|
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is also staying safe, warm, and healthy. I am excited to announce that after a long search the museum has hired its permanent Executive Director, which means it is almost time for me to step down. I'll be around for a few weeks to facilitate the transition. In the meantime, please join me in extending a warm welcome to Caroline Ng!
Mabel Menard
Interim Executive Director
| |
| INTRODUCING OUR NEXT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | | | |
|
|
A dedicated producer, curator, and advocate for critical cultural dialogue and emerging artists, Caroline has joined the museum with a commitment to fostering new collaborations and expanding perspectives of the Chinese American identity.
Through innovative projects and partnerships, she continues to broaden understanding of the evolving diaspora across Chicago, the Midwest, and around the world.
| |
Stop by the museum to pick up a copy and don't miss out on all upcoming exhibitions and programs! | |
Click the links to see highlights from 2023! | |
| CURRENT SPOTLIGHT SERIES | | |
|
Mari Miller: The Land Loves Us
| CAMOC kicks off its artist Spotlight Series for 2024 with an exhibition from Mari Miller. Curated by Larry Lee of Molar Production, the Spotlight Series will be embarking on its third year with CAMOC to showcase the works of local Chinese American artists. Mari Miller: The Land Loves Us sends us a timely and universal message of nature’s love for us. The exhibition will run through February 18, 2024. Admission is free with a suggested donation. | |
| CURRENT TEMPORARY EXHIBIT | | |
Chee Wang Ng: The Sustenance of Aftertaste | |
Explore Chinese American identity through postcards, street photos, and creamers from award winning designer and artist"Chee Wang Ng. His large digital photographs, drawn from the wood block prints of traditional Chinese folk conventions, reassert their forms and purposes. Technology, does more than update a traditional recognizable message. Ng uses the exactly repeatable visual image, as Western artifact, to eclipse the notion of rationality. He does this by pointing, unabashedly, to an Asian civilization's perennial observations. Shorn of folk art's naivete, Ng uses 'rebus,' a way of expressing words with objects whose names resemble those words, to invoke an entire Asian outlook - Nature, mysticism (as an un-mediated grasp of the universe), the I Ching classic, folk religion, family events and family ties. Proverbial motifs are made spiffy, with a social savvy that aims to achieve rapport across racial lines. In his hands ethnicity and difference become an asset. Feature articles on his graphic designs have appeared in books and magazines such as Progressive Architecture. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design in Architecture, he is trilingual, born and raised in the multiracial milieu of Malaysia." | |
|
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with us Saturday, February 3, 2024, 1-3pm CST at the museum in the 4th floor space. Join us for festive music and performances and learn about Chinese New Year traditions and folklores and sample traditional Chinese New Year fare!
Seats are limited, so make sure you RSVP to reserve your spot!
| |
Book Talk: “Chinese Americans in the Heartland: Migration, Work, and Community” | |
 | |
Join author Huping Ling, Ph. D., Professor of History, Truman State University, for a discussion of her latest book, “Chinese Americans in the Heartland: Migration, Work, and Community,” in collaboration with United States Heartland China Association.
From Amazon:
The term “Heartland” in American cultural context conventionally tends to provoke imageries of corn-fields, flat landscape, hog farms, and rural communities, along with ideas of conservatism, homogeneity, and isolation. But as the Midwestern and Southern states experienced more rapid population growth than that in California, Hawaii, and New York in the recent decades, the Heartland region has emerged as a growing interest of Asian American studies. Focused on the Heartland cities of Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri, this book draws rich evidences from various government records, personal stories and interviews, and media reports, and sheds light on the commonalities and uniqueness of the region, as compared to the Asian American communities on the East and West Coast and Hawaii. Some of the poignant stories such as “the Three Moy Brothers,” “Alla Lee,” and “Save Sam Wah Laundry” told in the book are powerful reflections of Asian American history.
| |
Screening of "Behind the Strings" | |
 | |
The Chinese American Museum of Chicago is please to host a virtual screening of “Behind the Strings,” an award-winning documentary film that provides an intimate and captivating look into the world of the renowned Shanghai Quartet, who will join us for a live Q&A via video after the screening, Friday, April 12, 2024, 7-9pm EST/4-6pm PST.
The film delves into the lives and artistry of the Shanghai Quartet members, shedding light on the challenges, sacrifices, and triumphs that have defined their remarkable career, from their beginnings in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution to their international success today. Viewers get a unique glimpse into the world of chamber music as the film follows the quartet on tour in France, Mexico, China, and many locations across the United States including their homes.
Awarded "Best Documentary" at the prestigious Classical Arts Film Festival, the film garnered critical acclaim for its compelling storytelling and exceptional cinematography. Chamber Music America Magazine hailed it as a "remarkable tale".
Link to RSVP coming soon!
| |
Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day | |
|
It is now easier than ever to book a group tour of the museum.
To request a group tour, please click the link below and submit the reservation request at least two weeks prior to the date requested.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing your group!
| |
|
Host your corporate event, board meeting, or private party at CAMOC!
The 4th floor event space is an ideal space for professional development gatherings, film presentations, and conference gatherings.
Recommended uses: Meetings, Workshops, Films, and Receptions
Capacity
Reception: 99
Theater-style: 80
Conference: 40
| |
Support the only Chinese American museum in the Midwest by becoming a member! Your membership dues support our vital mission of raising awareness of the important history of Chinese Americans in the Midwest. Members receive free admission to museum events, invitations to special events and openings, and discountson museum purchases. | |
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.
| |
Your support helps us to accomplish our mission to advance the appreciation of Chinese American history and culture through exhibitions, education, and research, and to preserve the past, present and future of Chinese Americans focusing primarily in the Midwest. Please consider a donation to the Chinatown Museum Foundation to help us meet our financial needs and achieve our vision to work with organizations, visitors and community leaders everywhere to tell the story of Chinese Americans and to create a dialogue illustrating how Chinese American culture and history are an important part of the American fabric. | | | | |
