Experience Chinatown 2022: 5th Anniversary Celebration
Wah Lum Academy performing at Experience Chinatown 2022, Photo Credit: Lee-Daniel Tran
During this 5th anniversary year, Pao Arts Center presented its largest and longest Experience Chinatown Festival to date, featuring eight performances, ten public art installations, and a new gallery opening - all over a span of 10 weeks. What started out as a singular performance day during the Center’s first year in operation has blossomed into an extended celebration of arts and culture, featuring a multitude of collaborations with local artists and neighborhood organizations.
This year, nearly 2,000 visitors and community members joined us throughout September for weekly live performances, while thousands more experienced the vibrant window murals that adorned Chinatown restaurants and organizations from August to October. Crowds gathered in Auntie Kay and Uncle Frank Chin Park on The Greenway throughout September and enjoyed performances by: Orca Bones, shiori_kubrik, Maddie Lam, Shaw Pong Liu, Maple Leaf Senior Dancers, Alex Wan’s Group, Anju, and Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy. On the final performance day, visitors were also introduced to the Chinese Historical Society of New England’s newest installation, Endurance Streets.
The performances elicited strong emotions from audiences who stopped by to listen to music, see dance, and experience martial arts:
“It’s really inspiring that you have people who will fight for representation, and that’s something we need in other places as well.”
“The performances are really incredible. I did not know these artists before. I really appreciate hearing Asian languages near Chinatown, and how they’re innovating through music and culture.”
“The concert is brilliant. It’s just inspiring to see people like me performing to people like me.”
In between performance days, audiences also came to Pao Arts Center for the opening of Soyoung L. Kim’s exhibit, GHOST ROOTS: A New 강강술래 Ganggangsullae. The event included a screening of the artist’s experimental film, as well as a discussion with Praise Shadows Art Gallery’s Founder and CEO, Yng-Ru Chen.
Continuing a festival tradition that started in 2020, the Pao Arts Center team worked with Chinatown restaurants and organizations to bring back large scale window murals. In celebrating the Center’s 5th anniversary year, we commissioned nine murals - the highest number of murals in the festival’s history. Experience Chinatown 2022 mural artists include: Anna Dugan, Maria Fong, Amanda Beard Garcia, Ashley Jin, Victoria Lai, Katelyn Lipton, Ponnapa Prakkamakul, Jenny Tran, Nell Valle.
Learn more about the murals and read the artists’ artistic statements here.
“This is the first art opportunity where I felt like I was able to embrace my identity without being tokenized or silenced...All of the artists and people who made Experience Chinatown happen this year have been so kind and supportive, especially to us younger artists. Having my art displayed in Chinatown reinforced that art brings people together.”
Mural Artist Katelyn Lipton in front of her mural, “In the Clouds”, at Wakuwaku, Photo Credit: Mel Taing
Mural Artist Nell Valle in front of her mural, “Tigers Hot Pot Together”, at LiuYi Shou Hot Pot, Photo Credit: Mel Taing
“Being a part of Pao Arts Center’s 5th Annual Experience Chinatown is a dream come true...As an artist starting out, there’s a feeling of limbo that comes with entering the art world... For the first time in the art community, I feel seen and accepted. And it’s really beautiful that it’s in a place that feels like coming home.”
“Participating in Experience Chinatown and being a part of a circle of artists who contributed to the creative scene was so fulfilling and uplifting as the world of community art is growing in Boston.”
Mural Artist Victoria Lai in front of her and Jenny Tran’s mural, “Wing to Wing”, at Crave Chinatown, Photo Credit: Mel Taing
A special thank you to Diya from Tuk Tak Studio (pictured) for supporting the installation of each mural, Photo Credit: Maria Fong
Experience Chinatown 2022 is a testament to the deep relationships that Pao Arts Center has cultivated within the Chinatown and the AAPI creative community in the past five years.
Read more about Experience Chinatown 2022 in the press!
The Harvard Crimson by Jacob R. Jimenez, September 27, 2022
The Berkeley Beacon by Bryan Liu and Ryan Yau, September 29, 2022
The Huntington News by Christina McCabe, October 5, 2022
DigBoston by Karenna Umscheid, October 17, 2022
The Scope: Boston by Kelly Chan, October 24, 2022
Thank you to our incredible volunteers!
Our three-month long Experience Chinatown Arts Festival would not be possible without the generous help of volunteers!
Special thanks to our generous sponsors and partners!
PRESENTING
PLATINUM
GOLD
EVENT PRESENTERS
Dr. Elaine Li Shiang and the MeiMei Dumpling Company