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Our 2026 Theme

Be the Bridge: The Strength of Us is Together

 

“Be the Bridge” is a call to action, an invitation to build the pathway together. Like an arched bridge, our strength is not made from a single stone. It is made from many, pressed close, locking into strength. The more we show up for one another, the more the bridge holds. The arch becomes strongest when every piece leans in with trust, carrying not only us, but the generations to come. The strength of us is together.

That strength also lives in the small crossings we bridge each day. They can be visible and warm to the touch: a shared meal passed hand to hand, a performance that lifts the room, a gathering where someone finally exhales into belonging. They can also be quieter, almost invisible, yet just as real: a glance of recognition between people who have never met, the brave moment a story is spoken aloud, the steady collective care that turns isolation into connection.

This year, our Asian American Heritage Month programming follows those crossings through culture, story, art, care, and social justice — bridging generations, bridging art and action, bridging our relationship to the environment, and bridging isolation into community. Every crossing lays a stone. Every act of solidarity strengthens the arch. Be the Bridge.

Press Release
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What Bridges Through the Art?

Each year, as we honor Asian American Heritage Month, we invite a local artist to interpret our annual theme through visual language — one that can hold feeling, memory, and meaning beyond what words alone can carry. This year, under the theme Be the Bridge, we are honored to collaborate with LAIN BUNDALIAN.

Art creates crossings. It moves between memory and imagination, between personal story and collective history, between what is seen and what is felt. It helps us recognize one another across difference, carry forward what has been given, and envision new ways of belonging — together.

In this spirit, art becomes its own kind of bridge: connecting generations, communities, and ways of seeing the world. It reminds us that our greatest strength lies not in standing apart, but in reaching toward one another.

Learn More

Meet the Artist: LAIN BUNDALIAN

LB is a queer Asian-American/Native Hawaiian designer and illustrator whose practice bridges collaboration and research. They have worked alongside nonprofits, fellow artists, researchers, live musicians, and authors to explore new forms of artistic expression and social engagement.

As the founder of Loveless Press, LB has established a zinemaking praxis rooted in radical accessibility: each publication is freely distributed with the belief that art and information should belong to everyone. Their zines and artworks have been shared and exhibited across the United States and internationally, underscoring a commitment to creative freedom and collective exchange.

Drawing from the visual movements of the past, LB investigates their histories and cultural impact to reimagine aesthetics for contemporary audiences. Through deep research and exploration, they fuse analog and digital archives, weaving nostalgia with forward- looking energy to honor both present and future.

LB earned a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Technology and Culture, with an emphasis in digital design, from Washington State University.

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Event Schedule

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month
Volunteers Needed

Opening Reception: Be The Bridge Art Exhibit

 Saranac Building Lobby + Saranac Commons | 25 W Main Ave, Spokane

Let’s kick the month off through a celebration of our Asian and Asian American community through the power of art and stories. There will be… Read more

Learn more about the exhibit

Opening Reception: Be The Bridge Art Exhibit

Saranac Building Lobby + Saranac Commons | 25 W Main Ave, Spokane

Let’s kick the month off through a celebration of our Asian and Asian American community through the power of art and stories. There will be an artist talk, poetry reading, Asian treats, performances, photobooth, and karaoke! Free and open to the public. We will have limited free tickets to get free food and drinks from our venue partners Boots Bakery & Lounge, Spokane Slice, Black Label Brewing Co.

Our Opening Reception is also made possible by Asians for Collective Action, Arts Fund, Waters Meet Foundation, Community and Saranac Building, Avista Foundation, Gesa Credit Union, Hifumi En Society, Gonzaga University’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and Division of Student Affairs, KH Consulting, Arcora Foundation, YWCA Spokane, Peony Counseling, Electric Photoland, Global Neighborhood Thrift Store, Lunarium, Hatch Beaker + Burr

In celebration of Asian American Heritage Month in May, we are bringing together local Asian/Asian American artists for a month-long collective art exhibit at the Saranac Building Lobby—where the marker of the historic Trent Alley/old International District can be found—to bridge our intergenerational community stories. Honoring the life and contributions of Japanese Americans in the United States, the exhibit will also feature renowned artist Patti Warashina’s piece “Woman with Pear”—a newly acquired sculpture from Marmot Art Gallery by the The Saranac Building.]

