Executive Director's Corner
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I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4!
This month has been a little quieter as we work on scheduling more events for the rest of the year.
I was in DC for a conference and met with the Executive Director of the soon-to-open Chinese American Museum in DC. That was exciting. This will bring the number of Chinese American Museums in the US to **drum roll, please** seven! Can you believe, with our history and size, that there are only six of us?
While in DC, I also met with the President of the DC Chapter of the Moys Family Association. It was like running into an old friend even though it was my first time meeting her.
Ji Suk Yi of the Chicago Sun-times interviewed me for
The Grid, which explores different Chicago neighborhoods, on what Chinatown means to me, and I got to show her around my adopted hood. We had dim sum, of course! You can read the article and watch the interview starting August 1, 2018.
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Each month we feature a board member, staff member, or volunteer in our Monthly Spotlight segment. This month, we present one of our newest staff members, Dongmei "May" Cai.
May has been living in Chicago's Chinatown for more than 5 years. She was working in the hotel and restaurant industry before she came to the museum. Working at the museum gives her a whole new understanding of Chinese immigration history and ignites her interest in different cultures. She really enjoys working at the museum and feels a sense of responsibility of spreading Chinese culture. In her spare time, she is an adventurous person. She likes to do different sports and to challenge herself by trying new things; she just tried skydiving last week and she is planning to learn scuba diving now.
We asked May
about her favorite part of our current exhibitions:
"I was amazed by how Chinese immigrants first came to the US. Once the Chinese heard the news of the gold rush, an immense amount of them traveled to California. The amazing stories really touched me, how they started and survived with perseverance and they were struggling in a totally new culture. I am happy that I always learn something new every day."
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Cultural Intersections: Iconic Chinese Design by Norwegian Architects (June 30, 2018)
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This program explored the forced intersection of Chinese and Norwegian design created by the lack of Chinese architects due to the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act with a presentation and a walking tour of Chinatown. It was one of the hottest days in July, but we had 100% attendance!
Check out this
video
of the p
resentation by preeminent Chicago historian Dr. Dominic Pacyga, Professor Emeritus, Columbia College, Humanities, History, and Social Sciences, on the significance of On Leong Merchants Association (now Pui Tak Center), Moys Family Association, and Won Kow Restaurant.
You can find more photos
here
.
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Chinatown Summer Fair (July 15)
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The Chinese calligraphy with Ram and David was a huge crowd pleaser as always, and Vivian put up a good fight at Chinese chess against some very serious players!
Click
here
for more photos.
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Immersion Experience: Bronzeville and Chinatown (July 28)
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The Chinese American Museum of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology Office of Community Affairs and Outreach Programs has teamed up for
Immersion Experience
, which brings the audience to our neighborhoods.
First up was
Immersion Experience: Bronzeville and Chinatown
, a trolley tour of the two neighborhoods. It was a sold-out event with a waitlist!
Of course we ended the tour with lunch in Chinatown!
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The next one will be on August 18, 2018, 10 am - 1 pm, and will be a tour of Pilsen and Bridgeport. Stay tuned for more information and how to sign up.
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Artist Talk and Film Screening of "Requiem" (August 25)
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The Chinese American Museum of Chicago and re.riddle are pleased to present a s
creening of a documentary film by Jim Choi, "Requiem," based on the contemporary art exhibition by Summer Mei-Ling Lee, inspired by the untold story of the Chinese American diaspora, and the role of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals' efforts in repatriating displaced Chinese bodies back home during the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882-1943.
The documentary film is a moving piece following the journey of the artist as she learns about the history of the bone boxes in relation to the diaspora. "Requiem re-traces a search for homelands and final resting places—an infinity loop of yearning and memory that implicates viewer, artist, the Chinese migrants of yore who sought to return to China after death, and those who facilitated this return" (Koh, C., Art Practical, 2018).
Following the film, artist Summer Lee will speak about her experience working on the film and art installation.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM CDT
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We were invited along with other leaders of Chicago’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community to lunch with Mayor Rahm Emanuel to hear about exciting projects and developments that benefit Chicago's AAPI community.
Yes, that was the back of our heads.
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On July 9th and 15th, we said goodbye to two of our best helpers,Jerry and Gaizi, respectively.
Gaizi Jie had been interning and volunteering in Collections since the fall of 2017. She had been enthusiastic about collections organization and research of incoming donations. As a native speaker of Chinese, she had also been extremely helpful as we unraveled mysteries of incoming donations.
Jerry Zou was indispensable to the Museum's daily operations and performed a wide variety of functions, including assisting with financial expenses, managing tours and customer relations.
We hope they will come back to visit us in the future and we wish them all the best!
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Association of Midwest Museums Conference 2018
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We participated at this year's Association of Midwest Museums Conference in Chicago with a poster session and a joint presentation with Chicago Cultural Alliance and DANK Haus German American Cultural Center!
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The poster title was "Preserving Cultural Heritage Through Public Engagement: Challenges for Small Community Museums." We had a wonderful time explaining our mission, challenges, and vision to attendees.
The topic for the joint presentation was "A Novel Model in Collections Care for Small Museums: The Chicago Cultural Alliance’s Conservation and Collections Program." The Chicago Cultural Alliance’s Conservation and Collections Program Manager explained their unique model for providing shared collections Assistance (SCA) to 36 heritage museums, historical societies, and cultural centers in their consortium, of which we are a member, and our very own Collections Manager, Andrea Stamm, provided case specific accounts of the SCA projects.
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The mission of the Chinese American Museum of Chicago - Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center (CAMOC) is to promote the culture and history--through exhibitions, education, and research--of Chinese-Americans in the Midwest.
The museum building, formerly the Quong Yick Co., is located in Chicago's Chinatown, at 238 West 23rd Street in Chicago. The Museum opened to the public on May 21, 2005. After a devastating fire in September of 2008, the Museum was closed for renovation and reopened in 2010.
CAMOC is governed by the Board of Directors of the Chinatown Museum Foundation (CMF), a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation located in Chicago, Illinois.
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