Our work builds empathy and understanding, connecting diverse people and communities. We strive to build and empower a citizenry that can tackle big questions with deep understanding, breadth of perspectives, and shared humanity.

Since 2002, we've produced dozens of world, regional, and local premieres, hundreds of live and virtual events, and created opportunities for artists and audiences of diverse backgrounds to see themselves represented and/or find themselves in someone else’s story. Silk Road Cultural Center extends our mission off stage to provide engaging school and community programs that inspire meaningful dialogue and generate greater understanding within and between our diverse communities.

Silk Road Cultural Center’s work is organized around 6 key pillars:

• Archiving: We believe in making our work accessible to our communities.
• Community: We cultivate and forge more inclusive communities.
• Disability Justice: We collect and share inspiring stories that challenge representations of disability.
• Lifelong Learning: We use storytelling as a vehicle for creating social change and generating greater empathy in our society.
• Polyculturalism: We generate discourse and representation to promote polyculturalism, pluralism, and cultural interchange.
• Storytelling: We center storytellers of Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim backgrounds, and explore the intersections between various cultures and experiences.

Discover a few of our newest initiatives that exemplify Silk Road Cultural Center’s mission below.