ACPA YOUTH PERFORMANCE

October 29, 2022
12:00 - 2:00 PM
7th West: 1255 7th St, Oakland, CA

American Center of Philippine Arts (ACPA) and KULARTS presents ACPA Youth Performance. More info coming soon!

ABOUT ACPA

Since its founding in 2009, the American Center of Philippine Arts (ACPA) has educated youth in Northern California about the Pilipino/a/x American experience through educational and innovative hands-on classes, collaborations, networking opportunities, and events. Our Students Enriched in Education & Dance (SEED) youth program brought the Pilipino/a/x cultural experience to approximately 50 youth annually, ages 5-17, through Philippines-inspired dance and performance with a vision to strengthen the Pilipino/a/x community and developing young people’s sense of ethnic pride. In 2013, we expanded our programming to include college students through rondalla (string ensemble) and percussion music workshops at local universities in preparation for their respective annual Pilipino/a/x Cultural Night stage productions. We now partner with 4 university student groups (Kaisahan of University of San Francisco; Mga Kapatid of UC Davis; Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor of San Francisco State University; and Akbayan of San Jose State University), as well as several other organizations in developing rondalla and percussion music programs.

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian racism and xenophobia, as well as the unjust murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless Black lives that have been wrongfully killed by police brutality, the organization pivoted its focus to launch ACPA Konnect, a series of virtual workshops for youth and their families. The priority of ACPA Konnect is to expose youth to Philippines-inspired cultural arts, deepen understanding of their Pilipino/a/x American identity, while developing a foundation for social justice and change.

To date, ACPA Konnect has conducted 7 workshops, with topics ranging from cultural responsibility, learning personal family immigration stories, hidden histories through martial arts, and race & equity. Approximately 25-30 families have participated in each session and has allowed ACPA to broaden its audience outside of the state of California, including Texas, Washington, Florida, and New Jersey.