June 2018
Executive Director's Corner
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How time flies! The Summer Solstice has come and gone, so we can now look forward (or not) to shorter days and longer nights. Although we have slowed down a little bit with our onsite events, we’ve been busy working on collaborations with other parties to bring Chinese culture and heritage to new audiences.

One of the most fun events I have participated in was Adler After Dark: Solstice Bash held at the Adler Planetarium on Summer Solstice. Adler After Dark is a monthly themed event for adults 21+, and we were very excited to have been invited to participate as one of the cultural organizations to highlight cultural traditions related to the Summer Solstice.

We put together a slide show on what the Summer Solstice means in Chinese culture and read the story Hou Yi and the Ten Suns throughout the evening. As you probably know, food is an important part of any Chinese celebration, so visitors were introduced to foods traditionally eaten during Summer Solstice and why.

On the last day of June, we were part of a collaboration with Art Design Chicago, Chicago Cultural Alliance, and the Swedish American Museum on Cultural Intersections: Iconic Chinese Design by Norwegian Architects , a sold-out event. We will have highlights on our social media in early July.

July will be a little quieter, but this is to give us time to fine tune events for the second half of the year, which will include more film screenings, festival celebrations, book talks, special presentations, and more. I hope you will come and see us soon!
Monthly Spotlight

Each month we feature a board member, staff member, or volunteer in our Monthly Spotlight segment. This month, we present intern Vivian Auduong.

Vivian is an intern this summer at the Museum. She graduated from Whitney Young High School in 2017 and just returned from a gap year at a high school in Beijing, where she spent time learning Mandarin, participated in a fashion club, and performed Chinese crosstalk ( 相声 ) at a citywide competition. Her experience in China got her excited about Chinese culture and her current role as an intern, where she is learning a lot about day-to-day operations of a small nonprofit organization, training to be a docent, helping out with special events, and getting lots of chances to keep practicing Chinese! 

We asked her to share her story growing up in Chinatown:
"Since my parents are first-generation immigrants, English is not their first language. Chinatown and its Chinese-speaking services have helped my parents out so much in familiarizing themselves in the once unknown land of the United States. My childhood is filled with fond memories of attending after-school programs at CASL, seeing doctors who were able to communicate with my parents, buying goods only available at Chinese grocery stores, and of course, eating delicious food with family at the many restaurants in Chinatown!"
Past and Upcoming Events
June 2018
Screening of " Pushing Hands"  
On June 1st, Coalition for A Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) ORIGINS Youth Group hosted the screening of "Pushing Hands", a film directed by Ang Lee, released in 1992. This is a story about dealing with conflicts between an older and more traditional generation and their children as they confront a world of change.
What does it mean to be Chinese in America?
On June 2nd, we held this meaningful and fun event with Chicago-based artist Mark Yee and storyteller Dr. Ada Cheng, co-sponsored by University of Illinois at Chicago Global Asian Studies Program and co-hosted with Coalition for A Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) ORIGIN Youth Program. Check out the videos ( Pt.1 and Pt.2 ).
Chicago Jazz Philharmonic : Chicago Immigrant Stories at Millennium Park
The Chicago Immigrant Stories series began at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago and culminated in a wonderful collaborative performance at Millennium Park on June 14 with Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and local musicians focusing on the immigrant experience through music! See where it all started !

We will post a link to the concert on our social media once it becomes available. Check out the photos in the meantime!
Adler After Dark: Solstice Bash
Summer is finally here! We celebrated the Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere) at Adler Planetarium for Adler After Dark: Solstice Bash . Check out the video and the photos !
Cultural Intersections: Iconic Chinese Design by Norwegian Architects
This exciting event on June 30 introduced attendees to the surprising history of some of Chinatown’s most iconic buildings with a talk and tour co-presented by the Chinese American Museum of Chicago and the Swedish American Museum. This program unveiled the forced intersection of Chinese and Norwegian design created by the lack of Chinese architects due to the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act. At the heart of the tour is Chinatown’s most iconic building, the Pui Tak Center, commissioned by the powerful On Leong Merchant Association and designed by Norwegians Michaelsen and Rognstad in 1928. With a presentation by preeminent Chicago historian Dr. Dominic Pacyga and walking tour led by community docents, this event explored design appropriation and showcases materials the architects used to design the building. Stay tuned for the video presentation.
July 2018
Chicago's Chinatown is hosting its annual Chinatown Summer Fair on Sunday, July 15, 10am-8pm. Stop by our booth for arts and crafts and get your name written in Chinese calligraphy!
Chinese American Museum of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology are teaming up to bring you Immersion Experience , which brings the audience to our neighborhoods. First up is Immersion Experience: Bronzeville and Chinatown on July 28, which will be a trolley/walking tour of the two neighborhoods. Stay tuned for details.
Museum News
On June 24th, we said goodbye to Chrissy Mou, who had been with us for more than a year. If you have come to any of our events, you will have met her, since she always worked on the weekends. Her outgoing personality always brightened up our days. We wish her the best for her new career path and we will miss her a lot.
We are open July 4, so stop by to see us if you can!
Our Mission
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.

Please visit  our  website  to find out more!