Murals: September 1 - October 14, 2023

Live Performances: Sunday, October 1

This fall, see, hear, create, and connect. Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities.

In case of inclement weather, performances will take place on the rain date - Sunday, October 1, 2023.

Schedule | Mural Installations | Muralists | Performers | Sponsors

"We Protect Each Other" by Yixuan Zeng

At Q Restaurant, Photo Credit: Mel Taing

Guardian lions (石獅 / shíshī) protect the home from harmful spirits, bringing good fortune and harmony. I see them as a cultural symbol created out of the universal understanding that protecting your family and community is a necessity, requiring continued strength and will. The female lion (yin) protects the inside of the home and the spirit, while the male lion (yang) protects the outside of the home and the body. Their shared responsibility across different domains exemplify that it’s not just up to one kind of person to do all the work of caretaking; different skillsets are necessary and collaboration across groups lessen the burden for everyone. Communities thrive when we protect one another through intentional practices and mutual care. I hope these lions can serve as inspiration for us to become each other’s guardians in our own communities. 

"Let's Eat!" by Jialu Zou

At Happy Lamb Hotpot, Photo Credit: Mel Taing

Originating in China, hot pot is not simply a food, it is a culture in itself. Hot pot takes on many variations across Asian cultures. Despite regional differences, at its core it represents one thing: community. “Let’s Eat!” is a celebration of hot pot and those communities. Hot pot is where people come to celebrate, to laugh, just to be together. That’s why we come here, to Chinatown, and why we gather in our homes. We should always celebrate that.

"Welcoming Dishes" by Yuanyuan Wang

At Waku Waku Ramen, Photo Credit: Mel Taing

While brainstorming the theme for this year’s Experience Chinatown mural, I came across this simple observation: Chinatown is full of visuals. Signs full of words with different languages, pictures of various cuisines, and illustrations of amazing people. I believe it’s all due to the welcoming nature of this community. We believe that visitors, guests, friends, and families coming from all around the world carry their own unique stories, and they join us to celebrate the love and compassion of the festive culture and community. A bowl of ramen contains elements of warmth and the united quality of a circle. Adding the classic Chinatown gate is a way to tie the landmark back to the location and its community. Lanterns represent the welcoming spirit of Chinatown community, as we always believed in the importance of keeping a light on for people to feel safe, welcomed, and wanted. The Chinatown community not only thrives on its centuries of culture, but also the simplicity of our nurturing human nature. We love, we celebrate, we share. It is impossible to keep what we love a secret. That’s what makes Chinatown so special and why this community keeps on growing. 

"Unity" by Jinyi Duan

At Crave Restaurant, Photo Credit: Mel Taing

Fried Chicken, to me, is the embodiment of multiculturalism; a food vastly enjoyed by, and accessible, to many. One prevailing theory suggests that Korean Fried Chicken traces its inception to the Korean War, when African American soldiers were stationed in Korea, leading to the sharing of culinary techniques that gave birth to the version we enjoy today. For me, the vitality of a community is fostered through the interplay of ideas and traditions among people hailing from different backgrounds. In upholding the nuances of each culture and participating with respect, we collectively move towards the future. This piece serves as an ode to the synergies between the Black American and Asian American communities. Whether through culinary innovations or subcultural expressions, it's a reminder that we all take part in the seeding, rooting, sprouting, and growing of our collective creations, and to give credit where it's due.   

"A Communal Blend" by Jenn Duan

At APM Coffee, Photo Credit: Mel Taing

A local coffee shop can become a space embedded in one's daily life, be it while studying, working from a laptop, or simply a place to grab a nice treat. Sustaining a community depends on the people involved, and how attached they are to the shared space. Within the space, there is  an opportunity to bridge individuals from different backgrounds together. Through the years, APM coffee has garnered a diverse group of regulars, from Chinatown residents, college students, and working professionals.  Love of coffee and food celebrating one's Chinese heritage may be the foundation of APM coffee, but it is the ambiance of regulars and meaningful relationships built over the years that are the pillars of a thriving community. 

"What Makes a Community Thrive?" by BCNC Youth Center

At Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), Photo Credit: Mel Taing

We are summer interns at the Youth Center at BCNC from Boston and Quincy. This summer, we designed and created a mural to answer the question, "How does a community thrive?" Some themes we highlighted were education, housing, family, play, and culture. To learn more about the process behind each design, please watch the TikToks we made!

Mural Installations

Enjoy lively murals that respond to this year’s theme, “How does a community thrive?”

Create your own self-paced tour or join a guided tour on September 30th at 11:15 am or 1:00 pm.