In the lobby of the Saranac Building, where the Trent Alley marker stands as a witness to Asian community history in Spokane, we’re building a bridge we can step into. Be the Bridge is a shared space where art carries what words can’t always hold. Each piece in the exhibit is its own span of memory and imagination, and together they form an arch that only exists because our voices are placed side by side. Not one artist, not one story—but a collective narrative made stronger by interconnected past, present, and future. The strength of us is together.

This year’s exhibit feature the works of Patti Warashina, Jiemei Lin, Brianna Miller, Remelisa Cullitan, Margaret Albaugh, Kiara Lime, Katrina Brown (김홍주), Lain Bundalian, and Azadeh Weber.

Learn more about the exhibit and artists here.

Learn more about the exhibit
Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month
Volunteers Needed

Spokane Asian Graduation 2026

 The Philanthropy Center (1020 W Riverside Ave)

ACL Spokane is excited to host the 5th Annual Spokane Asian Graduation Celebration! Join us as we honor YOU and the brilliance of our Asian/Asian American graduates! Open… Read more

RSVP Now

Spokane Asian Graduation 2026

The Philanthropy Center (1020 W Riverside Ave)

ACL Spokane is excited to host the 5th Annual Spokane Asian Graduation Celebration!

Join us as we honor YOU and the brilliance of our Asian/Asian American graduates! Open to all Asian + Asian American high school, college, master, and PhD students graduating as class of 2026! RSVP Deadline Extended until Monday, April 27, 2026

What to expect:

  • Performance from our local Asian American artists
  • Enjoy yummy Asian food
  • Receive a special ACL graduation stole and other gifts
  • Photobooth
  • Karaoke

We are honored to announce this year’s guest speaker, Hannah Sabio-Howell!

Hannah Sabio-Howell is the former Communications Director at Working Washington, a statewide political and legal advocacy nonprofit that organizes underpaid workers in the fight for better wages and workplaces. Prior to this, Hannah spent years as a staffer at the Washington state legislature, where she served elected officials whose work spanned tax reform, environmental justice, and healthcare expansion. She is the proud daughter and granddaughter of Filipino immigrants and Eastern Washington wheat farmers, and her family’s multigenerational ties to Spokane are part of why she pursued college at Whitworth University, where she graduated with degrees in Political Science and Spanish in 2018. Today, Hannah is running for State Senate in Washington’s 43rd LD to win a future we can all afford to build good lives in.

 

RSVP Now
Asian American Heritage Month
Environmental Justice
Health & Wellness

Climate Chats Cafe for Asian American Heritage Month

 Meeting House Cafe (1801 E 11th Ave, Spokane, WA)

Celebrate Mother Earth this Mother’s Day by joining our monthly informal meeting to talk about all things climate, climate change, and conservation in Spokane over… Read more

RSVP Now

Climate Chats Cafe for Asian American Heritage Month

Meeting House Cafe (1801 E 11th Ave, Spokane, WA)

Celebrate Mother Earth this Mother’s Day by joining our monthly informal meeting to talk about all things climate, climate change, and conservation in Spokane over coffee and brunch. 

RSVP Now
Asian American Heritage Month
Health & Wellness

Boba Breaks @ EWU Spring Market

 Eastern Washington University (Cheney Campus)

ACL Spokane’s Boba Breaks is excited to be returning to this year’s 509 Spring Market hosted by Asian Student Association of Eastern Washington University (ASA… Read more

Boba Breaks @ EWU Spring Market

Eastern Washington University (Cheney Campus)

ACL Spokane’s Boba Breaks is excited to be returning to this year’s 509 Spring Market hosted by Asian Student Association of Eastern Washington University (ASA EWU)!

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month

Be The Bridge Art Exhibit

 Saranac Building Lobby (25 W Main Ave, Spokane)

We are bringing together local Asian/Asian American artists for a month-long collective art exhibit at the Saranac Building Lobby—where the marker of the historic Trent… Read more

Be The Bridge Art Exhibit

Saranac Building Lobby (25 W Main Ave, Spokane)

We are bringing together local Asian/Asian American artists for a month-long collective art exhibit at the Saranac Building Lobby—where the marker of the historic Trent Alley/old International District can be found—to bridge our intergenerational community stories. Honoring the life and contributions of Japanese Americans in the United States, the exhibit will also feature renowned artist Patti Warashina’s piece “Woman with Pear”—a newly acquired sculpture from Marmot Art Gallery.

