Back to All Events

Lunchbox Moments


  • Pao Arts Center 99 Albany Street Boston, MA, 02111 United States (map)

Exhibit Extended, Gallery will be closed Saturday, February 17 as we prepare for our Lunar New Year Celebration on Sunday, February 18 . Gallery will reopen for normal hours on Thursday, February 22 - Friday, March 16, 2024.

Lunchbox moments are the formative occurrences in many Asian American kids' lives where a traditional Asian meal is eaten at school and peers in the lunchroom have some reaction, whether it be positive or negative. In order to share these stories and empower the AAPI community, artist Amie Bantz has created Lunchbox Moments: Seek Understanding. Share Stories. Stop Hate. For this exhibition, Bantz collects narratives from members of the AAPI community and physically writes their stories onto spray-painted lunch boxes.  

Lunchbox Moments is supported in part by a grant from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement's Weaving Well-Being initiative.  

Join the Opening Reception on Friday, October 27, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

About the Artist

Amie Bantz is a New England-raised, Baltimore-born artist currently living and working out of her home in Pennsylvania. As the first bi-racial person to be born in both lines of her family, Bantz's work explores the duality of her existence. She draws from her experiences and uses art-making to investigate identity. Imagery steeped in familiarity and nostalgia serves as the cornerstone of Bantz's work as she uses objects and scenes from her Korean-American upbringing to tell the complex, layered story of being a mixed woman in America. 

Contact: Cynthia Woo

Earlier Event: October 27
Chinatown Worker Statues: A Statue in the Making
Later Event: November 4
No-No Boy: Live in Concert