It's strange to call a game that's more than 100 years old "trendy," but that's just what mahjong is after a huge popularity surge in the mid-2020s. Many new players are in it for the love of the game, but the commodified craze has also divorced the game from its Asian cultural context in the Western public consciousness. One Austin-based group that's working to correct that erasure is giving locals a great chance to learn, play, and support Asian communities on Saturday, May 23.

This free community mahjong event by The Mahj will platform more than 50 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) artists, small businesses, and community organizations. The event will combine gameplaying and immersive art to get guests engaged with their surroundings. If visitors don't know how to play the tile matching game, they can stop by the mahjong parlor during teaching hours.

The May 23 event is a prototype for The Mahj, a new "interactive experiment," as it calls itself in a mission statement, that aims to foster social and collective wellbeing. It also looks to explore "cultural reclamation in the face of erasure and the aesthetic repackaging of cultural practices through capitalism and orientalism."

For the prototype, this will include an indoor night market co-hosted by The Lucky Market Festival and Asian Season ATX, plus an outdoor food court, a pop-up sari-sari (like a corner store) for art, and an art gallery. There will also be a tea lounge, flash tattoos, and DJ sets by Jaz EJ, Carnotrocity, Spectre Moon, and Shelz.

“We have a stellar team working hard to create a welcoming space that honors and uplifts the power of community and the joyful spirit of mahjong,” said lead event coordinator and experience designer Tiffany Chan in a press release. “Our goal is to bring people together in celebration of the creativity, culture, and communities that continue to shape Austin’s spirit.”

The event runs from 6-11 pm at Distribution Hall, 1500 E. 4th St. Although it is free, The Mahj encourages guests to RSVP via Eventbrite so the team knows what to prepare for. Just earnestly engaging in experiment should be helpful; to help even more, volunteers can reach out to hello@themahjatx.com.