Drawing from traditional art forms, lanterns created by T!C’s Lantern Artist Residency reflect our community while celebrating the holiday in new ways. This year, we've invited artist Jia Sung to create a portable art installation to add to Chinatown’s New Year festivities. Her piece, “Guardian Xianchan*,” is based on the Chinese textile tradition of tiger hats (虎頭帽). Originally worn by children to protect them from evil spirits and bless them with a tiger’s strength, this lantern rendition is scaled up to superhuman size for an adult dancer to inhabit by day, and lights up as a beacon by night. The tiger, a traditional auspicious symbol in Chinese culture, represents courage, power, and dignity — fitting qualities to invoke for Lunar New Year. 

Along with the many lion dance companies performing on the streets of Chinatown, Jia’s lantern will also join the festivities on New Year's day, Feb 1 on Mott Street, and on Super Saturday, Feb 12. Be sure to visit Chinatown on the most festive days of the year, and meet Jia's tiger lantern! 

Take a look at T!C’s Lanterns from previous years at www.thinkchinatown.org/lanterns 

*Guardian Xianchan — 衔蝉 means “Cicada Eater/Catcher”, a popular cat name in ancient China. Cats were seen, then as now, as playful and spoiled creatures, who “rested in the shade of flowers, catching cicadas and hunting butterflies.”

Jia Sung is an artist and educator, born in Minnesota, bred in Singapore, now based in Brooklyn. Her work draws on motifs from Chinese mythology and folklore, and spans paintings, artist books, textiles, printmaking, and murals. @jiazilla