In Our Corner: Exchanges in the Asian American Art Movements and Beyond
November 16, 2024 - March 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 16, 2024, 3-5PM
Think!Chinatown’s Studio - 1 Pike Street, New York, NY 10002
Gallery hours Thursdays & Fridays 3-6pm (Closed 12/19-20), and First Saturdays 3-4pm w/curator Sophia Ma
Who is in our corner when we need help?
Who do we call on when we are down?
Who backs us up when we are cornered?
In Our Corner: Exchanges in the Asian American Art Movements and Beyond explores the personal and professional support that artists of Asian descent received during and after the Asian American Art Movements. This companion exhibition to Legacies: Asian American Art Movements in New York City (1969-2001) at New York University’s 80WSE Gallery, invites five artists of the three key art collectives and organizations featured in Legacies to show alongside five non-Asian American artists who supported their work and growth over the years. These relationships range from recently made friendships to lifelong partnerships and even marriage: Kathleen Foster joins Ching Ming Cheung; Charles Luce joins Helen Oji; Howardena Pindell joins Arlan Huang; Shellyne Rodriguez joins Tomie Arai; and Arleen Schloss joins Nina Kuo. To highlight AAAC’s collection and its ongoing solidarity-building, In Our Corner presents five works by non-Asian American artists from the collection, Columbia Fiero, Kitty Katz, Donald Lipski, Eva Mantell, and Sepp Seitz. As the hosting institution for In Our Corner, Think!Chinatown’s commission of Black Gotham’s Grand Rising and its inclusion in the show demonstrates the organization’s ongoing exchange and collaboration with communities of color. Through interviews and writings from the artists, In Our Corner highlights these bonds and explores how artist collectives/organizations intersected and fostered connections.
In Our Corner is presented by Think!Chinatown, curated by Sophia Ma, assisted by Colleen Dalusong, Stuart Ginsberg, Janusz Jaworski, and Jayne Cole Southard, with translation by Bonita Lei and Alice Liu. This exhibition was made possible by the Mellon Foundation.
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.