Office of APINH Affairs Launch Party

🌸 This intimate event is designed to highlight and connect Albuquerque's APINH community.

✨ History in the making! ✨

The City of Albuquerque is proud to launch the Office of Asian Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian (APINH) Affairs--the first of its kind! Join us in celebrating this historic milestone with food, performances, and community connection.

🙏 This launch event is especially intended for members of Albuquerque's Asian Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian (APINH) community to gather, connect, and celebrate this milestone together.

🌸 Did you know? APINH is Albuquerque’s fastest-growing population. Whether you’ve lived here for generations or just arrived, this is your chance to connect, share culture, and help shape the future of APINH visibility in our city.

🎉 What to expect:

• Performances, interactive activities, and free professional headshots
• Delicious catered food
• A festive celebration leading into Diwali 🌟
• The unveiling of our first Digital Magazine & Website
• A chance to connect with Albuquerque’s vibrant APINH diaspora and our inaugural Liaison, Carlo James Aragón

✨ This launch marks a new chapter in Albuquerque’s history. Join us as we celebrate the beginning of something lasting and impactful together.

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As part of this historic launch, the Office of APINH Affairs is proud to unveil a commissioned artwork by internationally renowned Albuquerque-based artist Zahra Marwan.

The piece, titled “Threads of Belonging,” reflects the heart of the Office of APINH Affairs' mission: to ensure that Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities are visible, celebrated, and part of Albuquerque’s story.

Marwan’s watercolor style, playful yet profound, captures both memory and imagination. In the artwork, figures stand together, holding symbols of culture, migration, and care. A lion dances across the top, lanterns and flowers bloom, and the Rio Grande River flows through the background, evoking the many journeys and traditions that have come to shape life here in New Mexico.

This artwort is a story of connection. It honors the past, welcomes the present, and looks to a future where APINH communities continue to flourish. Just as each brushstroke adds to the whole, so too does each voice and each family strengthen our collective community.

Through “Threads of Belonging,” the Office of APINH Affairs affirms its vision: a thriving Albuquerque where APINH residents are seen, heard, and empowered.