Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Places to Visit

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Mia's diverse collection displays plenty of art created by the AAPI community as well as Asian artists from around the world. Their curators work hard to find works that are reflective of all communities. Check out their Chinese, South and Southeast Asian Art collection and their Japanese and Korean collection. They currently have a few exhibits exploring Asian culture including:

• To Beautify and Protect: Miao Clothing and Jewelry from China 
  Exhibit lasts until May 23, 2021

• Intimate Space: A Noblewoman’s Bedroom in Late Imperial China
  Exhibit lasts until November 7, 2021

• With New Light: Mia’s Reinstalled Himalayan, South, and Southeast Asian Art Galleries
  Exhibit lasts until October 17, 2021

• Captive Beauties: Depictions of Women in Late Imperial China
  Exhibit lasts until May 9, 2021

Midtown Global Market

As a hub for showcasing food and shopping from Minneapolis' diverse communities, Midtown Global Market not only offers a wide variety of Asian cuisine including, Intown Sushi, Pham’s Rice Bowl, Hot Indian Foods and Sabbai Cuisine, but it also is home to a unique Tibetan shop filled with rare clothing, accessories and home decor from the Himalayas.

Como Park and Conservatory

At Como Park and Conservatory's Ordway Gardens you will find Minnesota's only top-curated Japanese plant collection. Within the garden is a Bonsai tree collection that honors Japanese art. The Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden was created by renowned landscape designer, Masami Matsuda from Nagasaki. His creation serves to honor Japanese design principals using Minnesota plants and trees.

Weisman Art Museum

A permanent collection at the Weisman, Traditional Korean Furniture, includes about 200 examples of Choson dynasty furniture, 80 Silla dynasty stoneware pieces, close to 150 folk paintings and wooden bowls and utensils, in addition to other folk arts and crafts. The collection represents many types of wood, decorative material, and joinery techniques.

Hmongtown Marketplace

An indoor and outdoor marketplace with over 125 stalls and shops, including 11 restaurants. Here you can browse all types of products from food and fresh produce, to clothing, home items, and accessories. The marketplace has grown to become a commonplace for Hmong Americans and given them a familiar sense of home with the community.

Walker Art Center

The Walker Art Center is one of the most visited modern and contemporary art museums in the country. It's exhibits bring together collections of art from communities and creators across the globe. Here are some current exhibits featuring Asian artists and pieces:

Five Ways In

With more than 100 works on view, this exhibit is organized by five familiar themes: portraiture, the interior scene, landscape, still life, and abstraction.

Included in this exhibit are a recently acquired grouping of photographs by Twin Cities photographer Pao Houa Her (US, b. Laos) who is known for her photographs of the Hmong community and through her work examines themes of migration, displacement, and diasporic cultures.

Yoko Ono's Cut Piece is also on view as a part of Five Ways In in Gallery 5.

Low Visibility

This exhibition explore the power of visibility and invisibility.

the international, multigenerational group of artists in this exhibition has developed strategies to avoid being seen or, conversely, to shed light on things typically hidden or overlooked. In this exhibit you find two newly acquired photographs by Stephanie Syjuco (US, b. Philippines) on view and a newly acquired sculpture and collage by Baseera Khan (US, identifies herself as of ‘Indian-Pakistani-Afghani’ heritage).

United Noodles

United Noodles is a pan-Asian grocery store located in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. Here you can pick up and discover new ingredients and products from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Hawaii and more. If you get thirsty during your visit, check out Machi Machi a boba tea shop that opened within the market earlier this year. Try one of their many mixed drinks with their signature cream cheese foam.

University of Minnesota Campus: Dinkytown, Stadium Village, and West Bank

The University of Minnesota campus is surrounded by pockets of Asian culture powered by food, the people who prepare it, and those who enjoy it. Within walking distance from campus, you’ll find restaurants, food halls, boba shops, bakeries, and cafés representing Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Hmong, Thai, Japanese, and Polynesian cuisines. These places represent a piece of home for the more than 4,000 Asian students, many of which are international. The array of authentic flavors offers the opportunity to learn more about generations and traditions of the AAPI community in Minneapolis.

Events

Food & Drink