Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists (PAPA)

Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists (PAPA) is a grassroots, membership-based collective that exists to build community among, and address the lack of economic and artistic opportunities for, people of Pan-Asian descent involved in the performing arts in the Philadelphia region. We do this through member-led programming such as community-building events, professional development programs, performance opportunities, and grassroots organizing. These programs are designed and implemented through the framework of “For Us, By Us, Beyond Us,” and fueled by our values.

PAPA’s membership is composed of people of Pan-Asian descent, which we understand to non-exhaustively include: Asian, Asian American, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian, Central Asian, Indo-Carribean, and multi-racial. As a community of many different cultures, ethnicities, and lived experiences coming together under a single banner, we care more about self-determination than trying to encompass the fullness of our community under a single perfect phrase. If you identify as Asian, we welcome you to join us. Beyond this shared racial identity, PAPA’s members are all involved in the Philadelphia-region as artists, administrators, technicians, curators, funders, academics, hobbyists, audience members, and more. PAPA centers its members in all of its activities.