AIISF Newsletter / May 2026
Photos from the 2026 Immigrant Heritage Awards. Photo Credit: Bob Hsiang Photography.
A Message From AIISF’s Executive Director
Dear AIISF Friends and Family,
I am still feeling the warmth and energy from our 15th Annual Immigrant Heritage Awards which took place on Saturday, April 25. It was incredibly moving and meaningful to be in community with everyone who came together to support the work of AIISF and to celebrate this year’s honorees: Dr. Charles Egan, Dr. Kai Li, PG&E, and Buck Gee.
Especially in these times when we are seeing continued actions against immigrants; the erosion of voting rights and civil rights; and increasing economic uncertainty, it is even more meaningful to come together as a community. Thank you to all of our sponsors, guests, volunteers, vendors, and partners who helped to make the evening meaningful and successful. Thanks to your generosity, we raised$34,500 during our Fund-A-Need Paddleraiser, surpassing our goal of $20,000! We still have a $165,500 gap that we are looking to close for fiscal year 2026-2027, and it's not too late to make a contribution.
We are officially in the middle of “high season.” April, May, and June are typically the busiest months of the year for the AIISF team. Every May, we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Island Heritage Month as well as Jewish American Heritage Month. As a kid in Texas, the bulk of what I learned about these communities was limited to a few paragraphs about Japanese incarceration and the Holocaust during WWII.
While both of these events are clearly significant, our communities’ histories stretch far before and long after WWII. Check out these two animated videos ("Moments in Asian American History" and "Moments in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander History") which help to shine light on other chapters in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history. Check out the APA Heritage Foundation’s website to learn more about the events happening across the Bay Area this month! And be sure to visit the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, a 2013 AIISF Immigrant Heritage Award Recipient.
As our country celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week from May 4 to May 8, let’s all take a moment to give kudos to all the teachers who are helping to educate our future leaders and to ensure they have a better understanding of our communities’ histories, role models, and contributions. And teachers (and parents), be sure to sign up for next Tuesday’s webinar in observance of AANHPI Heritage Month that we are co-hosting with Angel Island State Park, featuring guest-speaker Valarie Kaur.
If you missed the opportunity to see the Oakland Ballet’s performance of Angel Island last year, you have two more chances this on Friday (May 8) and Saturday (May 9). With dances inspired by the poetry and experiences of immigrants at Angel Island, these performances are choreographed to Huang Ro’s Angel Island Oratorio for String and Voices. This weekend will feature live performances by Del Sol Quartet and Volti.
Also this weekend, be sure to catch the Bay Area premier of Paper Daughter, a stop motion short film by Cami Kwan, on Sunday (May 10) at CAAMFest 2026! AIISF helped to serve as historical consultant for the film and can attest that the film is beautifully produced and quite evocative.
Wishing you all history and hope,
Edward Tepporn
Executive Director
Accessibility Notice
The elevator in the Detention Barracks Museum is temporarily out-of-order. The first floor of the barracks is still ADA-accessible, but the second floor is only accessible by stairs. The elevator in the Angel Island Immigration Museum (AIIM) is working and both floors are ADA-accessible.
Family Day 2026 - Volunteers Needed!
Family Day 2026
June 13
Angel Island Immigration Station
Family Day 2026 is taking place this year on Saturday, June 13.
AIISF is looking for volunteers to help us ensure that this event is safe, fun, and enjoyable for everyone. We need volunteers who can assist with registration/check-in (in San Francisco and Tiburon), craft stations, lunch distribution and/or clean up.
Stay tuned! Tickets to attend Family Day 2026 will be available later this month!
Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign
Through our Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign, you can have your family or company name engraved onsite at the Angel Island Immigration Station! Commemorate your own immigration journey, honor your family’s immigrant heritage, or show your allyship with immigrant communities.
Whether you or your family came through Angel Island or elsewhere, and whether you arrived in the US decades or days ago, we welcome your name and support!
Upcoming Events
Second Saturdays on Angel Island: Hands on History
May 9 | 11-2 pm PDT
Angel Island Immigration Station
Click here to learn more
Take a trip out to the island and make art while learning about the history of Angel Island!
We’ll be making buttons and hosting special guided tours.
These events are included in museum admission.
Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month at Angel Island State Park
May 12 | 9-9:45 am PDT
On Zoom
Click here to learn more
Honor the history and diversity of the Asian American Pacific Islander immigrants that passed through the Angel Island Immigration Station from 1910-1940.
Join Angel Island State Park and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation online at the historic detention barracks as we delve into their stories. Submit questions through a Q&A feature; we might just be able to answer it!
Registration is required. Sign up online.
Tiburon AAPI Heritage Festival 2026
May 16 | 1-4 pm PDT
Zelinsky Park, Tiburon
Click here to learn more
Celebrate the diversity of the AAPI community that makes Tiburon so great! There will be food, performances and a variety of kid friendly activities.
Come say hi to Angel Island State Park and AIISF as we share the history of the island. This event is free and open to the public!
Diablo Valley College Ensemble
May 30 | 12 pm PDT
Angel Island Immigration Station
Click here to learn more
Diablo Valley College Symphonic Band will be coming to Angel Island. Listen to their performance celebrating AAPINH Month!
