani Ng, and No’u Revilla. These writers, activists, educators, organizers, and innovators are redefining Indigenous identity, examining human relationships to the environment in a time of climate crisis, supporting contemporary protest movements, and allowing us to imagine a more sustainable future.
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MAY 19 – Did You Eat Yet? is 18MR’s monthly newsletter and features guest writer Anirvan Chatterjee this month. Anirvan is a curator for Berkeley Radical South Asian Radical History Walking Tour. Subscribe now to learn about the secret history of generations of immigrants and freedom fighters.
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MAY 21 – Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage From Hashtags to Action
Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting and Nonviolent Peaceforce are hosting a Community Safety & Mutual Protection workshop during APAHM.
This workshop will introduce participants to skills and tools utilized by human rights defenders around the world to uplift their communities and keep themselves safe from violence. Nonviolent Peaceforce will be sharing information on Situational Awareness, Trigger Points/Anchor Points, & Upstander Intervention to protect you and your community from harm. This will be an interactive virtual workshop grounded in community safety and mutual protection.
Save the date (May 21 from 3-4:30pm ET) and look out for a forthcoming RSVP link! -
MAY 23 – Sowing Agency Closing Event JA screening of short films and a Q&A discussion with the filmmakers highlighting environmental justice and solidarity.
Artists and film line-up to be announced. Get your tickets here!
Happy APA Heritage Month! See you on the internet!