APM coffee: 99 Kneeland Street | A Communal Blend | Jennifer Duan

Crave Chinatown: 75 Kneeland Street | Unity | Jinyi Duan

WakuWaku: 2 Tyler Street | Welcoming Dishes | Yuan-yuan Wang 

Q Restaurant: 660 Washington Street | We Protect Each Other | Yixuan Zeng 

Happy Lamb Hotpot Boston: 693 Washington Street | Let’s Eat | Jialu Zou 

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC): 38 Ash Street | What Makes a Community Thrive? | BCNC Youth Center | Read more about their process of creating the murals

Schedule

Sunday, October 1 | 11:00 am - 3:30 pm

At Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park on The Greenway (near Chinatown Gate) unless otherwise noted

11:00 am | Continuum Dance Project (a part of Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023) | Contemporary Dance

11:15 am | Tour of Experience Chinatown murals (check-in under yellow Pao Arts Center tent)

11:30 am | Nüwa Athletic Club | Chinese Lion Dance

11:45 am | TIFFY | Singer-Songwriter

12:50 pm | Maddie Lam | Singer-Songwriter

1:00 pm | Tour of Experience Chinatown murals (check-in under yellow Pao Arts Center tent)

2:00 pm | Juk-Sing | Canto-Pop Band

3:00 pm | Encore presentation: Continuum Dance Project (a part of Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023) | Contemporary Dance

11:00 am - 3:30 pm | Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany St | At Home In Chinatown: A Residence Lab Retrospective Exhibit

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Experience Chinatown is part of Chinatown HOPE, a collective of eight Chinatown organizations, funded through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Community-based Health Initiative, with the aim of coming together to leverage and build upon existing assets to have a greater, lasting impact on working class residents in Boston Chinatown.

Muralists

Jennifer Duan

Jennifer (Jenn) Duan (she/they) is a Chinese American artist based in Cambridge, MA. She is inspired by how art can be used as a medium for storytelling, emotional healing, and conveying the intangible. Through art, Jenn is interested in exploring the intersections of Chinese American identity, mental health, and what it means to be part of a community. In their free time, Jenn likes running, collecting zines, and peeling tangerines. 

Jinyi Duan 

Jinyi Duan (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist who draws inspiration from the various cultures they have been a part of through their life. Responding to a world that is becoming more segregated, they hope to show the individual nuances that make up various cultures, and in turn, highlighting the connections that exist between them. Typically working visually in acrylic paint, pens, and sharpies, they specialize in line work with a limited color palette.

Yuan-yuan Wang 

Yuan-yuan Wang (she/her) is a Taiwanese artist and educator based in Boston, MA. She is interested in showing personal experiences and philosophy through art, connecting deeply with texture, layers and colors. 

Yixuan Zeng

Yixuan Zeng (they/them) is a visual artist that passionately believes in the limitless power of storytelling for greater social change. They have collaborated at numerous film festivals to elevate underrepresented stories, formerly as Programming Director at the Boston Asian American Film Festival. As an illustrator and designer, Yixuan has worked on a variety of projects from apparel to emojis. Nowadays, Yixuan crafts murals to reclaim public spaces for local communities and to inspire collective healing.

Jialu Zou

Jialu Zou (they/them) is a non-binary Chinese American freelance illustrator based in Boston, MA. They graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration. They specialize in digital illustration with a focus on bright colors and a variety of textures. Jialu’s previous professional experience includes public art, gala pieces, and various zine projects. Besides illustrations, Jialu loves cooking, book making, and most of all, spending time with their cat, Percy. 

BCNC Youth Center 

The Youth Center provides opportunities for youth to build connections, explore and understand their community, and to put leadership skills into action. Through year-round programming centered on leadership development, education, and workforce readiness in Boston and Quincy, BCNC supports youth to thrive in school and beyond. Read more about their process of creating the murals.

Performers

Continuum Dance Project

Founded in 2013 by Fernadina Chan, CDP choreographers/co-directors Adriane Brayton and Fernadina Chan work collaboratively with their dancer. Continuum Dance Project pushes the boundaries of audience interaction and traditional vantage points, by presenting work in unconventional spaces.

Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo

Juk Sing

Inspired by the Cantonese hits of the 80s and 90s, these Kwong Kow Chinese School dropouts have performed covers of Beyond, Faye Wong, and many more across the Greater Boston Area since 2018. By sharing these classics along with original songs, Juk Sing (JK Wong, Jeffrey La, and Ashley Yu) hopes to bring back some cultural nostalgia with a dream pop twist.   

Maddie Lam

Maddie Lam is a Boston-born singer-songwriter, producer, and performer. She understands music as the sound of a soul. Infused with softness, her music and performances offer a dynamic, connective and healing space for others to rest in.   

Nüwa Athletic Club

The Nüwa Athletic Club, based in Boston, MA, provides an environment for Asian American girls and women to enhance their physical and emotional development through teamwork, sportsmanship and cultural activities which includes but is not limited to lion and dragon dance.  

TIFFY

TIFFY is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer Tiffany Sammy. TIFFY represents what it means for genres to clash and meld in 2023, preserving a bottled-up mix of dream rock, sugar pop, and coarse punk. Often boiling the terminology down to "soft punk", her music has been featured in FADER, Paste Magazine, NPR and Vanyaland. She actively plays throughout New England with her live band.  

Sponsors

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS FOR MAKING THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!

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