The set list includes excerpts from Butterfly Lovers violin concerto; A tribute to Yellow Pearl - the 1970’s Asian American activist folk music trio; and Jangma by Joon Oh (Diablo Valley College student composer).
This event is free with museum admission.
Community Events
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month started in 1978 to honor early AAPI contributions to U.S. history. It’s now a nationwide celebration of culture, community, and impact. San Francisco celebrates with 100+ events this May.
Get your celebration guide at the APA Heritage Foundation's website: apasf.org
CHSA's Forgotten East Bay Tracks: Honoring Chinese Builders of the Final Leg of the Pacific Railroad
May 8 | 7:00 pm
Zoom presentation
Click here to register for the event
Join Victor K. Wong, researcher with the Chinese History Project, as he unveils the untold story of the Chinese who built the final leg of the Pacific Railroad from Sacramento to the San Francisco Bay. Don't miss this deep dive into the most well-documented portion: Alameda Canon (known as Niles Canyon) in the East Bay.
Come and see forgotten and newly found photos of the original tracks hand-carved through this narrow canyon; they declare to all the Herculean handiwork of the unseen workers and bear witness to the strength and tenacity of the Chinese builders.
This Zoom presentation is sponsored by CHSA.
Oakland Ballet Company's Angel Island
May 8-9 | 7:30 pm (Friday) & 2:30 pm (Saturday)
Herbst Theatre San Francisco
Click here to purchase tickets
The Oakland Ballet Company along with the Del Sol Quartet and the Volti singers conducted by Robert Geary is proud to present this profoundly poignant, but also inspiring interpretation of Angel Island by composer Huang Ruo.
Angel Island portrays the anguish and aspiration experienced by hundreds of Chinese immigrants detained on Angel Island Immigration Station in the decades between 1910 and 1940. Choreographed by AAPI artists Natasha Adorlee, Phil Chan, Lawrence Chen, Elaine Kudo, Ashley Thopiah, and Wei Wang this work is a heartfelt collaboration by a singular group of extraordinary artists, not to be missed.
A pop-up of AIISF's Cage Built of Jade exhibit will be on display, Friday and Saturday.
Film: Cami Kwan's Paper Daughter at CAAMFest 2026
May 10 | 2:30 pm
AMC Kabuki, San Francisco
Click here for tickets
Catch the Bay Area premiere of Cami Kwan's stop-motion short film, Paper Daughter, at the nation’s leading showcase for films from Asian America and beyond: CAAMFest!
Inspired by the true story of Kwan's ancestor, the fantasy film follows Joy, a Chinese immigrant taking on the persona of a deceased girl, as she navigates detention and interrogation on Angel Island.
Paper Daughter is one of seven films that will be shown as part of CAAMFest's 56-minute Shorts Program, "Frame by Frame." Tickets are required!
Safar (Journey) for the United States of Asian America Festival
June 14 | 3:30-5:30 pm (Doors open at 3:00 pm)
Creativity Museum Theater, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
Click here for tickets
Come see Safar (Journey), an official selection of the United States of Asian America Festival. The poetic short documentary illuminates the lost history of South Asians at Angel Island Immigration Station, tracing early migration and arrival.
The film follows Oakland-based choreographer Joti Singh as she traces the life of her great-grandfather, Bhagwan Singh Gyanee—a poet, organizer, and possible detainee at Angel Island. Filmed on location, Joti performs as Gyanee, blending re-enactment with site-specific movement to illuminate histories of migration, colonial oppression, and racial exclusion through a deeply personal diasporic lens.
Early bird tickets are available through May 21. Save 20% with the discount code FRIENDSSAFAR!
Community Resources
Call for Art: Arrivals, an Exhibition by ArtSpan at the San Francisco Ferry Building
Deadline: May 11 at 11:59 pm PDT
Click here to learn more
Interested in having your art exhibited at the Ferry Building?
ArtSpan is inviting artists from immigrant and arrival communities to apply for Arrivals, an Art-In-Neighborhoods Exhibition at the San Francisco Ferry Building. This call for art seeks 2D and low-relief 3D wall art that explores themes of transit, immigration, and belonging.
Exhibiting artists' work will be showcased in the Grand Hall of the Ferry Building from July 19 - August 2, 2026. Selected artists will be invited to table on the Market floor during the closing weekend of SF Open Studios on October 24 & 25, 2026. Each will receive a $500 stipend and complimentary Premier-level SF Open Studios registration for Weekend 5 presentation at the Ferry Building, October 25-26, 2026.
For more information on artistic direction, eligibility, requirements, and the submission process, see ArtSpan's Submittable.
2026 Woori Hope Scholarship
Deadline: May 15 at 11:59 p.m. EDT
Click here to apply
The 2026 Woori Hope Scholarship aims to invest in Korean, Asian American, and multiethnic undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career that empowers immigrant communities. One scholarship will be awarded in the amount of $1,000. The recipient will be recognized at Woori Center's Stronger Together Gala in Philadelphia on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 6 p.m. For more information and eligibility criteria for applicants, check out the Woori Center's application form and click "Next" at the bottom of the page.
AIISF is a small (but mighty) nonprofit that has worked tirelessly for the past 42 years to preserve the buildings at Angel Island and to elevate the stories of immigrants. Our ability to continue these preservation efforts and to continue to offer free or low-cost programs is dependent on the support of community members like you. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to AIISF.