In the lobby of the Saranac Building, where the Trent Alley marker stands as a witness to Asian community history in Spokane, we’re building a bridge we can step into. Be the Bridge is a shared space where art carries what words can’t always hold. Each piece in the exhibit is its own span of memory and imagination, and together they form an arch that only exists because our voices are placed side by side. Not one artist, not one story—but a collective narrative made stronger by interconnected past, present, and future. The strength of us is together.

This exhibit is mapped by crossings. Some arrive all at once the moment you step into the room and feel yourself pulled toward a sculpture, a wash of color, a texture that carries you back to home or history. Others unfold quietly like a pause beside a stranger lingering with the same piece, the sense of shared lineage, the feeling of being seen by an image you didn’t know you were waiting for. Here, art becomes the pathway where intergenerational stories meet, where grief and joy can sit side by side, and where belonging takes shape.

As part of our Asian American Heritage Month programming, this collective exhibit invites us to bridge generations through what we create and what we witness, to bridge art and action, to bridge isolation into community. Every visit is a crossing. Every shared moment strengthens the arch. Be the Bridge.

ARTISTS

PATTI WARASHINA

Patti Warashina is a ceramic sculptor born in 1940 in Spokane, Washington. She earned her BFA (1962) and MFA (1964) from the University of Washington in Seattle. After 30 years of teaching art in the Midwest and Seattle, she retired in 1995 as Professor Emerita from the University of Washington, where she taught for 25 years. In 2012, she was honored with a 50-Year Retrospective Exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), Pomona, CA. The exhibition was titled “Patti Warashina: Wit and Wisdom” and was accompanied by a book with the same title. The following year, in 2013, the exhibition moved to the Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA, which received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to help fund the exhibition. A second book on Warashina’s career titled “Patti Warashina” was published by John Natsoulas Press in 2021.Patti Warashina has been widely recognized for her exceptional contributions to the arts, receiving awards and honors such as three National Endowment for the Arts Grants (1975, 1986, 2013), the 2009 Regis Masters Award from the Northern Clay Center, the 2018 US Artists Fellow Award, the 2020 Smithsonian Institution’s Visionary Artist Award, or most recently, the 2024 University of Washington Golden Graduate Award, among many others. 

JIEMEI LIN

Jiemei Lin was born in Hangzhou, China, and lives and works in Washington State. Jiemei works with digital and traditional media to create paintings, murals, and illustrations. Her works frequently take on themes of individual and cultural identity with a particular emphasis on design and color. An award-winning children’s book illustrator, Jiemei’s illustrated works represent and communicate with all audiences from underrepresented groups in her visual language. She has been designing and executing large-scale public murals in the Pacific and inland Northwest as a public artist. These murals function like vignettes or moments of stories, inviting the viewer into the scene to imagine possible narratives. Currently, Jiemei teaches illustration and digital design at WSU as an assistant professor. 

BRIANNA MILLER

Brianna Miller is a Filipina American Illustrator & Designer based out of Spokane, Washington and originally from Salem, Oregon. In 2014, she graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon with a degree in Communication Design. In 2015, she was an Artist in Residence for TEDxSalem where she presented a talk about the installation piece created for the event. From 2016-2017, Brianna was a PrattMWP Artist in Residence & Community Arts Instructor in Utica, NY. Currently, she lives in Spokane, Washington as a Freelance Artist. Her commissioned projects range from album artwork for musicians, to posters for festivals, and movie media slipcovers. Recent clients include the New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Vulture, and Visit Spokane (2026 Official Visitor Guide).

REMELISA CULLITAN

Remelisa Cullitan is a Filipino American visual artist living and working in Spokane, WA. Their work focuses on the body. Their queer and biracial experiences shape their work’s narrative. Remelisa graduated from Eastern Washington University with a Bachelors in Fine Arts and a Bachelors in Art History. They are the Youth Arts Specialist at the Spokane Public Library, where they are able to share their love for art with young artists in the community.

MARGARET ALBAUGH

Margaret Albaugh is a Chinese American photographer and visual artist. Her personal work is informed by social issues, primarily identity, race, and gender norms. She is inspired by topics that scratch at contentious or thought-provoking issues and is intrigued by the nuances of human nature and the internal workings of individuals. She often marries her background in psychology with photography. 

KIARA LIME

Kiara Lime is a queer Filipino-American illustrator and comic artist based out of Spokane, Washington. She holds an Associate of Fine Arts degree from Spokane Falls Community College and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Illustration degree from Pacific Northwest College of Art/Willamette University in Portland, Oregon. Shaped by these two studies, her work centers around emotional characters, sentimental storytelling, and exploring Asian-American and queer identities. Her biggest visual and narrative influences come from the multitude of things she loves such as anime, 20th century fashion illustration, romantic dramedies, and more. She has shown her work in a number of group exhibitions, art markets, anime conventions, and online-based charity fandom zines. 

