Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Kick-off Festival
May is Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Heritage Month-–a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
Please enjoy the videos, quick facts, exhibitions, and photo gallery below!
Videos
Quick Facts
- Population is 164.7 million (2020 estimate).
- Official language is Bengali.
- Capital is Dhaka.
- Monetary unit is Bangladeshi taka.
- Population is 1.4 billion (2020 estimate).
- Official language is Mandarin.
- Capital is Beijing.
- Monetary units include Renminbi (RMB) and Yuan (CNY).
- Population is 1.38 (2020 estimate).
- Official languages are Hindi and English.
- Capital is New Delhi.
- Monetary unit is Indian rupee.
- Population is 273.5 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Bahasa Indonesia.
- Capital is Jakarta.
- Monetary unit is Rupiah.
- Population is 125.8 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Japanese.
- Capital is Tokyo.
- Monetary unit is Japanese yen.
- Population is 29.1 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Nepali.
- Capital is Kathmandu.
- Monetary unit is Nepalese rupee.
- Population is 221 million (2020 estimate)
- Official languages are Urdu and English.
- Capital is Islamabad.
- Monetary unit is Pakistani rupee.
- Population is 51.8 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Korean.
- Capital is Seoul.
- Monetary unit is South Korean won.
- Population is 21.9 million (2020 estimate)
- Official languages are Sinhala and Tamil.
- Capitals are Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
- Monetary unit is Sri Lankan rupee.
- Population is 23.6 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Mandarin Chinese.
- Capital is Taipei.
- Monetary unit is New Taiwan dollar.
- Population is 69.8 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Thai.
- Capital is Bangkok.
- Monetary unit is Thai baht.
- Population is 97.3 million (2020 estimate)
- Official language is Vietnamese.
- Capital is Hanoi.
- Monetary unit is Vietnamese dong.
Exhibitions
Ambreen Butt - Mark My Wordsnew window
Ambreen Butt (b. 1969, Lahore, Pakistan) uses a visual vocabulary that connects culturally
specific references with broader ideas about women’s hardships and empowerment. Her
works highlight everyday heroines with vulnerability and strength—women who protest
injustice on the streets and speak back to systems of corrupt power. With her use
of beauty and aesthetics to tell stirring and thought-provoking stories, Butt stamps
her own mark on the cultural landscape.
National Portrait Gallery Presents Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands new window
Hung Liu (1948–2021) was a contemporary Chinese-born American artist, whose multilayered
paintings established new frameworks for understanding portraiture in relation to
time, memory, and history. Often sourcing her subjects from photographs, Liu elevated
overlooked individuals by amplifying the stories of those who have historically been
invisible or unheard. Having lived through war, political revolution, exile, and displacement,
she offered a complex picture of an Asian Pacific American experience. Her portraits
speak powerfully to those seeking a better life, in the United States and elsewhere.
Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands will be first major exhibition of the artist's
work on the East Coast. This is also the first time that a museum will focus on Liu’s
portraiture. Visit the National Portrait Gallery websitenew window to learn more.
Asian Pacific Heritage Month Festival Photo Gallery
