AA&PI HERITAGE MONTH 2025
Woven: Our Common Threads
Like a great tapestry, we are strongest when our many bright, beautiful threads are brought together–an expression and vision of a community that creates and thrives.
The theme for this year’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month is “Woven: Our Common Threads.” At the center of this theme, we highlight the rich and vibrant textile-making traditions that span across our diaspora.
Whether they are made to adorn our homes or our bodies, the whirling patterns and shapes of textiles tell others who you are and where you come from. Through weaving, embroidery, and other fabric techniques, our communities have passed these practices down from generation to generation as ways to preserve and protect our histories.
This year, we encourage our community to reflect on our common threads–the shared memories, struggles, and histories of resistance and resilience that bring our diaspora together.
From the early years of United States history, the AA&PI community has intertwined itself within the very fabric of the country, from the arrival of the first Asian Americans in Morro Bay to the killing of Vincent Chin, just miles from our campus. As a community, we challenge ourselves to look back on our histories before marching toward the future together. Just like a weaver, we are the storytellers of tomorrow, carefully crafting together narratives of unity and resistance.
AA&PI Heritage Month at U-M is led by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs' AA&PI Heritage Month Committee, in close partnership with the United Asian American Student Organizations (UAAO) and the Oceania Student Association (OSA).
ⓘ What is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month? Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AA&PI Heritage Month) is a celebration of the Asian American & Pacific Islander communities. Federally recognized in May, U-M celebrates the month from mid-March to late April, with a diverse range of events that honor AA&PI histories, heritages, communities, and identities. During PI Heritage Week, we focus in on the Pacific Islander (or Oceanian) community.
Call for speakers and poets
Apply by March 16, 2025 (11:59 p.m.)
Listing of events
Our campus-wide calendar will be available in early March 2025, and organizers/sponsors will vary by event. When available, see event links below for details, and contact event organizers with inquiries about specific events.
HERITAGE MONTHS
Spirit of the Phoenix Cultural Event
March 18, 2025 | 6:00 p.m.
Location TBD—Contact event sponsor for details
Kappa Phi Lambda
This event is a cultural event hosted by Kappa Phi Lambda which strives to promote cultural diversity. There will be a presentation regarding significance of cultural traditions amongst different Asian cultures as well as snacks.
AA&PI Heritage Month Opening Ceremony & Art Fair
March 18, 2025 | 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Sponsored by MESA's AA&PI Heritage Month Committee
[Register] Join us for our two-part AA&PI Heritage Month Kick-Off! We will start with the opening which includes a Keynote Speaker, Student Speaker/Poets, and dinner. The second part will be an Art Fair highlighting Student Art/Artists that center their work around AA&PI communities.
Thai Night 2025
March 23, 2025 | 6:00 p.m.
Mason Hall
Sponsored by Thai Student Association
Thai night is an event promoting Thai culture to the wider university audience. The event includes live traditional and contemporary music, Thai boxing performances, Thai arts and craft as well as a plethora of Thai cuisine.
Generation APA: Panorama
March 23, 2025 | 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Location TBD—Contact event sponsor for info
Sponsored by Generation APA Cultural Show
This year’s theme is “Panorama” which conveys expanding the lens on APIA culture, moving beyond its typical focus to offer a broader, more inclusive view. By juxtaposing the narrow scope of a picture with the wide view of a panorama, we are capturing the diversity and complexity of APIA communities.
Exploring Asian American Activism at U-M through Archives
March 26, 2025 | 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
YK Lounge
Sponsored by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs
[Register] Through historical archives, attendees will explore the woven legacy of Asian American activism in U-M and broader Ann Arbor, tracing how past activism, advocacy, and community organizing have shaped present-day organizing. The event will reflect on the challenges these communities have faced and the resilience that continues to drive their fight for justice. This discussion will connect history to the present, highlighting how Asian American activism remains crucial in addressing contemporary struggles.