KATRINA BROWN (김홍주)

Katrina Brown (김홍주) is a textile artist that creates fiber pieces which explore our relationship to the natural world, as well as her Korean-American heritage. She has lived in Spokane since 2013. She received a B.A. in Political Science, with Cross-Cultural Studies & Environmental Studies emphases from Whitworth University and works as the Program Manager of Terrain’s retail shop, From Here. Katrina currently serves as the vice-chair of Asians for Collective Liberation (ACL) Spokane. Her skills and interests have also led her to serve on the board of directors of Main Market Cooperative and volunteer with organizations such as Spark Central and LINC Foods (the Local Inland Northwest Cooperative).

LAIN BUNDALIAN

Lain Bundalian is a queer Asian-American & Native Hawaiian designer and illustrator whose practice bridges collaboration and research. As the founder of Loveless Press, LB has established a zinemaking praxis rooted in radical accessibility: each publication is freely distributed with the belief that art and information should belong to everyone. Drawing from the visual movements of the past, LB investigates their histories and cultural impact to reimagine aesthetics for contemporary audiences. Through deep research and exploration, they fuse analog and digital archives, weaving nostalgia with forward-looking energy to honor both present and future. LB earned a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Technology and Culture, with an emphasis in digital design from Washington State University.

AZADEH WEBER

Azadeh Weber is an Iranian-American artist whose work draws on the rich visual language of Persian art to honor heritage and sustain cultural continuity across generations. Through intricate geometry and reinterpreted traditional motifs, she creates contemporary compositions that reflect the depth, elegance, and resilience of Eastern artistic traditions. Her practice serves as a bridge between past and present, offering viewers a space to reconnect with identity, memory, and the enduring beauty of inherited forms in a rapidly changing world.

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Bridges of Support: Honoring Our Sponsors and Partners

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Our 2025 Theme

ECHOES: Letters for New Tomorrows

 

An echo is never just a sound—it is a conversation with time. It bounces, shifts, and returns in ways we don’t always expect. The voices of our ancestors, the stories of our communities, and the lessons of our past reverberate into the present, asking us to listen, respond, and shape what comes next.

Heritage is not static; it is alive in the call and response between generations. What we say, do, and create today is not only a reflection of where we come from but also a letter sent forward—an offering to those who will one day listen for our echoes.

This year’s theme, “Echoes: Letters for New Tomorrows,” invites us into this ongoing dialogue. Through art, activism, and storytelling, we explore the ways our voices interact—how history resonates within us and how our present-day actions shape the future. Each echo is not just a memory but an opportunity: to amplify what must be heard, to reshape narratives, and to ensure that what we leave behind is not silence, but a symphony of voices guiding new tomorrows.

 

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What Echoes Through the Art?

Each year, as we honor Asian American Heritage Month, we invite a local artist to translate our theme into a visual language that speaks beyond words. This year, we are honored to collaborate with Brianna Miller, whose work echoes the rhythms of heritage, memory, and resilience—an evocative tribute to the stories that shape us.

Artist Statement by Brianna Miller

Sketches in Echo

In Ocean Vuong’s poem titled, Self-Portrait as Exit Wounds, he explores the lasting impacts of trauma and memory with the following excerpt:

Instead, let it be the echo to every footstep
drowned out by rain, cripple the air like a name

flung onto a sinking boat, splash the kapok’s bark
through rot & iron of a city trying to forget

the bones beneath its sidewalks, then through
the refuge camp sick with smoke & half-sung…

As I reflected on this year’s Asian American Heritage Month theme of “ECHOES: Letters for New Tomorrows,” I found myself meditating on the development of not only my own identity, but a collective belonging within the face of adversity and survival. The legacy of our past and
generational history creates its own kind of resilient echoes throughout time, in the form of tradition and storytelling. Though the effects of displacement and oppression constantly affect the human experience as an Asian American, these scars drive us to find strength for a better
future.

Read More

Meet the Artist: Brianna Miller

Brianna Miller is a Filipina-American Illustrator & Designer based out of Spokane, Washington and originally from Salem, Oregon. In 2014, she graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon with a degree in Communication Design. In 2015, she was an Artist in Residence for TEDxSalem where she presented a talk about the installation piece created for the event. From 2016-2017, Brianna was a PrattMWP Artist in Residence & Community Arts Instructor in Utica, NY.

