NY exhibition explores history of overseas Chinese communities

Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-23 05:06:36|Editor: mym
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NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- For New Yorkers who are curious about Chinese history and culture, it's better not to miss this Chinese community-themed exhibition in New York City.

Titled "Homeward bound: global intimacies in converging Chinatowns," the exhibition uses photographs, oral histories and multimedia archives to highlight stories of migration, displacement and everyday resilience in Chinatowns around the world.

The show consists of five sections, with each focusing on a different theme, such as building deeper roots in a community of Chinese immigrants and resistance to the erasure of Chinese culture as luxury developers acquire properties in a variety of Chinatowns.

Diane Wong, co-curator of the exhibition, said that her team's travels to different Chinatowns around the world inspired them to record the changing of the overseas Chinese communities by a collection of photographs and oral histories.

"Chinatowns are still very much a home to elders, young people and immigrants," said Wong, assistant professor and faculty fellow at New York University.

As Chinatowns around the world continue to change, it is imperative that oral histories at risk of being displaced are preserved for future generations, said Huiying B. Chan, co-curator of the show.

The exhibit drew from their four years of ethnographic research and oral history interviews with the Chinese communities that span thirteen cities in nine countries, according to the organizer.

"This show is a wonderful examination of the history and present day issues of Chinatowns across the world. It's both interesting and thoughtful," June Foley, a New York resident said, after touring the exhibition.

The exhibit is on view at the art gallery of Pearl River Mart, an iconic Chinese-goods department store in New York, and is open free to the public until Jan. 13.

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