APIDA Arts

Celebrating the Creativity of Asian, Pacific Island, and Desi/South Asian Americans in Chicago

APIDA Arts is a nonprofit arts organization

APIDA Arts’ mission is to amplify and unify APIDA artists in Chicago by showcasing their work at premier cultural institutions, providing greater representation, equity, and opportunity.

Halloween Reimagined

Immersive AAPI Spooky Stories and Frightening Folktales

APIDA Arts presents a spooky, IMMERSIVE, art event with the theme of reimagining Halloween through the Asian, Pacific Island, Desi/South Asian American creative lens.

SAVE THE SPOOKY DATE:

OCTOBER 20, 2024

5-8PM
Chinese American Museum of Chicago

238 West 23rd Street

Chicago, IL 60616

More information to come sooooooon. Boooooooo!

APIDA Arts presents the band Ki performing at the

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
3150 W LOGAN BLVD, CHICAGO
2:15-3PM . FREE SHOW

Ki is 2/3 of the rock band Kim, Chicago’s first and only Asian American female power pop group. Longtime multi-dimensional artist and drummer Mia Park (APIDA Arts artistic director) and singer-guitarist Janet Knowles have played music together for over 20 years. Playing original songs with crunchy guitar and harmonies, Ki reflects the power, confidence, and fun that Asian American women are made of. Ki is the Korean word for energy or life force.

World Dumpling Fest celebrates diverse cultures throughout Chicago and the world with music, dance, and of course, dumplings! The Chicago Cultural Alliance is excited to host their fourth World Dumpling Fest. This all-ages event features food, music, and local small businesses sharing their cultural identities through their respective crafts. World Dumpling Fest features diverse cultural “dumplings” from +10 neighborhood-based restaurants in and around Chicago.

World Dumpling Fest is a fundraiser held to support the work of the Chicago Cultural Alliance with the mission of supporting, promoting and advocating for over 40 centers of cultural heritage from around the Chicagoland area.

Recent Events

APIDA Arts is proud to coproduce this event with Sama Sama Project.

APIDA Arts is proud to co-produce this solo show with the Thai Theatre Foundation

LANNA Dream

Lanna Dream is a 45-minute solo contemporary dance theatre performance that reflects the choreographer’s perspective on the recent historical progression of arts and culture in the Lanna region of northern Thailand. Within the context of the Lanna identity from the late 19th century to the present, Northern Thai/Lanna people have had an archetypal and stereotypical image imposed on them from outside and inscribed into their everyday surroundings and lives. This work is in response to the 1980s “Lanna Renaissance,” a critical and commercial movement towards “Neo-Lanna” cultural identity.

Through a series of dance and monologue sequences, “Lanna Dream” directly addresses and critiques this cultural movement while also acting as a metaphor for larger issues around oppression, resistance, and self-knowledge.

Writer, director, choreographer, and lead performer Waewdao Sirisook has been one of the leading artists of the Neo-Lanna movement for the last 30 years and fully embodies the show’s themes.

by Waewdao Sirisook

ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY

Musical Cabaret

May, 2024

Cameron Cai Singer

Seo Young Park Singer

Mariel Saavedra Singer

Jasmine Meyer Planist

Mia Park Director Producer

Emily Zhang MC Producer

Marian Chen Producer

Arts Education

March, 2024

APIDA Arts brought dancer and educator Wannapa Pimtong-Eubanks to teach movement at Spry Chicago Public School.

Fundraising

February, 2024

Staged Play Reading

December, 2023

APIDA Arts is honored to be selected to participate in the

Chicago Cultural Center Studio Theater Residency Pilot

New Play Reading Series

The Chicago Cultural Center invites the public to attend free dramatic readings of theater scripts by companies in residence during the New Play Reading Series. This program is made possible by a grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.