Currently, she lives in Spokane, Washington as a Freelance Artist. Her commissioned projects range from album artwork for musicians, to posters for festivals, and movie media slipcovers. Recent clients include Vinegar Syndrome, OCN Distribution, SNL’s Sarah Squirm, Death Cab for Cutie & Coachella. In her work, she intends to find a balance of elements from music, movies, and nostalgic cartoons or product packaging. Her sketchbooks are a journal documenting both past and present interests, and often humorously reflecting on current pop culture. An overarching theme in Brianna’s work has been focused on memories, consciousness and shared human experience. Her sketchbooks are a vessel for having a dialogue with the viewer and the most rewarding aspect for her is to hear individual experiences and varied interpretations with her work. 

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Past Events

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month
Volunteers Needed

Boba Buddies and MAC Pack @ Wilson Elementary School

 Wilson Elementary School

In partnership with Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC), we are bringing Boba Buddies and MAC Pack to Wilson Elementary School to celebrate Asian… Read more

Boba Buddies and MAC Pack @ Wilson Elementary School

Wilson Elementary School

In partnership with Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC), we are bringing Boba Buddies and MAC Pack to Wilson Elementary School to celebrate Asian American Heritage Month with the students! We will take a closer look at archival documents and artifacts about the first Asian immigrants in Spokane and learn how historians piece together a historical puzzle. And always, expect free boba drinks from our boba partner, Tea’s Company! This event is open to Wilson Elementary students only. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We’re looking for volunteers to make this event possible. Please contact Frances at fmortel@aclspokane.org to inquire.

Environmental Justice
Health & Wellness

Climate Chats Café: Sip, Share, & Connect

 First Avenue Coffee (1011 W. First Ave, Spokane, WA)

Big challenges feel lighter when we face them together. Climate change can be overwhelming, but sharing our thoughts in a supportive space can turn worry… Read more

Climate Chats Café: Sip, Share, & Connect

First Avenue Coffee (1011 W. First Ave, Spokane, WA)

Big challenges feel lighter when we face them together. Climate change can be overwhelming, but sharing our thoughts in a supportive space can turn worry into connection and action. Let’s talk, reflect, and inspire each other.

Join us for our new Climate Chats Café series, a monthly space to talk openly about climate change in a relaxed, welcoming environment. No agenda, no pressure—just good coffee and real conversation.

Why Join?

  • Talk through climate emotions in a welcoming space.
  • Meet others who care about the planet.
  • No experience needed—just bring yourself!

Come for the coffee, stay for the conversation. ☕

Need a translator? Email lmolina@aclspokane.org at least 7 days before the event.

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month

No Neutral: Poetry Night with Shin Yu Pai

 Auntie's Bookstore

  ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club presents Shelley Memorial Award winner and former Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, as she graces us with a… Read more

No Neutral: Poetry Night with Shin Yu Pai

Auntie's Bookstore

 

ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club presents Shelley Memorial Award winner and former Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, as she graces us with a retrospective reading of her poetry across the years, including her most recent work, No Neutral. 

A collection deeply occupied with the notion of voice and who gets to have one, No Neutral presents poet Shin Yu Pai’s perspective in its expansive range of concerns, reaching toward what’s most authentic. She dives into explorations of place and their histories: from Port Townsend and the Inland Empire of Southern California to the deserts surrounding Palm Springs, the poet contemplates one’s identity within these shifting spaces. Throughout the book, the author weaves poems about social unrest, conflict, solidarities, friendships, the mindset of an activist, and her experiences as a woman, mother, artist, and daughter.  

Joining Shin Yu is Spokane local poet Asyia Gover who will be reading a couple of her own writings including pieces from her first chapbook, East Side Solitude. 

Free and open to all!  RSVP and get a chance to win a book in the raffle. Donations are encouraged for those who have the financial capacity to contribute so we can continue making our programs accessible.

This event is brought to you by ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club, Auntie’s Bookstore, Better Health Together, KH Consulting, YWCA Spokane, KSPS PBS, and KYRS.

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About the Artists/Poets

Shin Yu Pai is the 2024 Shelley Memorial Award winner. She was The City of Seattle’s Civic Poet  from 2023-2024 and served as the former Poet Laureate of The City of Redmond from 2015-2017. She is the author of 13 books, most recently No Neutral (Empty Bowl, 2023) and Less Desolate (Blue Cactus, 2023). Her work has received awards from The Academy of American Poets, Artist Trust, 4Culture, and The Awesome Foundation. Her poetry films have screened at the Zebra Poetry Film Festival and the Northwest Film Forum. Shin Yu is also the creator and host of Ten Thousand Things, an award-winning podcast on Asian American stories that she produced for KUOW, Seattle’s National Public Radio affiliate for three seasons and now produces independently.

