Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in LA

The City of Los Angeles officially marks the start of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month on May 1  with a presentation in City Hall Council Chambers that will include recognition of this year’s honorees: Chan Ho Park, Howard Shu, Noelani Day, YanXiao Gong and Scout Bassett. The council presentation is at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow at noon in City Hall Spring Street Forecourt.

Sponsored by Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember John S. Lee (Twelfth District) and Visual Communications, the City Hall Bridge Gallery Exhibition focuses on the legacy of Asian athletes in Los Angeles, including historic competitions like the 1984 Olympic Games. The gallery is located on the third floor of City Hall and is open weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. 

East West Players perform Flower Drum Song, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical recently updated by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, at Little Tokyo's Aratani Theatre at Japanese American Cultural and Community Center through May 31. 

The Academy Museum continues its film series "Darkness and Humanity: The Complete Akira Kurosawa" throughout May with 35 mm presentations of High and Low (May 2), Sanjuro (May 3), Red Beard (May 8), Rhapsody in August (May 11), Dersu Uzala (May 22), Ran (May 23), Kagemusha (May 24), Dreams (May 29) and Madadayo (May 30). 

The Academy Museum puts the spotlight on Hayao Miyazaki for its Family Matinees screening series this May. Films include Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (May 2), Ponyo (May 9), Howl's Moving Castle (May 16), Kiki's Delivery Service (May 23) and The Boy and the Heron (May 30). Be sure to check out behind-the-scenes exhibition Studio Ghibli's PONYO while you're at the museum. 

LACMA exhibition Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia presents an international survey of Buddhism and Buddhist art, beginning with the religion’s origins in India and following its spread through mainland and island Southeast Asia (Myanmar [Burma], Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia), the Himalayas (Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet) and East Asia (China, Korea, Japan). Incorporating 180 masterpieces of pan-Asian Buddhist art, the exhibition introduces key concepts of Buddhist thought and practice viewed through the prism of rare and extraordinarily beautiful Buddhist sculptures, paintings and ritual objects.

On view at MOCA's Grand Avenue campus through August 2, Star-Crossed Rendezvous includes two major installations from Haegue Yang, the Korean artist known for turning everyday objects, like blinds, into large-scale works of art. 

The first Chinese American movie star, Anna May Wong blazed trails from the silent film era through the early days of television. Learn more about her life in The Icon, an interactive exhibition that continues at the Chinese American Museum through August 30. 

On view through September 6, (Be) Spoken: Poems from Our Asian American Voices is co-curated by rapper/poet Jason Chu and includes works from seven spoken word artists. Located inside one of the oldest surviving buildings of Los Angeles' original Chinatown, the Chinese American Museum is part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. 

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry , which runs at USC Pacific Asia Museum through September 6, is an immersive exhibition that includes 100 objects from the museum's collection, which span roughly 5000 years of history, in conversation with works from 24 contemporary artists. 

Now on view at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures through Jan. 10, 2027, Director's Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho is the first exhibition dedicated to the internationally acclaimed, Oscar–winning film director. A continuation of the Director’s Inspiration series, this exhibition offers a focused spotlight on Bong Joon Ho’s creative process, filmography and cinematic influences.

Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in Norther Luzon Highlands, Philippines takes visitors to UCLA's Fowler Museum into the rice terraces of northern Luzon with a collection of art, tools and other objects, as well as soundscapes and video installations. 

Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in San Fernando Valley on Saturday, May 2. The 5th annual Valley Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival brings local businesses and cultural organizations together at Pierce College for an afternoon of food, art, fashion and performance. The event is free and runs from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. 

Councilmember John S. Lee sponsors an outdoor screening of Academy Award-winning 2025 hit film K-Pop Demon Hunters at Jane and Bert Boeckmann Park in Porter Ranch on Saturday, May 2. The event is free and starts at 6 p.m. 

Little Tokyo celebrates Kodomo No Hi, or Children's Day, on Sunday, May 3, in the Isamu Noguchi Plaza at Japanese American Cultural and Community Center with a day of performances, craft workshops, a community fun run and more. The free event begins at 11 a.m. 

Mindy Kaling, Brenda Song and Kate Hudson are the guests for Giggly Squad Interviews Important People live at the Wiltern on Monday, May 4, as part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest. 

Asif Ali and friends take to the stage at Hollywood Improv as part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest on Friday, May 8. 

Atsuko Okatsuka headlines the Orpheum Theatre as part of Netflix is a Joke Fest on Saturday, May 9. 

Expect improv comedy and cooking on May 9, when Chris Ying and Bobby Moynihan bring their interactive show Clean Plate Club to Dynasty Typewriter. 

Clockshop's annual Kite Festival returns to Los Angeles State Historic Park on Saturday, May 9, with craft workshops, competitions and more fun for the whole family. The 2026 theme is "Take a Breath." 

The US Sumo Open is the largest sumo wrestling event outside of Japan and it's set to take place on Saturday, May 9, at the Walter Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach. In addition to over 150 matches, there will be taiko drumming, Japanese food and cultural activities. 

This Mother's Day, visit SuihoEn, the Japanese Garden in Van Nuys, where Sogetsu San Fernando Valley Branch will display flower arrangements in the garden. 

The Academy Museum celebrates Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month on May 13 with a night of short film programming that includes Oscar nominees like Ishu Patel's Bead Game (1977) and Arthur Dong's Sewing Women (1982). 

Celebrate Hawai'i and Polynesia on May 16 and 17 at Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs. The two-day Heritage of Aloha Festival features live music and dance, including a ukulele contest, food and an outdoor marketplace. 

Opening on May 23 and running through October 11 at The Broad, Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind is the first solo museum exhibition of the artist's work in Southern California and was organized in collaboration with London's Tate Modern. 

George Takei visits the West Coast's largest book club at East Los Angeles Library on May 30 at 2 p.m. for a chat and to sign copies of his books, They Called Us Enemy, My Lost Freedom and It Rhymes with Takei. 

On view in the Zev Yaroslavsky Plaza at LACMA, Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads references a long and ongoing story of cross-cultural exchange and collision between China and the West, beginning with a mid-18th century fountain at Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. The fountain, commissioned by Emperor Qianlong and designed by Jesuit priests promoting Catholicism in China, was used to tell time: 12 zodiac animal sculptures each spouted water for two hours (or one shichen) each day.