I received these words in a text message recently on a day when I really needed them. “You have a deeply personal connection to Chinatown and the people from the community. I don’t know it firsthand, but I imagine it’s very frustrating to see someone else misrepresent Chinatown.” “It’s why I really admire your work.” … Continue reading Elegant Words from Elegance Herself
This film, conceived and produced by Yvonne Ng, co-directed and filmed by Alan Kwan, Director of Production for the Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF) started as a casual idea among the 3 of us. Yet it has had 1K views in 9 years and is still relevant today as we revisit questions about race … Continue reading Beyond the Black / White Paradigm : Let’s Talk Busing/Desegregation Order’s (1974-1988) Effect on a Boston Chinatown School where Children were neither Black nor White
Some people think that they must spend their lives bowing to mentors, paying homage to those before them, held hostage by idols sitting on a throne. If these idols are truly worthy of our adoration, they would not be waiting, expecting payment and worship. They would be too busy doing good in the world. They … Continue reading Paying It Forward
I wrote this letter in 2019 in support of the new Pao Art Center founded in 2017. I designed a homage to my immigrant heritage in Yu Wen Wu’s Pao artist-in-residence Bundlings project : Leavings/ Belongings Asian American artists: musicians writers dancers choreographers filmmakers gather under Yu Wen Wu’s “Lantern Stories,” a project supported by … Continue reading The Pao Arts Center: Holding Each Other Close
Experience Chinatown 2022, a wonderful 3 month arts festival organized by the talented staff at the Pao Arts Center under the leadership of Cynthia Woo, included window mural art. To my surprise and delight, my face painted on the window of the Happy Lamb faced Washington Street, the former site of the adult entertainment district … Continue reading Experience Chinatown: The On-Going Festival Celebrating Boston’s Chinatown | Arts | The Harvard Crimson
Shaw Pong Liu, musician, violinist, erhu player, composer, and activist was the inaugural artist-in -residence at the Pao Art Center 5 years ago . It was my great pleasure to meet her, to sing a song from my Girl Scout days at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, the main center for girls’ leadership training in Chinatown, … Continue reading SingHome.org – A Collection of Songs and Migration Stories by Shaw Pong Liu
Urban Renewal | Chinatown Atlas — Read on http://www.chinatownatlas.org/stories/urban-renewal/ I wrote this essay in 2008. Tunney Lee, M.I.T Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning, published it as the portal to the Chinatown Atlas, the CHSNE online resource he created for researchers , academicians , artists , and students . I thank Professor Tunney Lee for his … Continue reading Urban Renewal | Chinatown Atlas
Revolutionary Spaces hosted a free screening of "A Tale of Three Chinatowns," directed by Lisa Mao and produced by Penny Lee. This fabulous documentary features Boston, Washington D.C., and Chicago’s Chinatown. I am honored to provide opening remarks and a reading of my poem "My MaMa's Back" at the screening. "My MaMa's Back" is a … Continue reading “A Tale of Three Chinatowns” at Revolutionary Spaces
So honored to have participated in this multi-film festival awards winning documentary, “A Tale of Three Chinatowns,” directed by Lisa Mao and produced by Penny Lee. This film features Boston, Washington D.C., and Chicago’s Chinatown, and is winner of the Audience Award at the 2021 Boston Asian American Film Festival. The film is now available … Continue reading A Tale of Three Chinatowns – Film Available Via Local USA
The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture Poetry Program, led by 2019 Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola, selected 15 poems for National Poetry Month on “The Human Condition. “ My poem, “My MaMa’s Back,” a tribute to the Chinese immigrant women garment workers of historical Chinatown, was selected as one of the 15 and will … Continue reading Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture
Hudson Street Chronicles 