Asian American punk rock, girl power at AAMP, Temple Theater tribute and more coming up for the week

I’m not going to lie, it was a little tough finding things for this weekend and beyond. Many of the events previously on my radar had been postponed or canceled because of COVID-19. Nonetheless, if you’ve got the spirit, take it to the streets with this batch of things to do in Philly! It’s not a total zombie apocalypse or anything—and hopefully, it won’t be. Just be sure to double-check before you head out to anything that what you’re attending is still happening!

Be healthy out there, friends!

Ten Years at Philly Photo Arts Center

Philadelphia Photo Arts Center opens its Ten Years: Teen Photo Alumni Exhibition on Thursday, March 12. The exhibition highlights the work of 27 alumni of the Teen Photo program, a free afterschool program that has taught nearly 300 Philadelphia high school students about photography. The exhibit is free and comes as celebration of the program’s tenth anniversary. It runs though June 28, and proceeds will be split among the artists and PPAC.

Second Friday: Poetry reading and open mic

This Friday at 6pm (because yup, we’re already halfway through March), Al-Bustan will host a night of poetry reading and an open mic. Kicking off at 6pm, poets afaq and Kirwyn Sutherland will showcase their grammar before giving way to an open-mic where poets of all styles and walks of life are invited to share their work, their ideas, or whatever might be on their mind.

Who Run the World? Girls! at AAMP

The African American Museum is hosting a family fun day for girls and young women on Saturday from 11am-3pm. The day features workshops and art-making activities including African dance, a themed scavenger hunt honoring “women of audacious freedom,” face painting, Black history trivia, and more.

Punk Night at Asian Arts Initiative

Swing by for a night of punk music with three distinct Asian American bands. Awaaz Do, Material Support, and Namatay Sa Ingay will fill the waves with punk rock and rebellion. It goes down on Saturday, March 14 at 7:30-10pm, and admission is on a sliding scale—no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

A tribute to Joy Abbott

Temple Theaters had planned an event in honor of the legendary Joy Abbott, the “Shirley Temple of Hawaii” who left a huge impact on the theater community at Temple University. But she passed away in early February, but Temple Theaters insists that the show must go on. By George, It’s Joy will play at the Temple Performing Arts Center on March 14 at 7pm and Mach 15 at 3pm.

Cathy Park Hong in conversation with Anne Ishii

Author Cathy Park Hong comes to Philly with her new poetry collection Minor Feelings, which looks at the “shameful, suspicious, and melancholy emotions that arise when your own experiences are consistently dismissed by a majority that doesn’t recognize your reality,” especially as it comes to race. The daughter of Korean immigrants, Hong dives deep into observations of friendships and language, and the impact of artists like Richard Pryor and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Asian Arts Initiative hosts her on Wednesday, March 18 at 6pm, and you can reserve your seat ahead of time.