APA Heritage Awards2022 Honorees
Celebration Theme – Forging Community Bonds
Celebrate Community Milestones
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center - 25 years
The Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s (APICC) mission is to support and present multidisciplinary art reflective of the unique experiences of Asian Pacific Islanders living in the United States.
APICC was founded by representatives of five nonprofit arts groups: Asian American Dance Performances, First Voice, Asian Improv aRts, the Asian American Theater Company, and Kearny Street Workshop. Since 1998, APICC has promoted the artistic and organizational growth of San Francisco’s API arts community by organizing the annual United States of Asian America Festival (USAAF) and commissioning contemporary art from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Each year, USAAF presents programs that reflect the artistic accomplishments and diversity of San Francisco’s API communities. USAAF heightens the visibility of API artists from different ethnic and cultural groups working in theater, music, dance, film, literature, visual arts, and more!
In celebration of the festival’s 25th anniversary, this year’s USAAF features over 25 programs occurring May-June under the theme, “Generations of Power,” harnessing the legacies of API power built across generations, rooted in cultivating solidarity among our intersecting BIPOC communities.
“The Board and Staff of APICC are proud of the 25 years of our amazing programming as it is a direct reflection of the strength of our Asian American artists. We thank all of our supporters and funders who have stood by us as we’ve passionately served the community.”
Vinay Patel, Executive Director
Website: https://www.apiculturalcenter.org/
Facebook: /APICulturalCenter
Instagram: @apicc_sf
Twitter: @apicc_sf
Kearny Street Workshop - 50 years
Founded in 1972, during the height of the Asian American cultural movement, Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) is the oldest Asian Pacific American multidisciplinary arts organization in the country. KSW’s programming has been expansive over the years, from holding one of the first art exhibitions on Angel Island, founding the Asian American Jazz Festival, and starting a publishing house that printed one of the first Filipino American literary anthologies. Through it all, their focus has always been on the way art, activism, and community intersect.
Today, KSW programs include: APAture, an annual multidisciplinary arts festival organized by and for emerging APA artists in the Bay Area, and We Won’t Move, a podcast series about APA artists whose stories shape the movements and dreams of San Francisco. KSW also offers classes and workshops, salons, and student presentations, as well as professionally curated and produced exhibitions, performances, readings, and screenings. KSW makes artists out of community members and community members out of artists and for the past 50 years, nurtured the creative spirit and offered an important platform for new voices to be heard.
“TO IMAGINE IS TO EXIST: 50 Years of KSW” marks five decades of making community out of artists and artists out of community. Through art, we imagine who we are, know where we come from and build the healthier, stronger, inclusive world we all wish to live in.”
Mihee Kim, Managing Director
Website: https://www.kearnystreet.org/ksw50
Facebook: /kearnystreet
Instagram: @kearnystreetworkshop
Awards for Inspirational Achievements
Robert Handa - Broadcast Journalist
NBC Bay Area News Reporter, Asian Pacific America Host
An award-winning reporter for NBC Bay Area News, Robert Handa is the celebrated host of the show Asian Pacific America, a weekly talk show that solely focuses on newsmakers and issues pertinent to the AAPI communities. Over the years, Handa’s assignments have also included interviews with notable newsmakers throughout the years from actors/actresses to sport athletes to elected officials and many more. Handa has been recognized with top local and national awards for his outstanding achievements in investigative reporting, documentaries, and substantial coverage of community issues.
“Work supporting the AAPI community is ‘never done’. We can take pride in overcoming past obstacles. Yet, successes generate resistance and, often, on racist terms. Don’t be disheartened. Let’s focus on doing ‘whatever we can.’ Participate in big and small ways. We are all the foundation that makes the community unbreakable.”
Robert Handa
Website: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/community/asian-pacific-america/
Rudi Soriano - Choreographer
Founder & Choreographer, LIKHA-Pilipino Folk Ensemble
A performer, choreographer, teacher, and leader in the Filipino community, Rudi Soriano is the founder of LIKHA-Pilipino Folk Ensemble, an organization that preserves and celebrates Philippine culture through music and dance. With the research of lowland and highland dances of different indigenous people of the Philippines and background in ballet and modern dance, Soriano has an immense expertise in traditional Pilipino movement. Soriano has been recognized and awarded for outstanding choreography of original pieces. He was a former soloist with the renowned Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company in Manila.
“Dance has always been the center of who I am. It taught me confidence to face the challenges in life and has inspired me to help other people learn and love their culture and heritage.”
Rudi Soriano
Website: www.likha.org
Martin Yan - Master Chef
Master Chef, TV Personality, Author, President, Yan Can Cook, Inc.
A master chef, a highly respected culinary educator and a prolific author, legendary chef Martin Yan has educated and entertained millions around the world with his show “Yan Can Cook”. For over four decades, chef Martin Yan is a pioneer on television promoting Chinese food culture. With 3,500 shows and counting, the “Yan Can Cook” series is one of the longest running cooking programs from Singapore to San Francisco. In addition, Chef Yan is a frequent judge and panel member in numerous national and international culinary competitions, including the Iron Chef on the Food Network.
Earlier this year, chef Martin Yan received the James Beard Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honors for culinary professionals.
“Fifty years ago, Asians in America were called ‘Orientals’. Chinese food was fried rice and chop suey. I hope I have made a difference, at least in the latter. America is an experiment constantly in motion to perfect itself. That makes us unique and the envy of the world.”
Martin Yan
Website: yancancook.com
YouTube: YouTube.com/c/yancancook
Facebook: @chefmartinyan
Instagram: @chefmartinyan
Watch on SFGovTV
2022 Celebration Guide
The celebration theme this year is Forging Community Bonds. Explore Asian American & Pacific Islander films, foods, and culture through a wide range of activities, events, and programs in the month of May. The APA Heritage Foundation works with our Official Celebration Partners the Asian Art Museum, the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and the San Francisco Public Library to compile an online Celebration Guide with a list of events taking place in May.
Events This Week
APA Heritage Foundation
The APA Heritage Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the diverse Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders cultural heritage as well as to providing a forum for community collaborations.
The annual San Francisco celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month is coordinated by community representatives who volunteer on the APA Heritage Celebration Committee.
2022 Sponsors and Partners
Your support of the APA Heritage Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, makes this celebration possible. For 2022 sponsorship information, please contact Claudine Cheng at Claudine@apasf.org
** Sponsors confirmed as of April 20, 2022.**
Heritage Champions – Celebration Co-Presenters
Heritage Captain
Heritage Patron
Heritage Partners
Heritage Friends
Community Sponsors
- Asian American Donors Program
- Asian Firefighters Association
- Chinese American Citizens Alliance San Francisco Lodge
- Center for Asian American Media
- Hep B Free – Bay Area
- Japan Society of Northern California
- Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California
- Japantown Community Benefit District
- Nihonmachi Street Fair, Inc.
- Northeast Medical Services
- OCA San Francisco Bay Chapter
- Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition
- San Francisco Community Health Center
- San Francisco – Ho Chi Minh City Sister City Committee
- San Francisco – Manila Sister City Committee
- San Francisco – Osaka Sister City Association
- San Francisco – Seoul Sister City Committee
- San Francisco – Taipei Sister City Committee
- Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center
- YMCA of San Francisco
Media Sponsors
Special Acknowledgements
MUNI ad sponsor
Hotel Partner
Winery Partner
Airline Partner
