Join us for the opening of a brand new black and white film photography exhibition by Edward Cheng, “Walking with Lions, and Other Chinatown New Year Traditions” with a reception on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 6-8PM at Think!Chinatown’s Studio (1 Pike St). Guests will have the opportunity to meet the photographer and delve deeper into the stories behind these evocative images.
About the Exhibit
“Walking with Lions and Other Chinatown New Year Traditions" offers an interior view of the vibrant Lunar New Year celebrations in Manhattan's iconic Chinatown. With his 35mm, medium format camera, Edward Cheng documents the unique blend of NYC Chinatown-specific rituals along with historic traditions, showcasing the cultural resiliency of a diasporic community building home in America. The exhibition highlights the dynamic crowds, the parades and processions, as well as the serene moments with monks and practitioners in temples, and insider glimpses at lion dance training. From the mesmerizing dragon and unicorn dancers to the intricacies of traditional costuming, and the radiant pageant winners, Edward Cheng's lens captures the intricate details that make the Lunar New Year a truly unique and culturally significant event. The exhibition will run from January 17 to February 25, 2024, at Think!Chinatown's Studio at 1 Pike St.
Edward Cheng is a native New Yorker, a freelance computer programmer, and a seasoned globetrotting backpacker. Through photography, he works on long-term projects documenting Christian Holy Weeks and Easters around the world, Dia de los Muertos in Mexico, the Chinese-American experience, and Eldridge Street in the Lower Manhattan of New York City. Cheng is a teaching assistant and a permanent fixture at the International Center of Photography; he regularly assists darkroom masters Steve Anchell, Brian Young, and Chuck Kelton. He drinks mezcal neat.
Sophia Ma (b. 1984, Guangzhou, China) is an independent curator and writer based in Brooklyn. Ma curated exhibitions at Chiquita Room, Think!Chinatown, FiveMyles, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Dr. M. T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery at St. John’s University, Walter’s at Walter Elwood Museum, SpringBreak Art Show, Hunter College 205 Hudson Gallery and 205 Project Space, and Rockwell Studios. She has written for multiple art publications, including The Brooklyn Rail, Art Papers, Hyperallergic, Art Spiel, Arte Fuse, and White Hot Magazine. Ma received her MA in art history and curatorial studies from Hunter College in 2020.
Think!Chinatown is an intergenerational non-profit based in Manhattan’s Chinatown, here to listen, respond, and build Chinatown’s capacities as a strong & vibrant immigrant neighborhood of NYC since 2016. Our mission is to foster intergenerational community through neighborhood engagement, storytelling & the arts. We push from within our neighborhood to shape better policies and programs that define our public spaces, celebrate our cultural heritage, and innovate how our collective memories are represented.
Thank you to our beverage sponsor, Lunar.
