Current Events
Hear compelling personal stories from Ada Cheng’s students and her “Dare To Connect!” online storytelling class. No RSVP needed for this free, in-person event at Restoried Bookshop, an independent, family-owned, Asian American-owned bookstore in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood.
Your instructor is award-winning educator-turned storyteller, solo performer, and producer Dr. Ada Cheng. Dr. Cheng has utilized storytelling to illustrate structural inequities, raise critical awareness, and build intimate communities. Committed to amplifying and uplifting marginalized voices, she has created numerous storytelling platforms for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ community members to tell difficult and vulnerable stories. Dr. Cheng has been a speaker for Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau since 2019. She was named Educator of the Year in 2021, 2023-24 Lund-Gill Chair at Dominican University and was a 2024 Illinois Humanities Public Humanities Award honoree. Her interests encompass academia, storytelling/performance, and advocacy.
EVOLUTION: Asian American Arts Festival
- May 2-3, 2026
- Lookingglass Theatre
Artist and vendor applications now open until December 31, 2025!
Permission to Fail
Asian Americans aren’t supposed to fail. Remember when an A- grade was an “Asian F”?
Welcome to the “Permission to Fail” Artist Salon
Asian American Arts Chicago showcases unfinished works and performances from local AAPINH artists in film, sculpture, dance, theatre, fine art, and more.
Be a part of history at this first ever of its kind Asian American artists’ salon at Chicago’s world class venue, Lookingglass Theatre Company in the historic Water Tower Water Works.
Thanks so much to our drink sponsor Sanzo for the delicious Asian flavored beverages!
Check out the program and recap video from the inaugural salon in October, 2025. The next Permission to Fail will be presented at the EVOLUTION Asian American Arts Festival.