Asyia Gover is a writer, artist, educator, and mediator. Her poetry has appeared in the multimedia collection, SEXT (boys who like butterflies, 2011), and anthology zines such as Love and Outrage (2016). She has written and co-directed three stage plays for youth performers, in partnership with Odyssey Middle School. She has taught individual and group classes to all age levels on subjects including cannabis culture, critical pedagogy, and creative language. She completed an Interdisciplinary Concentration at Fairhaven College in 2019, and has also received certifications aligning with Washington State standards in Medical Cannabis Consultation (2017) and Interest-Based Mediation (2023). In March 2024, Asyia received the Washington Mediation Association‘s “Rookie of the Year Award” for her development and management of Whatcom County’s first housing-focused mediation program. Her work seeks to capture a queer, third-culture perspective on ordinary life and folk traditions. She and her feline familiar, Cora, have made a home in the liminal space between the Pacific and Inland Northwests. Depending on the season, you might find her harvesting fruits and veggies from the backyard garden, walking along the beach at low tide, curled up with a good book, or spinning donuts in a snowy parking lot. East Side Solitude (Finishing Line Press, 2024) is her first chapbook.

About Chai Culture Club

ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club aims to communally experience complex Asian and Asian American narratives through divergent cultural media (such as film/visual arts, literary, music/podcast, and theater/performance). We help create spaces of belonging where club members can celebrate our community stories and critically discuss their impact. Club membership is free and open to any Asians/Asian Americans in the Spokane area. Occasionally, we will have events open to the public (like this poetry night). Sign up at bit.ly/chaicultureclub. For questions, please contact Frances at fmortel@aclspokane.org.

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month

Ten Thousand Things: Artifacts of Asian American Life

 Liberty Park Library

A Humanities WA Speakers Bureau event with poet Shin Yu Pai. Brought to you by Spokane Public Library and Asians for Collective Liberation. In many… Read more

Ten Thousand Things: Artifacts of Asian American Life

Liberty Park Library
A Humanities WA Speakers Bureau event with poet Shin Yu Pai. Brought to you by Spokane Public Library and Asians for Collective Liberation.

In many Chinese sayings, “ten thousand” is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. In a sense, the story of Asians in America is just that. In her NPR podcast Ten Thousand Things, Shin Yu Pai explores a collection of objects and artifacts that reveal personal and cultural values, stories of diaspora, and tales of trauma that illuminate the Asian American experience.

In this talk enriched by audio clips, Pai shares intimate stories from Asian American communities drawn from two seasons of her chart-topping podcast. From a second-hand novel to a blue suit worn by a congressman on January 6, Shin Yu Pai will discuss Asian American histories, the complexity of Asian American identities and where they fit or don’t fit within larger conversations on race, and what the Asian American experience was like during the pandemic.

About the Presenter

Shin Yu Pai (she/her) is the creator and host of Ten Thousand Things, a podcast of Asian American stories produced for KUOW. A published poet and author of 13 books, she currently serves as Seattle’s Civic Poet through 2024. Her work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times and Atlas Obscura. She holds an MA degree in Museology from the University of Washington and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Pai lives in Seattle.

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month

Stories Hold the Cure: Writing Workshop with Putsata Reang

 The Hive (Events A Room) | 2904 E Sprague Ave

  Stories Hold the Cure. We each carry untapped potential for joy, love, resilience, and grit—powerful forces that have been buried beneath the layers of… Read more

Stories Hold the Cure: Writing Workshop with Putsata Reang

The Hive (Events A Room) | 2904 E Sprague Ave

 

Stories Hold the Cure.

We each carry untapped potential for joy, love, resilience, and grit—powerful forces that have been buried beneath the layers of our pain. And we each have wounds that resist healing—hurts that have calcified into scars and can trap us into narrow narratives of who we are.

What if we reclaim agency over our own narratives and rewrite the stories that have either been imposed upon us or that we have been telling ourselves? What if writing is the medicine and stories hold the cure?

In this generative writing workshop, award-winning memoirist Putsata Reang will guide you on a journey of self-exploration and self-discovery as we write toward the intersection of past, present and future. Using a combination of writing prompts, group sharing, and sensory exercises, Putsata offers a path for transforming past and present pain into purposeful prose.