AA&PI Heritage Month Anti-Racism Teach-In
March 27, 2025 | 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
MESA office, Michigan Union 3000
Sponsored by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs
[Register] This peer-led Anti-Racism Teach-in is tailored to the Asian American & Pacific Islander community and offers a space for attendees to communicate with each other, discuss their own perceptions and worldviews about race and privilege, and engage in productive dialogue that will create more equitable and accessible spaces.
Film Screening: K'Na the Dreamweaver
April 1, 2025 | 6:00 p.m.
Yuri Kochiyama Lounge
Sponsored by Filipino American Student Association
Join us in watching the film K’Na the Dreamweaver and engaging in discussion! The film follows a young T’Boli woman, K’na, and her chances of becoming a dreamweaver for her village. T’boli is one of the many Indigenous groups in Mindanao, Philippines. These Indigenous groups have preserved their core traditions and languages, resisting colonization, loggers, and settlers. The film features various T'boli textiles and clothing, including the t’nalak, a cloth woven from abaca by master weavers, traditionally known as dreamweavers.
TASI: LUA Conference
April 4-6, 2025 | All day
Museum of Art
Sponsored by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, Oceania Student Association, and Department of American Culture
[Register] Engage with artists, cultural practitioners, and community leaders as we honor the legacies and futures of Pacific Islander peoples. Be part of a transformative experience that fosters learning, connection, and community! Registration is required.
Japan Culture Festival
April 6, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Mason Hall Posting Wall & Angell Hall Auditorium A
Sponsored by Japan Student Association
The Japan Culture Festival, or 文化祭, is our largest annual event held in the spring, open to our University campus community, families, children from the greater community, and anyone with an interest in Japanese culture. We host a variety of activities, performances, and food. This year's theme will be Japanese Folklore so we will incorporate popular stories such as Momotaro or Tsuruno Ongaishi into our decor and games, and have performance from many UofM and other Michigan based performance groups.
PEARS 2025
April 8, 2025 | 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Museum of Art
Sponsored by Critical Ethnic and Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshop
[Register] PEARS is a joint undergraduate and graduate student research symposium. Students can elect to do a poster presentation or do a ~10 minute talk with slides. The topic should be related to Asian American Studies, Pacific Islands Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies, etc. Present your ideas, interact with fellow graduate students, and potentially win prizes! Food and swag provided!
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: Reflections on Heritage, Identity, and Intersectionality
April 10, 2025 | 6:00 PM 8:00 PM
CCCB 0420
Sponsored by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs
[Register] Join us for a special conversation with writer and filmmaker Curtis Chin as he discusses his memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, and explores the complexities of intersectional identities. In honor of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Curtis will share his personal journey growing up in a Chinese-American family and how his experiences navigating multiple cultural worlds shaped his understanding of identity, belonging, and community.
Hawai'i Club Lu'au
April 12, 2025. | 7:00 p.m.
Michigan Union, Rogel Ballroom
Sponsored by Hawai'i Club and the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs
[Register] Hawaiʻi Club Lūʻau - A night of Hawaiian food, music, and hula performances. This event is an opportunity to build community among students with ties to Hawaiʻi, as well as those interested, through Hawaiian culture. Admissions fee: $10 for students and $25 for public.
Documentary Screening: New Wave
April 19, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
University of Michigan Museum of Art
Sponsored by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, The Song Foundation, American Citizens for Justice, American Culture Studies, MAPAAC, Ford Foundation JustFilms
New Wave is a coming-of-age documentary about young Vietnamese American teen refugees who were pioneering a musical phenomenon known as 1980's new wave. Filmmaker, Elizabeth AI, delves into the joy and youthful defiance of this time, along with exploring the painful and difficult lives of her own refugee family and icons of the new wave scene.
AA&PI Heritage Month Closing Gala
April 18, 2025 | 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
University of Michigan Museum of Art
Sponsored by MESA's AA&PI Heritage Month Committee
[Register] Celebrate the conclusion of AA&PI Heritage Month with an unforgettable evening featuring performances by our talented student organizations.