Asian American Community & Cultural Center

GMAACC is grounded in the direct stories and experiences of the AAPI community in Greater Malden and beyond. The Asian American Community and Cultural Center offers a place to set down our roots and nourish the wide-ranging programs and activities, from building AAPI youth and community power to advocating for bilingual voting rights, and offering culturally relevant activities and performances.

After more than a decade of community organizing and advocacy, we’re thrilled to share that GMAACC has found a permanent home in Malden for our Asian American Community and Cultural Center—a space grounded in the lived experiences, voices, and stories of our AAPI communities.

Our new center will allow us to grow and sustain critical programming—from creative youth leadership and community engagement to language access and cultural performances. And this is just the beginning.

Together, we’ll continue to imagine and co-create a vibrant space that nourishes, empowers, and uplifts our communities for generations to come.

Build With Us Today: Our Funding Goal

Join Us in Our Effort to Raise $2M for the Build-out of Our Asian American Community and Cultural Center!

We are excited to announce that we have recently acquired a building on Pearl Street, which we aim to transform into the city's first Asian-American cultural and community center.

Our new space will host a wide range of programs and initiatives, including:

The Ping Pong Club – promoting wellness, fun, and social connection
The Hua Xia Multi-Arts Group – celebrating traditional and contemporary AAPI arts
An intergenerational AAPI Ethnic Studies workshop series incorporating theater
Youth Organizing Group - a youth-led leadership program
The AAPI Empowerment Project - raising awareness of gambling addiction
Medford Connects - building social resilience to address the impacts of climate change
Participatory storytelling and mural projects focused on building power and community voice

We're also designing flexible, multi-use spaces to accommodate:

Dance rehearsal space, art exhibitions, and cultural events
Financial literacy and business development workshops
Youth lounge, podcast rooms, and artist studio space
Gatherings that foster intergenerational dialogue, cross-coalition organizing, and civic engagement

As a long-time resident of Malden for over 10 years, I've seen how the lack of a community space for Asian Americans has left our community feeling scattered. Having the Asian American Community and Cultural Center in Malden would finally give us a home, a place where our experiences and voices are acknowledged. We would finally have the opportunity to stand together, support one another, and build a stronger community.

- Cheuk Leung Kwong

GMAACC community members celebrate the closing of the community center.

In Fall 2024, residents and community members of all ages came together at our Mid-Autumn Festival Community Celebration to envision their dreams for the Asian American Community and Cultural Center. Facilitated by local artists and GMAACC youth, community members engaged in a participatory public art piece, sharing their dreams of a space with access to learning about Asian American history, more dedicated arts and cultural programming, as well as the creation of an essential space for community members to meet and gather.

We are excited to bring these collective dreams to life and cultivate a space that reflects our community’s vision and supports meaningful action. Join us in supporting our collective effort to create a thriving Asian American Community and Cultural Center where culture, advocacy, and opportunity come together to strengthen our community!

“I have lived in Malden my whole life, and as a high school student, I have dedicated over 200 hours volunteering because I love my community. One of the biggest challenges I see is how divided our community feels, especially across different generations. When we are divided, we become isolated, each of us thinking we have to handle our struggles in silence. But it does not have to be this way – when we come together, we can listen and learn from one another, and we may realize how much we share. We need a space to do this. We need a community center to finally hold space with one another.”