It may be a month best known for its spring blooms, but May is also a celebration of Asian, Desi and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and there are plenty of opportunities this month to explore these rich cultures and various.

Join in the festivities at two Asian night markets for crafts, shows and delicious food. Open-air markets, popular around the world, encourage strolling, shopping and dining. And don’t miss the Vietnamese Student Association’s annual cultural show “Ascending to New Heights”.

Or watch an exciting talk by archaeologists from the Museum of Natural Culture and History on the recent discovery of a Chinese restaurant and gift shop excavated in downtown Eugene or go for ” Spirited Away” and “Minari”, two Asian ducks after dark screenings at the Erb Memorial Union.

Show time

Embrace Vietnamese culture through music, dance, theater and cuisine on May Day at the Erb Memorial Union Ballroom at the OU Vietnamese Student Association 31st Annual Culture Show: To New Heights.”

Join Jade Fox, a comedienne whose motto is and always will be, “It’s a safe space, but you CAN get roasted.” BE YOU, organized by the BE Series, welcomes Fox as keynote speaker for the 2022 edition International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia May 17 in the EMU Ballroom.

Theater

College Theater Ends Playing Season With Classic Noel Coward Farce”Hay fever”, which follows the antics of the eccentric members of the Bliss family and the unsuspecting guests invited to their country house for the weekend. The play will be presented at the Robinson Theater on May 20-21, May 27-29 and June 3-4.

Movie theater

Film studies welcome director Diane Martel in 2022 Harlan J. Strauss Guest Filmmaker. A series of free community events with Martel include “The Art of Music Video,” featuring screenings and talks about the director’s 30-year career on May 2; “From MTV to YouTube”, screenings and discussion on the history and evolution of music videos with Martel; and on May 6, an interactive workshop “Writing treatments with Diane Martel”. Martel began directing music videos for Def Jam in 1992 and over the course of his career has directed videos for NERD, Pharrell Williams, Pink, Beyonce, J.Lo, Justin Timberlake and others.

Oregon Humanities Center 2021-22 Tzedek Lecturer Charles Chavis Jr. will project “Hidden in plain sight: out of the archives, racist plans are laid bare», a short film he produced and co-wrote about the lynching of Matthew Williams in 1931 by a mob of white men in Salisbury, Maryland. Chavis will be in Portland on May 16 and on the Eugene campus on May 17.

Welcome to all movie buffs! Deepen your knowledge of French-speaking culture and cinema at The Cinema Club film screenings at McKenzie Hall. Upcoming films include “Nothing to Declare” on May 5, “Petit Pays” on May 19, and “Spectacles de Gad Elmaleh” on June 2.

If you enjoy fun activities and love free movies and snacks, you won’t want to miss this month’s slate of Ducks After Dark presentations in EMU’s Redwood Auditorium. On May 5, the first is Studio Ghilbi’s animated classic “Taken away as if by magic», the story of a young girl who finds herself trapped in a mysterious world of spirits. A 7-year-old Korean American boy who is uprooted from his West Coast home to rural Arkansas is the subject of “minari” May 12. Follow the latest iteration of the Caped Crusader in “The Batman” with Robert Pattinson on May 19. Finally, the close of the month on May 26 is “animal house.” Love it or hate it, Johnson Hall, Gerlinger Hall and the EMU Fishbowl at the UO along with other local venues are highlighted in this classic 1978 National Lampoon comedy.

Gatherings

Celebrate Asia-Pacific American Heritage Month May 20 in Downtown Eugene at Asian night market, a gathering of rich cultural diversity through performances, cuisine, stalls and Asian food trucks, crafts and Asian films from the DisOrient Film Festival. The Asian Pacific American Student Union will host a similar event at the Asian Night Market on EMU Green on May 13.

See you at MacArthur Court on May 21 for the 47th annual luau, “Ke Alaula“, The Light of Dawn, presented by UO Hui ‘O Hawai’i. The first in-person luau to celebrate Asia-Pacific American Heritage Month in two years will feature live music, authentic Hawaiian food and traditional Hawaiian dancing.