Free and open to Asian/Asian Americans, immigrant and refugees, Black, Indigenous, and  People of color—no writing experience necessary! 

Donations are encouraged for those who have the financial capacity to contribute so we can continue making our programs accessible.

This event is brought to you by ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club, Auntie’s Bookstore, Better Health Together, KH Consulting, YWCA Spokane, Teas Company, KSPS PBS, and KYRS.

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About the Author

Putsata Reang is an author and journalist whose debut memoir, Ma and Me (MCD/FSG May 2022) was a recipient of the 2023 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award for nonfiction and finalist for a 2023 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Washington State Book Award and Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in national and international publications including the New York Times, Ms magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, Politico, and the Guardian. She has lived and worked in more than a dozen countries including Cambodia, Afghanistan and Thailand. Putsata is an alum of Hedgebrook, Mineral School and Kimmel Harding Nelson residencies, and was a fellow of the Jack Straw writers program. In 2005, she was awarded an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship that took her back to her homeland, Cambodia, to report on landless farmers. She is a public speaker and memoir teacher with Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools program.

 

About Chai Culture Club

ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club aims to communally experience complex Asian and Asian American narratives through divergent cultural media (such as film/visual arts, literary, music/podcast, and theater/performance). We help create spaces of belonging where club members can celebrate our community stories and critically discuss their impact. Club membership is free and open to any Asians/Asian Americans in the Spokane area. Occasionally, we will have events open to the public. Sign up at bit.ly/chaicultureclub. For questions, please contact Frances at fmortel@aclspokane.org.

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month
Health & Wellness

Resisting Erasure Through Storytelling

 Shadle Park Library

A Humanities WA Speakers Bureau Event with award-winning writer Putsata Reang, author of ‘Ma and Me.’ Brought to you by Spokane Public Library and Asians… Read more

Resisting Erasure Through Storytelling

Shadle Park Library

A Humanities WA Speakers Bureau Event with award-winning writer Putsata Reang, author of ‘Ma and Me.’ Brought to you by Spokane Public Library and Asians for Collective Liberation.

When Putsata Reang was eight years old, she didn’t understand why her skin was brown when almost all of her classmates’ skin was white. So she put an eraser to her arm and began to rub, hoping to become white. A decade later, feeling disoriented by the dawning realization that she is gay, Putsata put a razor to her wrist. But ultimately she was too ashamed to end her own life. That’s because when she was a baby, and her family fled war in her native Cambodia, her mother had saved her life.

Today, an increasing number of Americans like Putsata are at risk of erasure because of external forces such as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and internal forces, such as shame and discrimination. Putsata discusses the dangers of dwelling on differences and encourages audiences to share their personal stories as an antidote to erasure.

About the presenter: Putsata Reang (she/her) is an author and journalist whose debut memoir, Ma and Me, was awarded the 2023 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association prize for nonfiction and was recognized as a finalist for the 2023 Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Ms. magazine, Politico, and The Guardian. Reang has held several prestigious residencies and was a fellow of the Jack Straw Writers program and Alicia Patterson Foundation for journalists.

Reang lives in Seattle.

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month
Environmental Justice
Health & Wellness

Boba Breaks at 509 Spring Market

 EWU Cheney Campus - PUB Skirt

ACL Spokane’s Boba Breaks is excited to be part of this year’s 509 Spring Market hosted by Asian Student Association of Eastern Washington University (ASA… Read more

Boba Breaks at 509 Spring Market

EWU Cheney Campus - PUB Skirt

ACL Spokane’s Boba Breaks is excited to be part of this year’s 509 Spring Market hosted by Asian Student Association of Eastern Washington University (ASA EWU)! 

  • Find our team to chat with us about mental health resources and youth programs
  • Get a chance to earn a stipend while learning about the HEAL Act and ways to advocate for environmental justice. 
  • And as always, grab a yummy cup of boba from Teas Company for free!

 

509 Spring Market is ASA EWU’s annual signature event which promotes small businesses, celebrating culture, art, and community. This event will be hosted at the PUB Skirt at Eastern Washinton University. We will have small business that will be selling items from baked goods to other trinkets. We’ll also have games to play, and the Asian Student Association will be selling surprise gift bags that come with goodies like drinks, snacks, and a cute surprise!

