III. Mithila Center USA Initiative
AAPI Heritage
Connecting the living traditions of Mithila art with the broader story of Asian American community, identity, and contribution to the United States — every May and year-round.
Our Perspective
Mithila Art as an AAPI Story
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, observed every May, honors generations of AAPI individuals who have enriched America's national identity. Mithila Center USA participates with a clear message: Mithila art is not only heritage from South Asia — it is an active, living contribution to American cultural life made by artists, educators, and advocates from the Mithila diaspora.
Mithila painting's roots stretch back thousands of years to the Mithila region of Nepal and Bihar, India — a tradition carried by women artists across generations and now brought to New York's cultural landscape by a vibrant diaspora community.
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Cultural Representation
Ensuring South Asian Mithila traditions are represented in AAPI heritage celebrations and civic spaces across New York.
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Community Pride
Building pride and belonging among diaspora youth through connection to ancestral art and cultural identity.
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Cross-Community Solidarity
Connecting Mithila heritage with the wider AAPI community through shared values of diversity and cultural preservation.
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Public Education
Teaching New Yorkers about the richness of South Asian heritage as part of the larger AAPI story.
What We Have Built
Community Impact
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Annual Heritage Month Programming
Every May, Mithila Center USA organizes AAPI Heritage Month events — bringing Mithila art exhibitions, cultural performances, and community gatherings to New York City's public spaces, showing the breadth of Asian American heritage.
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Youth Art Education
Kids Art Workshops held during AAPI Heritage Month teach children from diverse backgrounds the fundamentals of Mithila painting — connecting the next generation with South Asian artistic traditions and building lasting cultural pride.
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Diaspora Community Voice
By advocating for Mithila and South Asian Nepali representation within broader AAPI conversations, Mithila Center USA ensures that smaller diaspora communities have a visible cultural platform and civic voice.
Advocacy
Our Programming
AAPI Heritage Programs & Events
Across festivals, exhibitions, youth workshops, and civic partnerships, Mithila Center USA contributes to year-round cultural programming celebrating the Asian American experience from a South Asian Mithila perspective.
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Mithila Festival USA — AAPI Heritage Edition
Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights, Queens
The annual Mithila Festival USA, held every spring in New York, is the centerpiece of our AAPI Heritage programming. The festival brings together Mithila artists from Nepal, India, and the diaspora alongside New York's diverse AAPI communities — featuring art exhibitions, cultural performances, traditional music, community recognition, and the beloved Kids Art Workshop.
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Kids Art Workshop & Award
Annual · New York City
Each year during AAPI Heritage Month, children ages 5 to 12 from across New York's diverse communities participate in hands-on Mithila painting workshops. Led by master artists, participants learn the foundational motifs of Mithila art — fish, lotus, birds, and nature — and receive juried awards and certificates recognized by New York public officials.
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Community Art Exhibition
Annual · Diversity Plaza & Civic Venues
Mithila Center USA organizes public art exhibitions during AAPI Heritage Month featuring works by artists from Nepal, India, and the American diaspora. These exhibitions present Mithila art as a living AAPI cultural tradition — displayed in community centers, civic halls, and open public spaces that welcome all New Yorkers.
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Civic Recognition & Advocacy
New York City Hall & Community Venues
Mithila Center USA has received mayoral proclamations recognizing Mithila cultural celebrations in New York City. These recognitions are part of a broader effort to ensure that Mithila heritage is acknowledged within AAPI advocacy spaces, public policy conversations, and city-wide cultural programming.
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0
+Years of Programming
Since 2019
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0
+Youth Participants
Per annual workshop
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+Countries Represented
Through our artists
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0
Mayoral Proclamation
NYC recognition
Community Network
Partners & Collaborators
Our AAPI Heritage work is strengthened through partnerships with cultural, community, and civic organizations that share a commitment to Asian American representation and heritage preservation across New York City.
- Asian American Federation of New York
- Consulate General of Nepal in New York
- Madheshi Association in America (MAA)
- Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights
- Janakpur Women's Development Center
- Apan Foundation
The Broader Story
Mithila Art in America
AAPI Heritage is not a single story — it is millions of stories. Mithila art is one of them, and it has something profound to say about beauty, resilience, and the human connection to nature and community.
AAPI Heritage Month, established by Congress in 1992, honors the history, cultures, and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Mithila Center USA participates by centering Mithila art — a 2,500-year-old living tradition — within the AAPI heritage narrative, affirming that the Asian American story encompasses the full breadth of Asian cultures including those from Nepal, India, and the South Asian diaspora.
Our Journey
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2019
First AAPI Heritage Month programming at Diversity Plaza, Queens
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2021
Annual Mithila Festival USA established as a recurring AAPI Heritage celebration
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2023
Mayoral proclamation recognizing Mithila cultural heritage in New York City
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2024
Museum of Mithila Heritage announced — deepening permanent AAPI presence
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2025+
Expanding year-round programming across New York's five boroughs
The Bigger Picture
Why AAPI Heritage Matters to Us
Mithila Center USA believes that honoring AAPI diversity means ensuring that South Asian Nepali and Mithili communities are visible, celebrated, and heard — not as guests, but as founding contributors to the American story.
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Diaspora Connection
Between South Asian Mithila diaspora and the broader AAPI community — building solidarity across shared experiences of migration, belonging, and cultural pride.
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Living Heritage
Between 2,500 years of Mithila art tradition and the living reality of Asian America — proving that heritage is not archived, but alive and evolving.
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Youth & Future
Between diaspora youth and their ancestral heritage — fostering pride and cultural identity so the next generation thrives with strong roots.
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New York Community
Between New York City's diverse communities and the universal language of visual art — welcoming all New Yorkers into the Mithila story.
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Civic Belonging
Between cultural preservation and civic belonging — ensuring Mithila heritage has a permanent, recognized place in one of the world's most diverse cities.
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Be Part of This Story
Support This Initiative About Mithila Center USA
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