MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2023 |
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Wednesday & Friday: 9:30am to 2pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am to 4pm
Group visits by appointment only.
The health and safety of our visitors, staff, volunteers, and community is our top priority. The Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC) requires all individuals to wear a mask while in the Museum. We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
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| FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR |
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The Year of the Rabbit has arrived! The rabbit is a kind, energetic, and resilient animal that represents patience and treating others with respect. The Year of the Rabbit (兔年) symbolizes longevity, positivity, deftness, cleverness, wittiness, auspiciousness, cautiousness, and self-protection.
We had several successful events in the past month: Tan Dun Panel & Discussion, Jewel-Osco Lunar New Year Celebration as well as our own Chinese New Year Celebration which was a full-house and received great compliments from the audience! We also participated in the Chinatown Lunar Year Parade with our own float that had a great turnout.
We have more exciting events coming up: Opening reception of the exhibit UNITY by Maggie Wong from our Spotlight Series on February 5th, Sip and Paint Fundraiser on February 11th and "The Six" Movie Screening and Q&A on February 25th! Please come and join us.
Sadly, a mass shooting occurred in Monterey Park of California on Lunar New Year Eve that killed 12 people and wounded 9, and another one happened in Half Moon Bay in the same state on the second day of Lunar New Year that left 7 people dead and 1 wounded. Both incidents shocked the Asian communities not only in California but also across the nation. We condemn such senseless violence!
Last but not least, our website has a TEAACH ACT resource tap. Please click here to see what we have so far.
Again, Happy Lunar New Year of the Rabbit!
Ben Lau
Executive Director
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Exemplary Community Service Award
Granted to Executive Director, Ben Lau
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CAMOC is proud to announce that the Museum's Executive Director, Ben Lau will be awarded the Exemplary Community Service Award by the Asian American Coalition of Chicago on February 18th, 2023 at the 40th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration and Forum, “Celebrating Four Decades of United Leadership and Service”. |
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Chinatown's Chinese New Year Parade |
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Everyone at CAMOC was so excited to celebrate the new year at the Chinatown Chinese New Year Parade. |
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Chicago Cultural Alliance Annual Meeting |
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Executive Director Ben Lau attended the Chicago Cultural Alliance (CCA)'s Annual Meeting.
Photo (left to right): Executive Director Ben Lau, CCA Board President Randy Adamsick, Executive Director Monica Felix, Sarah Cameron and other staff.
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Chinese New Year Celebration |
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The Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC) hosted our annual Chinese New Year Celebration. The event was a great success and featured Chinese traditional music, singing, folk dance, QiPao fashion show, poetry, Chinese calligraphy, food, and more. If you missed the event check out NBC Chiacgo's article and video coverage of the event HERE
Photo (right to left): Miss Chicago Chinese Founder Victoria Ng (1st), Board President Ed Jung (2nd), Chicago Cultural Alliance Executive Director Monica Felix (5th), Board Director Soo Lon Moy (6th), Executive Director Ben Lau (7th), and others.
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The Museum in the News!
CAMOC Featured on Fox News
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Fox News came in to interview our Curator of Collections, Riley Ren and ED, Ben Lau. Riley discussed our newest exhibit Chinese Cuisine in America: Stories, Struggles & Successes! See the interview HERE
Photo (Right to Left): Executive Director Ben Lau, Board Director Andrea Stamm, Curator of Collections Riley Ren, Board Director Soo Lon Moy, Fox Reporter Tim McGill, Board Directors Richard Frachey and Judy SooHoo
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Lunar New Year Celebration at
Jewel-Osco
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CAMOC joined Jewel Osco for their annual Lunar New Year Celebration. The event's festivities included lion dance, activity stations, and more.
Photo (Right to Left): Board Director Judy SooHoo, Executive Director Ben Lau, Board Directors Soo Lon Moy, Richard Frachey, John Rohsenow, volunteer Ram Moy and others
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Consulate General of the PRC Visit |
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The Consulate General of the PRC in Chicago payed us a visit for Chinese New Year!
Photo (Right to Left): Board Director Soo Lon Moy, Consulate General Zhao Jian, Board President Ed Jung, Executive Director Ben Lau
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CAMOC attended light up Chinatown, an event which celebrated the Lunar New Year!