Get ready to party, dance and build community at “Enchanted Forest: A Queer Ball by LGBTQA3May 20 at EMU’s Redwood Auditorium.

Conferences

The Spring 2022 Lecture Series on Ancient Jewish Art and Architecture will feature several lectures this month. Steven Fine, Dean Pinkhos Churgin Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University, will lecture on “Jews, Samaritans and the Art of the Old Synagogue“in a virtual event on May 2. On May 9, Jaś Elsner, Professor of Late Antique Art at the University of Oxford will present”Dura Europos in its conceptual context between Eurasian fantasy and mandate archeology.” Zeev Weiss, Eleazar L. Sukenik Professor of Archeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archeology will present “The synagogue in the shadow of the temple and after its destructionon May 11.

Join Kimberly Johnson, vice provost for undergraduate education and student success and author of the young adult novel “This Is My America” on May 4 for “Ideas at your fingertips: Tell your story, change the world.” Johnson’s lecture will touch on storytelling, literary activism and the expansion of silent voices.

Cultural and architectural historian Sun Young Park will present the Haseltine Lecture, “Architecture of the senses: designing for the disabled in 19th century Francewhich focuses on his current research and his first book, “The ideals of the body: architecture, urban planning and hygiene in post-revolutionary Paris”. The event is May 11.

On tap May 13 is “Vocal form in rock and pop, 1991-2020,” a talk by Drew Nobile, a faculty researcher at the Oregon Humanities Center, who hopes to finally put an end to the idea that popular music is musically simplistic.

Lewis Watts, photographer, archivist, curator and emeritus professor of art at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will discuss “Faces and places of the diasporaon May 19 as part of the Spring 2022 Guest Artist Lecture Series. Watts will speak about his photography and his interest in the culture, history, and migration of people in the African American Diaspora. Elissa Author will present “queer maximalismon May 5. Her talk will focus on the work of artist, costume designer and performer Machine Dazzle.

Recent excavations have revealed an early 20th century Chinese restaurant and gift shop in downtown Eugene. Join Museum of Natural and Cultural History archaeologists Jon Krier, Marlene Jampolsky, and Chris Ruiz on May 19 for their presentation on this fascinating find, “Longevity: The Archeology of a Chinese Company in the Eugene Market District.”

Music

The University Opera and Orchestral Ensemble joins forces on May 6 at the Beall Concert Hall for “A little night music.On May 10, Idit Shner will present a saxophone performance as part of Faculty Recital Series. And don’t miss”Path of Miraclesperformed on May 15 by the voice ensemble of the UO Chamber Choir specializing in a cappella from the 16th to the 21st century.

the UO Campus Musica concert band open to all students, will perform on May 18. Oregon Wind Ensemble will showcase the talents of non-major students in winds, brass and percussion on May 19. University of Oregon Symphony Orchestrathe UO’s premier orchestra, for a concert on May 20. Students from the School of Music and Dance will present “Chamber music on campusMay 27.

Think you have the vocal chops to win? Submit a video audition and participate in the Third Annual UO Pop Voice Contest May 20. The winner will be chosen by Grammy-winning guest judge Alvin Chea of ​​Take 6.

Dance

Enjoy a night of dancing on May 13 as Dougherty Dance Theater presents the African dance and percussion ensemble Dema, led by Assistant Professor Habib Iddrisu, a traditionally trained musician, dancer and historian from Northern Ghana. On May 26, the Dance Department presents the 2022 Student Spotlightfeaturing the works of nine emerging student choreographers in collaboration with UO dancers.

Streaming Resources

Can’t make it to an event in person? Google Arts & Culture is a great starting point for finding exhibits, collections, audio, video, images and more.

Explore it OU Channel for a variety of live-streamed events, videos from the Art Department’s Guest Artist Lecture Series, guest speakers and more.

—By Sharleen Nelson, University Communications