Residence Lab 2021
The 2021 cohort responded to the theme of “Collective Care”. ResLab co-facilitator, Lily Xie, described the importance of this year’s theme:
“This year, we have been reminded of the importance of care. Mutual aid, community support networks, and redistribution systems have helped our most vulnerable neighbors weather this pandemic. Recent events have taught us that what we need in times of disaster are existing networks of care.
Together Chinatown residents and artists explored, “How do we care for and attend to our communities? How can we facilitate more caring relationships between people and public spaces? How can public spaces in Chinatown make residents feel more seen, included, and safe?”
Residence Lab 2021 Blog
Artist statements
Community is a Garden 社區如花園般綻放
By Yuko Okabe, Kathy Wu, Amy Lam, & Elaine Liang
Community is a Garden is a living, breathing installation of flowers and community reflections shaded beneath the trees in Mary Soo Hoo Park. In this work, our team was inspired by how residents help each other through mutual aid, language support, and acts of care both large and small.
The artwork features butterflies as symbols of collective migration and immigration, as well as pinwheels which nod at invisible environmental forces like air, which we all share. Like a garden, our communities are nurtured through cross-pollination and moments of care which are often hidden yet connected.
《社區如花園般綻放》是一個位於司徒麗英公園中會呼吸、生長的裝置藝術，由花兒和社群的創想組成。在這個作品中，我們的團隊靈感來自於居民如何通過互助、語言和大大小小的關懷之舉來互相幫助。
作品中的蝴蝶象征著集體遷徙和移民，而風車則象征著無形的環境力量，比如我們共享的空氣。就如同一個花園一般，我們的社區在授粉和相愛的時刻中培育、成長；這些時刻往往是靜悄悄的，但又連結了我們。
abundance among us 富足圍繞著我們
By Sheila Novak & Cass Li
“abundance among us” opens space for intergenerational gatherings in Mary Soo Hoo Park. Designed in collaboration with Cass, a Chinatown resident, and mother, and Sheila, a Boston artist, the duo sought to create a way to welcome folks of all ages by creating functional art that specifically considers the needs of youth and families
As visitors gather around a long, meandering table, a golden dragon evokes the strength of the group. With children and elders joined together, the work emphasizes how important all community members are to that strength, regardless of their age. Drawing sessions at the table invite community members to illustrate their ideas of abundance, which are then put on display for everyone to see. When gathered together to share a meal, have a conversation, draw or play, the power of the community is on display.
《富足圍繞著我們》為司徒麗英公園中的多代聚會開辟了空間。由身為母親的唐人街居民智華和波士頓藝術家希拉合作設計，她們考慮專為青年和家庭創作所需求的功能性藝術來歡迎所有人來參與。
當遊客聚集在一張蜿蜒的長桌旁時，組成的一條金龍便召喚了群體的力量。隨著兒童和長者的加入，作品強調了所有社區成員的存在和如何匯集成這種力量，無論男女老少。桌子上的繪畫環節邀請社區成員說明他們對”富足”一詞的想法，並將其展示給大家。當大家聚集在一起分享食物、進行對話、繪畫或遊戲時，社區的力量將被完美展現出來。
Pathways to Unity 通向團結之路
By Brian Pistols, Clare Florentino, & Itasha Daniels
Itasha and Clare are Chinatown residents with their own concerns about Mary Soo Hoo Park. Both teamed up with Brian Pistols, a street dancer, to creatively activate the park in a way that makes them feel more comfortable and belonging in MSH Park. Footprint trails invite and guide visitors through the park with self empowering affirmations in Boston’s six most spoken languages. It is essential to give this sense of belonging in MSH Park coming out of quarantine and high racial tensions; thus having these various footprint trails converge together where everyone can stand united and “celebrate together”.
Itasha和Clare是中國城的居民，對司徒麗英公園有屬於他們個人的擔憂。兩人通過與街舞舞者Brian Pistols合作，充滿創造性地激活了公園，使他們在司徒麗英公園中感到更加舒適和有歸屬感。由腳印匯成的小徑用波士頓六種最常用的語言引導遊客在公園內走出充滿自我肯定與接納力量的步伐。在司徒麗英公園，以及疫情中距離感和種族關系高度緊張的境況之下，賦予人們這種歸屬感是至關重要的。由這些不同的腳印小徑匯聚在一起，每個人都可以團結一心，“共同慶祝”。
Cohort
Participating Artists
Sheila Novak is an interdisciplinary artist with a commitment to socially-engaged art as a form of collective care and creating more equitable futures. In her creative practice, she focalizes the land as an extension of the body and a locus for healing. A jack-of-all-trades, Sheila's practice has included painting, sculpture, bronze casting, ceramics, drawing, fiber art, and gardening.
Yuko Okabe is a Boston-based illustrator and artist with a passion for community-centered storytelling in community development . She is currently a Rose Artist fellow with the North Shore Community Development Coalition where she's worked as a community facilitator for affordable housing projects, community engagement programs, young adult programs, and cultural workshops. She eats oatmeal almost every day and is a very proud auntie.
Brian Pistols is a performance artist with twenty years’ experience of Breaking, one of the earliest forms of street dance. His extensive experience ranges from competing all across the country, being a resident performer with the Boston Celtics, teaching locally and internationally, but he is most proud of his passion project "Entering ShaoLynn" which celebrates the rich Breaking history of his hometown of Lynn, MA. Brian is also the Co-Founder and Operations Director of The Flavor Continues, a Greater Boston-based nonprofit organization that serves the Street and Club dance communities through education, events, and community building.
Kathy Wu is a Boston-based artist who is interested in making complex information more accessible to people through art, and helping to uplift people’s voices in imaginative ways. She is also a tech creative who grew up in Massachusetts. She has been a member of Asian American Resource Workshop since 2019 and is connected to CPA’s Stabilization Committee and Greater Boston Mutual Aid.
Participating Residents
Itasha Daniels grew up in Boston and has lived in Chinatown for six years. She is excited about working with residents and artists to make installations come to life in Chinatown. Itasha believes that it is important to put Black community members’ mark on the Chinatown neighborhood, and to make it more inclusive and safe for the Black families and children that live here. She is also interested in theater, dance, poetry and writing, graphic art, painting, sculpture, film, photography, cooking, gardening, knitting and sewing, and music.
Clare Florentino is a Chinatown resident who is excited to learn more about her community and connect with it on a deeper level. She is interested in creating a safe and fun space where people from Chinatown feel seen, heard, and valued. Through art, Clare wants people to know that Chinatown is a vibrant, beautiful place full of heart, pride and inclusion. She loves to dance and is a dog mom to a sweet 7-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix.
Cass Li (黎智化) has been living in Chinatown for six years. She believes that a well-established community will give care to any residents when they need it. Cass is passionate about Chinatown safety, environmental health, and education. Cass appreciates the creativity of art, and likes to make origami flowers and houses for her daughters.
Amy Lam (林丽莹) is a Chinatown resident who is passionate about learning, creating cultural knowledge and resources to help one another, and improving the environment to be more healthy for all. At ResLab, she wants to see artwork that highlights important Chinatown issues, such as better air quality, clean environment, and more peace.
Elaine Liang (农英) has lived in Chinatown for 12 years and works at Asian American Civic Association as daycare worker. She cares about environmental sanitation and Chinatown history. Elaine enjoys theater, dancing, film, and gardening. She looks forward to collaborating with artists to co-create artworks that make people say “this is about care.”
Our supporters
Special thanks to Tufts Medical Center