Skip to main content
Painting of an Asian boy carrying a bat kite embellished with train mechanisms and illustrations of horses and railroad workers wearing cowboy hats lifting the railroad in a motion that mimics a traditional Chinese lion dance performance.

Every Railroad Runs West (detail), 2025, by Cynthia Zhou. Photo by Constance Mensh © Cynthia Zhou

Social

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration

Friday, May 9,
5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST

We're celebrating AAPI Heritage Month with a lively evening of music and art-making. Arrive early to collect your free limited-edition item featuring artwork by AAPI Heritage Month collaborator artist Cynthia Zhou.

5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Pop-Up Studio with Cynthia Zhou | Great Stair Hall Balcony, third floor
Explore printmaking techniques with artist Cynthia Zhou while you decorate your own Chinese-inspired kite.

5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Get Inked! Temporary Tattoo Studio | Great Stair Hall Balcony, third floor
This year we asked local tattoo artist Iza Hu to create a special flash sheet to help us celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. Stop by to say hi and leave with some Wild Wild East custom (temporary) ink.

5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Food Pop-Up: Baby’s Kusina | Great Stair Hall, second floor
Baby’s Kusina and Market is owned by husband and wife, Tam Dang and Raquel Villanueva Dang. Inspired by the food pop-up concept they created in late 2018 called Tita Emmie’s, Baby’s pays homage to Raquel’s Filipino heritage and her mother Emmie, whose nickname is Tita Baby. Raquel and Tam, both first-generation Asian-Americans, are thrilled to bring more diverse representation to the Philadelphia dining scene and to give Baby’s a home in their Brewerytown neighborhood.

5:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. | Friday Night Lounge: Casual Fifth Taiko Drum Performance | Great Stair Hall, second floor
Casual Fifth is focused on creating innovative work rooted in the fundamentals and history of Japanese Taiko drumming and American modern dance. This year marks their fifth anniversary.

6:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.| Guided Tour: Asian Art Collections | Great Stair Hall, second floor
On this guided tour, visit rare architectural settings and discover intriguing works of art from Asia, including some of the oldest objects in our collection.

This event is part of the Heritage Month Celebrations program series.

Main Building

Free with museum admission

Buy tickets

Member admission is always free

Become a member

Check out other events


View full calendar