A PLACE FOR US: Reflections from Chinatown
To celebrate the publication of the Chinatown Commercial District Needs Assessment, Think!Chinatown presents a photography exhibition featuring our neighborhood.
Graphic Design by Jamie Cheung & Adrienne Hugh
Exhibition Text Editing by A’yen Tran & Kasey Chatterji-Len
Chinese Translation by Jasper Yang
Exhibition Curated by Yin Kong
Research by Alice Liu
Curation Assistance by Meg Chew
Research Support by Amy Chin & Kerri Culhane
Photography by Edward Cheng, Alan Chin, Pok Chi Lau, Cindy Trinh, Deb Fong, Kyle Lui, Sheng Lin, Mischelle Moy, Bonita Lei, Nathan Ackley, Cal Hsiao, Adora Wang, An Rong Xu, Kyle Lee, Huayu Ouyang, Zeyu Duan & Jake Mautner
Thank you to Janusz Jaworski, John Sloane, Carl Saytor from Lux Lab, Jennifer Louie, and our many volunteers
To celebrate the publication of the Chinatown Commercial District Needs Assessment report, Think!Chinatown presents “A Place for Us: Reflections from Chinatown / 我們的歸宿”, a photography exhibition featuring our neighborhood. From the grit of Mom & Pop legacy businesses to the joys of reclaiming public spaces, the exhibit touches on the many strengths, challenges and opportunities that lie within Chinatown. We've asked our community of photographers to share works that intersect with the topics from our research. Through interviews, surveys, focus groups, on-the-ground observations and deep-rooted research, Think!Chinatown gathered perspectives from Chinatown’s business owners, consumers and other community members. In Cantonese, Mandarin and English, we were able to discuss these topics with the network of community members we’ve built trust with over our years of arts and storytelling programming in the neighborhood. More than just a report, we see this publication as a step towards self-representation within the process of city-making — a process in which the Chinatown community has historically lacked autonomy. We invite our community to join us in advocating for budget allocations to address opportunities and challenges identified through this assessment.
Read the report NOW!
PAST Exhibit-Related Events
![A Place for Us: Reflections from Chinatown / 我們的歸宿 [July Gallery Hours]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a6368e5d0e628c550b85e73/1680026625828-EMDWYCSA9FQU6QIIO3YB/APFU.png)
Think!Chinatown is a place-based intergenerational non-profit in Manhattan’s Chinatown, working at the intersection of storytelling, arts and neighborhood engagement. We believe the process of listening, reflecting and celebrating develops the community cohesion and trust necessary to work on larger neighborhood issues. By building strength from within our neighborhood, we can shape better policies and programs that define our public spaces, celebrate our cultural heritage and innovate how our collective memories are represented.
The Commercial District Needs Assessment is the culmination of a year-long process of listening and research. Commissioned by the NYC Dept of Small Business Services, Think!Chinatown along with the Chinatown BID, provided on the ground research to create this comprehensive neighborhood report. This report identifies the many strengths, challenges, and opportunities to optimize Chinatown's potential.
Let’s come together to celebrate “A Place for Us: Reflections from Chinatown / 我們的歸宿”, the photography exhibition featuring our neighborhood, with a closing party on Thursday, July 13 at 6PM! Swing by for a fun evening with old and new friends, as we cheers to the Chinatown Commercial District Needs Assessment report, our incredible community of photographers, and the many layers that make up the neighborhood that we love.