The Glow Cultural Center held its annual Love and Unity event on Saturday, May 2, featuring a resource fair and concert celebrating AAPI Heritage Month.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The Glow Cultural Center hosted its sixth annual “Love and Unity” resource fair and concert in celebration of the start of AAPI Heritage Month on Saturday, May 2.
The resource fair, which ran from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Glow Cultural Center, located on the first floor of 133-29 41st Ave. in Flushing, featured several organizations serving AAPI and immigrant communities. Among those on hand were the New York Immigration Coalition, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Korean Community Services, Committee of 100, AAP (I belong) and Documented. Additionally, several city agencies were present at the event, including the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and the 109th Precinct of the NYPD.
The New York Immigration Coalition’s table at the resource fair. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Committee of 100’s resource fair table. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The AAP (I belong) table. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The Documented table. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The resource fair table for the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The 109th Precinct’s table. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
“Call Me Emma” author and illustrator Makee was signing copies of her comic book. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Programming at the resource fair was designed to help connect attendees with mental health resources, legal assistance and community-based support networks. In addition to the community resource tables that offered direct access to support and services, programming offered also included an AAPI Youth comic series called “I’m Speaking and I’m Wide Awake,” a documentary screening and community dialogue related to anti-Asian hate, a presentation of new data about Asian American communities and a live performance by Corner Club, an NYC-based Asian indie folk duo.
Attendees of “I’m Speaking and I’m Wide Awake.” Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Corner Club performed live at the resource fair. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The concert, which featured a performance from the Joy Luck Trio, ran from 4 to 6 p.m. The ensemble of three Chinese immigrant women musicians is comprised of pianist and composer Donna Weng Friedman, pipa virtuoso and composer Gao Hong and erhu virtuoso and composer Karen Han. They create cross-cultural musical dialogue exploring the themes of migration, identity and memory, while also bridging traditions across cultures and generations. Prior to the concert, the Joy Luck Trio was at the resource fair, engaging with those on hand.
Rep. Grace Meng (second from left) awarded certificates of special congressional recognition to the Glow Cultural Center and Joy Luck Trio members Donna Weng Friedman (third from left), Karen Han (fourth from left) and Gao Hong (fifth from left). Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
In addition to the live performance from the Joy Luck Trio, the concert also featured a screening of the short film “Never Fade Away.” Told from the perspective of a second-generation immigrant, this film traces her father’s journey from wartime China to his new life in New York. Dance and cinematic storytelling are blended together in the telling of this story in an effort to capture the emotional landscape of intergenerational immigrant experiences.
Love and Unity is made possible through collaboration with community partners, including the New York Immigration Coalition, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Korean Community Services, Committee of 100 and Corner Club. Volunteer support and on-site coordination was provided by the youth cultural platform PINEASE.