Photo (Right to Left): Executive Director Ben Lau (2nd), Advisor and State Rep Theresa Mah (5th), Advisor CW Chan (6th), Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs (7th), Associate Board Member Ada Tong (9th), and others
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Panel & Discussion
TAN DUN
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CAMOC & Chicago Philharmonic co-hosted a very successful event, Tan Dun Panel & Discussion, a pre-concert panel discussion in advance of their upcoming concert featuring the American Premiere of Chinese-American composer Tan Dun’s Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra (Yi2). The discussion was led by Sharon Isbin and Joshua Roman via Zoom. The event also featured a wonderful performance by Sound of Wishes Guzheng Ensemble.
Photo: Pipa Virtuoso, Yang Wei demonstrates the use of the Pipa.
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Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Visit |
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We were honored to have Director General Johnson Chiang from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Chicago and Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Chicago visit our Museum!
Pictured (Left to Right): (Front Row) Executive Director Ben Lau, TECO Director General Johnson Chiang, Board President Ed Jung, and Life Director Dr. Kim K . Tee; (Second Row) Board Directors David K. Lee (4th), Swee Cheng (6th), and Judy Soo Hoo (8th); (Third Row) John Rohsenow (3rd) Andrea Stamm (4th), Richard Frachey (5th), Sue Babb (6th), Associate Board members Ada Tong (7th) and Rachel Poon (8th)
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A Glass Brick for Rich Lo |
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A glass brick etched with his name surprised Rich Lo (middle) as he was invited by Board President Ed Jung (left) and Executive Director Ben Lau (right) to look at our Donors Wall.
Rich is a contemporary artist who painted a beautiful mural titled Chinese Opera on our west wall based on his first book, Father's Chinese Opera.
You can also have a glass brick be installed on our Donors Wall if you donate at least $1,000 to support our Museum. For more details please go to BECOME A MEMBER TODAY section below or click on either one of the buttons on the right.
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New Administrative Assistant -
Chayla Chung
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Welcome to our new hire, Chayla Chung. She joined our team as the new Administrative Assistant.
She is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in East Asian Languages and Cultures.
When asked why did she choose to work for our museum she said, "the museum highlights an otherwise overlooked part of American history. I admire the museum's mission to preserve the past, present, and future of Chinese Americans and am honored to be a part of their cause".
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Spotlight Series
Opening Reception for
UNITY by Maggie Wong
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Sun, Feb 5, 2023 1:00 PM CST
UNITY, Maggie Wong Opening Reception
Chinese American Museum of Chicago,
Chicago
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Date: Sunday, February 5, 2023
Time: 1 - 4 pm
Venue: Chinese American Museum of Chicago, 4 Fl
Address: 238 W 23rd Street, Chicago, IL 60616
Join us for the opening of our exciting new Spotlight Series Exhibition UNITY, Maggie Wong’s first solo exhibition in Chicago!
This is a Free Event!
About the Exhibit:
The Spotlight Series at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago is pleased to present UNITY, Maggie Wong’s first solo exhibition in Chicago.
Through various manipulations of newsprint via sculptural and print interventions pulled from the artist’s collection of Unity Newspaper, the show depicts a version of childcare that supported revolutionary action, particularly the publishing of Unity by the League of Revolutionary Struggle, a radical communist group that emerged in 1978 upon the merger between the August 29th Movement, a Chicano revolutionary organization, and I Wor Kuen, an Asian American revolutionary organization, both influenced by Mao and followed Marxist-Leninist thought.
This system is what raised the artist and countless other now-grown adults that now serves as a point of departure to feel through a movement as a mothering environment.
About the Artist:
Maggie Wong (b.1988, Oakland, CA) is a visual artist attuned to materiality and sculpture’s disciplinary capacity to shape social space. She creates multidisciplinary works that focus on care labor, sentimentality, and collectivity. As a teacher. Maggie is interested in the interplay between informal and experiential education amidst formal art ecologies. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She is currently the Educator-in-Residence at the Luminary, and lecturer at SAIC. Her work has been shown at Mana Contemporary Chicago, Comfort Station, Annas Projects, take care (LA), Temple Contemporary, YBCA, and 99cent Plus, and has been written about in ArtForum and Sixty Inches from Center. Her writing has been published by Yale University Press, Viral Ecologies, and the Journal of Art Practice.
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Sat, Feb 11, 2023 1:00 PM CST
Sip and Paint Fundraiser
Chinese American Museum of Chicago,
Chicago
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Date: February 11, 2023
Time: 1:00pm
Venue: Chinese American Museum of Chicago
Address: 238 W 23rd Street, 4th FL, Chicago, IL 60616
Chinese American Museum of Chicago's Associate Board presents a Sip and Paint Fundraiser!
