Executive Director's Corner
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Some of you may have already heard that my last day as the Executive Director for the Chinese American Museum of Chicago is November 3, 2018, so this will be the last Executive Director's Corner piece from me.
It has been a wonderful year and I have made many friends and learned a lot about my own cultural heritage. I am going back to the field for which I had originally trained, but this does not mean I am abandoning the Museum! I promise you will see me again at future public programming events. In fact, there are still plenty of events scheduled, which I hope you will attend in support of the Museum's mission to promote the culture and history - through exhibitions, education, and research - of Chinese Americans especially in the Midwest.
I hope to see you at the November 10 screening of "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail," which was nominated for an Academy Award and won an Emmy Award. If I don't see you then, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!
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Each month we feature a board member, staff member, or volunteer in our Monthly Spotlight segment. This month, we present
Adele Zhang, our intern in Human Resources Management, who spent three months at the Museum and just recently left us.
After working as a Human Resources Professional for 5 years at a global financial company based in Shanghai, China, Adele moved with her family to Chicago in June. At the Museum, Adele learned about internal policies and drafting the Manual for the Museum's Board of Directors.
We asked Adele to share her experience interning at the museum:
"Through my internship, I have learnt how to customize policies based on an organization's current status and mission and have also gained knowledge about local labor and employment laws, both of which will benefit my future career development. As a newcomer to the USA, I have felt welcome by the people working here and appreciated the exposure to the culture and history of Chinese Americans in the mid-western US through various events hosted by the Museum."
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In
Local Flavor
, the popular food writer Jean Iversen chronicles eight beloved local eateries, from Chinatown on the South Side to Rogers Park in the far North, tracing the story of how they became neighborhood institutions.
Ms Iversen was at the Museum to talk about the restaurants that have shaped Chicago and especially Chinatown's Wow Kow Restaurant, which sadly closed in February this year.
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In collaboration with the Chicago South Side Film Festival, the Museum presented an encore presentation of the theatrical release of "The Chinese Exclusion Act," as seen on PBS in May. Filmmakers Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu joined us by video after the screening for an very engaging Q&A.
It was well-attended and very well-received. We've already received requests for another screening!
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Screening of MAINELAND (October 13)
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The Chinese American Museum of Chicago hosted a special screening of MAINELAND, directed by Miao Wang, which, filmed over three years, followed two affluent and cosmopolitan teenagers as they settled into a private boarding school in Portland, Maine, so they could improve their chances of getting into college in the US. Director Wang joined us by video for
Q&A
after the screening.
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Screening of "Made in Vietnam" (October 27)
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The Chinese American Museum of Chicago once again partnered with Asian Pop-Up Cinema for Season 7, this time for a screening of "Made in Vietnam," a Canadian-Vietnamese production.
The film documented the journey made by filmmaker
Thi Vo, a Vietnamese refugee, who thirty years earlier immigrated to Canada with his mother when Thi Vo was just four years old, not only to find his extended family, but also to locate his father and uncover the mysteries of his past. The screening was followed by Q&A with filmmaker Thi Vo.
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Screening of "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" (November 10)
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Chinese American Citizen’s Alliance - Chicago Lodge
and
Chinese American Bar Association of Greater Chicago
will join us in co-presenting the award-winning documentary "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail," which tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York.
The documentary follows the case brought by the New York District Attorney’s office against Abacus Federal Saving Bank following the 2008 mortgage crisis for fraud. It was the only bank ever to have been indicted. The documentary was nominated for best documentary by the Chicago Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, and Academy Awards and was the winner for best documentary at the Critics Choice and Emmy Awards. Clearly, this is a documentary of great significance.
Producer Mark Mitten and Director Steve James, and members of the Sung family will be in attendance to discuss the film.
See the official theatrical trailer
here
.
Admission is free, but tickets are going fast!
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The Chicago Tribune published an article on Chinatown's housing market and featured the Museum as a cultural attraction. Click
here to read the whole article.
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We rely solely on generous donors like you to put on exhibitions and quality programming.
#GivingTuesday
this year is November 27. Please think of us as you decide which charity to donate to.
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The now permanent law allowing tax-free gifts from IRAs for those age 70½ and older makes it easier than ever to minimize the tax bite associated with IRA-required minimum distributions (RMDs). It’s a simple and highly effective way to reduce or eliminate the tax on income you are forced to take, but may not need. Start planning your tax-free IRA gift today!
A transfer from your IRA to the Chinatown Museum Foundation (up to $100,000) counts toward your RMD, and no tax is due!
To qualify for the tax benefits associated with this type of gift, IRA owners must:
- Have reached a minimum age—at least 70½
- Instruct their IRA custodian to make a direct transfer from an IRA account to UIF
How much is your RMD?
If you are planning an IRA Charitable Rollover gift, we’ll be happy to help you explore the many ways you can make an impact at CMF and to assist you with transfer information.
Be sure to consult your tax and financial advisors when considering any planned gift.
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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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