Origins: The Birth and Rise of Chinese American Communities in Los Angeles, a permanent, cutting edge exhibition celebrating the growth and development of Chinese American enclaves from Downtown Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Valley.

This exhibit narrates Chinese immigration to the United States with an emphasis on community settlement in Los Angeles. The display is outlined into four distinct time periods. Each period is defined by an important immigration law and event, accompanied by a brief description and a short personal story about a local Chinese American and their experiences in that particular historical period.

This exhibition is a recreation of an actual store that was housed in the Garnier Building in the 1890’s. The Sun Wing Wo store opened in 1891 and remained in this building until 1948. The store was a multi-purpose space that showed how self-sufficient the Chinese were and had to be due to racism and discrimination, while also being responsive to the needs of their community. Even though the store predominantly served the Chinese, there were European, Japanese, and Mexican Americans who also came to purchase Chinese merchandise.

On one side of the gallery, people can find merchandise sold at the general store such as food, clothing, furniture, firecrackers, and dishes; they can also find western products that were popular at the time such as cigars and perfumed soaps. The store also provided banking, postal, and letter writing services for the community.

On the other side of the gallery, the Museum recreated the herb shop where Chinese could practice their traditional form of healthcare – Chinese Medicine. There were acupuncture services and prescriptions of herbal remedies provided.

Through Our Lens: The Unification of Asian American Voices at Chapman University is curated by Candace Chen, one of CAM’s Getty Marrow Interns, as her final project. Featured artists from Chapman University collaborated with the Chinese American Museum to create a space to express their unique AAPI experiences as university students.

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This exhibition will run from August 27 – December 19, 2021.

Featured Artists

Kelsy Hua

Jeanna Polisini

David Yang

Major support for this exhibition is provided by the Friends of the Chinese American Museum and the Escalette Collection of Chapman University.

Collective Resilience: Asian American Artists Honoring Our Community’s Strength and Unity

In Collective Resilience: Asian American Artists Honoring Our Community’s Strength and Unity seven (7) artists, each from different backgrounds, reflect on their varied experiences during a global pandemic, a national reckoning with systemic racism towards BIPOC communities, and a rise in racially motivated violence against Asian Americans. Individually, their works include explorations into the relationship between (in)justice and social movements, the confluence of (mixed) identity and heritage, and connections between storytelling and communication. The exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate community accomplishments and look forward to an optimistic future, together.  

Featured Artists

Bodeck Luna

Evah Fan

Huntz Liu

kaNO

Kris Chau

Lauren YS

Saelee Oh