Paint never-before-seen artifacts while sipping tea made in the traditional gongfucha style. All proceeds go to sustaining our museum.
Ticket Tiers
Tier 1 Donation
- $30 - Choose one item from the 4th floor public display to paint
Tier 2 Donation
- $50 - Choose one of three (3) never-before-seen artifacts to paint
Tier 3 Donation
- $100 - Choose one of three (3) never-before-seen artifacts to paint and receive a 1-year museum membership
All tiers include tea/snack/paint materials. Food and drinks are prohibited on the 1st and 2nd floors of the museum.
The tea tasting is sponsored by Life is Tea. All proceeds go towards sustaining the museum.
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FILM SCREENING
"The Six" Screening and Q&A Session
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Sat, Feb 25, 2023 2:00 PM CST
The Six Movie Screening and Q&A
Chinese American Museum of Chicago,
Chicago
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Date: February 25th, 2023, 2pm
Location: Chinese American Museum of Chicago, 238 W 23rd St. Chicago, IL 60616
Join us for a viewing of "The Six". The movie will be followed by Q&A session with "The Six" co-creator, Steven Schwankert, the co-creator and lead researcher of The Six, a book and documentary film project revealing the story of RMS Titanic’s Chinese passengers. Sign up for this event HERE on Eventbrite.
Members Tickets are FREE
***please lookout for an email that will include your promocode to redeem your free ticket***
Movie Description:
When RMS Titanic sank on a cold night in 1912, barely 700 people escaped with their lives. Among them were six Chinese men. Arriving in New York with the other survivors, the six were met not with compassion, but suspicion and slander. Less than 24 hours later, they were expelled from the country and vanished. What became of them, and why did they disappear so completely? In an epic journey that crosses continents, an international team of investigators sets out to uncover the truth about the six Chinese, and to right a century-old injustice. For the first time, we discover who these men really were, tracing their origins and tracking down descendants denied access to their history. "The Six" is an extraordinary story of survival and dignity in the face of racism and anti-immigrant policy that still reverberates today.
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| WE ARE HIRING CURATOR OF EXHIBITIONS! |
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We are looking for a dedicated, reliable, and energetic individual to join our Exhibition team as Curator of Exhibitions! The Curator of Exhibitions proposes, researches, produces content on, interprets content for the public, installs and de-installs exhibitions, and assures the safety of collections. Also participates in learning and public engagement initiatives. More info click the below button: |
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| BECOME A MEMBER TODAY! |
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Becoming a member is a simple and effective way to get involved with the Chinese American Museum of Chicago. Your membership represents a personal investment in the Museum and ensures the continuation of the wide array of quality exhibitions, programs, and events we bring to the community. In addition, you are affirming the importance of the Museum’s commitment to bring the Chinese American experience in the Midwest to as many people as possible.
$150 = Free event admission for member & 3 guests for 1 year
$100 = Free event admission for member & 1 guest for 1 year
$60 = Free event admission for member only for 1 year
$30 = Free event admission for seniors & students for 1 year
$500 = Corporate Membership for 1 year (with 10 individual memberships, recognition in program & on plaque)
For Members who support us beyond the basic level, we offer extra recognition and the following benefits:
$250 = Bronze (Honorary Membership)
$500 = Silver (Honorary Membership)
$1,000 = Gold (Lifetime Membership or a small donor brick)
$1,500 = Platinum (Lifetime Membership and a small donor brick)
$5,000 = Diamond (Large donor brick)
$5,500 = Jade (Large donor brick plus Lifetime Membership)
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TOP:
Large Brick
7.5" X 7.5"
LEFT:
Donor Wall in Front Lobby
BOTTOM:
Small Brick
3.5" X 7.5"
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You can read the full list of benefits on our website by clicking the button below. There are also instructions on how to join at the bottom of the page, along with the Membership Form. |
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We are looking for dedicated, reliable, and energetic individuals who would like to experience our historic institution from the inside — as volunteers! We need volunteers for docents, greeters and special events. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please use the button below to visit our related page and download a volunteer form. |
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ABOUT US
The mission of the Chinese American Museum of Chicago - Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center (CAMOC) is is to advance the appreciation of Chinese American culture through exhibitions, education, and research and to preserve the past, present, and future of Chinese Americans primarily 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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