Arts & Culture
Asian American Heritage Month
Volunteers Needed

Spokane Asian Graduation Celebration

 Philanthropy Center (Empire Health Foundation ) | 1020 W Riverside Ave

ACL Spokane is excited to host the 4th Annual Spokane Asian Graduation Celebration to honor and celebrate Asian/Asian American graduating students from the Spokane county… Read more

Spokane Asian Graduation Celebration

Philanthropy Center (Empire Health Foundation ) | 1020 W Riverside Ave

ACL Spokane is excited to host the 4th Annual Spokane Asian Graduation Celebration to honor and celebrate Asian/Asian American graduating students from the Spokane county colleges, universities, and high schools.

We are proud to announce that this year’s Asian Graduation guest speaker is Pro-Choice Washington’s Organizing Director and ACL Spokane’s Board President and Co-chair, Sarah Dixit. 

What to expect:

  • Groove to the moves of the local hip-hop dance group, Sol Tribe as they perform on stage
  • Enjoy yummy Asian food catered by our partners from Feast World Kitchen 
  • Receive a special ACL graduation stole and other gifts
  • Document this special day with your besties at the photobooth and send your letters of hope through our audio guestbook — all beautifully setup by Electric Photoland
  • End the day with singing your favorite karaoke piece

 

Doors open at 2:30pm. RSVP until Friday, April 25, 2025 @ 5:00pm (Pacific Time). 

For inquiries and accommodations, please contact Frances at fmortel@aclspokane.org

This special event is presented  to you by ACL Spokane, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, Spokane Colleges, Whitworth University, Better Health Together, KH Consulting, Gesa Credit Union, Providence, Empire Health Foundation, YWCA Spokane, Electric Photoland, Feast World Kitchen, and Teas Company.

Check out the rest of Asian American Heritage Month events and updates at aclspokane.org/heritagemonth. 

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About the Guest Speaker

Born and raised in Southern California in an Indian immigrant household, Sarah Dixit moved to Spokane in 2014 to attend Whitworth University. While on campus, she received her B.A. in Sociology, and founded a chapter of Generation Action, a Planned Parenthood college organizing program. Soon after graduation, she began organizing full-time with Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho (PPGWNI). In this role, she advocated for progressive healthcare policies statewide and locally, provided sex education to teens, and expanded access throughout central and eastern Washington. In June of 2023, Sarah began her work as the Organizing Director at Pro-Choice Washington, a reproductive freedom advocacy organization, where she continues working to create a more equitable state.

Alongside her work in reproductive rights, Sarah co-chairs and is the board president of Asians for Collective Liberation, an Asian advocacy organization based in Spokane, WA, and is the Chair of the Equity Subcommittee for the Spokane City Council. In 2022, the Spokane YWCA presented Sarah with their Young Woman of Achievement award for her work throughout Spokane.

 

About the Host

Melody Chang is a Spokane-based actress, singer, activist, and arts advocate who has earned nationwide praise and acclaim for innovation and leadership within organizations belonging to the Broadway League and Opera America, as well as for her work on the stage. She is currently the Communications & Marketing Director for the new Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center and serves as the Executive Director of the Asian Opera Alliance, an organization dedicated to striving for broader equity throughout the opera industry. On the stage, she has been seen in iconic roles such as Carmen (Carmen), Bloody Mary (South Pacific), and Edwin/Eddie (Earth to Kenzie). Melody is regularly invited to speak at top arts universities and Fortune 500 companies, as well as consult with many of the most renowned opera companies in the nation. Most recently, she consulted on Los Angeles Opera’s 2024 production of Turandot, designed by Sir David Hockney and debuted in 1992, as well as LAO’s 2024 US debut of Mario Gas’ Madame Butterfly. In 2021, she created the Chang Heaton Scholarship for Music Excellence to award five first-generation BIPOC college students studying music or theatre with unrestricted funds for items required for theatre/music degrees that aren’t usually covered by traditional scholarships. She has been recognized as a top ANHPI Mover & Shaker (2022), received a 2021 Women in Business Leadership Award for her work in the arts, and was named YWCA’s 2024 Woman of Achievement in Arts & Culture. She is regularly seen onstage at Spokane Valley Summer Theatre and will be appearing in their 2025 production of Rodgers’ & Hammerstein’s A Grand Night for Singing.

 

About the Guest Performers

“We are more than just a dance crew, we are a community for the people.” Sol Tribe’s mission is to encourage others to explore their cultural identity and understanding. They aim to develop self awareness and a healthy mind and body through the avenues of Hip Hop.

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