Monthly Newsletter | OCTOBER 2019
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Asian Pop-Up Cinema by Sophia's Choice presented the film
Office
this year, a musical comedy from Hong Kong. Last year they brought the great film Made in Vietnam to our museum, we look forward to seeing more movies next year!
Check out more photos
HERE
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Repatriation of Cultural Patrimony
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Four organizations, Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC), Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago (ECAC), Mitchell Museum of the American Indian and National Hellenic Museum,
co-hosted the Inherit Chicago's event Repatriation of Cultural Patrimony. There was a panel discussion and a pop-up exhibition at the National Hellenic Museum.
If you missed the panel discussion, please check out the video
HERE
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A Culinary Journey: How Chinese Workers Built the Railroad
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We hope you all enjoyed the culinary journey with us and learned about the healthy eating habits of Chinese laborers who helped build the First Transcontinental Railroad.
This event wouldn’t be possible without our great chef Don B. Lee, and photographer Corkey Lee who brought the wonderful photo exhibition about the Golden Spike Ceremony
on the same day. Thank you to the Chicago Cultural Alliance, volunteers from Chinese American Service League (CASL), Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC)
and Project Vision
, also our board members, staff, members and friends!
Check out more photos
HERE
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As autumn falls upon us in October, Halloween is near! We had three wonderful events in the month but they were quite different in nature.
The screening of
Office presented by Sophia Wong Boccio of Asian Pop-up Cinema was an award-winning musical comedy that really opened the eyes of the audience with its Broadway style of musical scenes even though some of them do not understand Cantonese. Music is indeed a universal language!
The cooking demonstration by Don B. Lee was as fun if not more fun. Don took us on a culinary journey to explore how the Chinese railroad workers eat in those harsh days. He used three induction cook tops, two rice cookers and one wok to prepare three dishes for about 80 people. That was amazing! Everybody enjoyed his presentation and, of course, the sampling of freshly-cooked food as well as three different types of tea. We want to thank the youth volunteers from Chinese American Service League (CASL), Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) and Project Vision. We also want to thank Peter Vega and Suzanne Franklin of Chicago Cultural Alliance for their support in making the event a success.
The Repatriation of Cultural Patrimony event that we co-hosted with Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago (ECAC), Mitchell Museum of the American Indian and National Hellenic Museem was a more serious matter. The event showcased a pop-up exhibition and a panel discussion.
We have more exciting events coming in November: Screening of
Finding Cleveland Where Far East Meets Deep South on November 9 and
Swan Soong - A Play Featuring the Famous Sisters of Shanghai on November 16.
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A Note of Thanks -
Chris Camargo
Chris has volunteered at the museum since early 2019. His hardwork and contribution has been a tremendous help in planning events, setting up new exhibit and 2019 Benefit Dinner.
He is currently studying at Columbia College majoring in
international Art Management. Because of his trilingual skills, he felt the need to express his love of art and culture at a professional level.
We asked Chris about his volunteering experience at our museum, he said, "Volunteering at the museum really showed me the ins and outs of what it's like to run a non-profit. We had our struggles, but as a team we always pulled through to display the Chinese American culture to the world. I'm forever grateful that I had the opportunity to volunteer at a museum such as the Chinese American Museum of Chicago in Chinatown with such great staff and love for history and culture."
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Sat, November 09, 2019
2:oo PM – 4:00 PM
Come see the award-winning documentary film!
Finding Cleveland
has touched audiences across the U.S. with its emotionally compelling story of Baldwin Chiu's search for answers about his grandfather that leads to Cleveland, Mississippi. Watch as his family has miraculous encounters & learn about the little known history of Chinese immigrants in the segregated South.
Followed by special presentation & Q&A with the director - Larissa Lam.
Larissa Lam is a filmmaker and music composer from Los Angeles. She has been a keynote speaker at numerous events and universities such as TEDx, Yale, UCLA and MIT promoting diversity in media.
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Swan Soong | A Play featuring the Famous Sisters of Shanghai
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Sat, November 16, 2019
2:oo PM – 5:00 PM
Swan Soong
is a family drama play based upon the lives of the famous Chinese Soong sisters and their biographer, American writer and Wilmette, IL native Emily (Mickey) Hahn. Notorious for her cigar smoking brand of feminism and for her love affair with Chinese poet Sinmay Zau, she's a questionable fit for the task.
The play is based on real-life people, is rich in history and contains strong 1940’s-style movie characters that are fast-talking, smart, resourceful and tough women. In the world of the play, the Soong sisters fight to keep their family together to unite and build a new China.
Learn more
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Board members, Mark Chiang and Edward Jung, joined the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Northwestern University to explore the experience of the immigrant Chinese workers in the late 1860s and their
importance in building America. Mark did a presentation on how the Chinese helped build the railroad that helped build America and Ed promoted our Museum to the Institute members.
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Our Board Secretary Mabel Menard represented the Museum at the 2019 Association of Midwest Museums and Michigan Museum Association Conference in Grand Rapids, M. She led a table discussions on Chinese-American stories, what it means to be Chinese and American, and strategies on reaching the younger generation who may not recognize the historical significance of Chinese-American struggles and triumphs.
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Rededication of CASL Senior Building
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Board President Soo Lon Moy, Board Directors Edward Jung and Rich Frachey, and Executive Director Ben Lau attended the ceremony of the rededication of CASL Senior Building which is now known as Albert and Bernie Wong Senior Living Community.
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Project VISION held their 12th Annual Fall Soiree to celebrate a successful 2019 school year and kick off a new 2020 school year.
Board Secretary Mabel Menard and Executive Director Ben Lau joined the celebration.
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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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