KeJia Sista
Jul 13th, 2005, 08:43 PM
Chicago's Chinese American Museum
Museum honors heritage of Chicago's Chinese
http://www.eculturalresources.com/news/587.html
http://www.ccamuseum.org/Index.html
With $1,000 and a stubborn desire to build a museum for Chinese
Americans, Chuimei Ho and five others took their message to the
streets, speaking at small gatherings about the rich history of
Chicago's Chinatown.
" "They were free, and we wanted to show we were serious about
Chinatown history," Ho said. "And I guess we found the right notes
to sing."
Their monthly lectures led to donations of money, a building and
antiques from local families.
Three years and $1 million later, the Chinese-American Museum of
Chicago opened its doors inside a former wholesale warehouse in mid
May.
The museum's first exhibit, "Paper Sons: Chinese in the Midwest,
1870-1945," introduces visitors to the history of Chinatown and the
Chinese Americans who settled there. It tells their story through
immigration papers, a sugar bowl from one of Chicago's first Chinese
restaurants, a replica of a Chinese laundry, inlaid rosewood chairs
and about 150 photographs.
"This is a sampling dish," said Ho, the museum's president.
The exhibit presents portions of future shows the museum hopes to
offer. It also tosses in personal stories of local Chinese
Americans.
"One of the nice things about this community is that they have
stories to tell," said Ben Bronson, curator of Asian archeology at
Chicago's Field Museum, who also acts as an advisor for the new
museum.
The museum is reaching out to its neighbors as it tells those
stories: Along with Chinese and English, many of the exhibit's
descriptions are in Spanish, a feature the museum hopes will attract
visitors from the largely Latino Pilsen neighborhood. "
Several cultural museums have openedin Chicago's ethnic
neighborhoods over the years, including the Polish Museum of
America, the DuSable Museum of African American History and the
Ukraninian National Museum of Chicago.
Toni Callas of the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center in Chicago's
Greektown, which first opened in 1992, said many of the museums work
together to share fundraising and exhibit ideas.
"We're all built by the labor of people who are dedicated and
devoted to perpetuating our heritage," Callas said.
Ke Jia
Museum honors heritage of Chicago's Chinese
http://www.eculturalresources.com/news/587.html
http://www.ccamuseum.org/Index.html
With $1,000 and a stubborn desire to build a museum for Chinese
Americans, Chuimei Ho and five others took their message to the
streets, speaking at small gatherings about the rich history of
Chicago's Chinatown.
" "They were free, and we wanted to show we were serious about
Chinatown history," Ho said. "And I guess we found the right notes
to sing."
Their monthly lectures led to donations of money, a building and
antiques from local families.
Three years and $1 million later, the Chinese-American Museum of
Chicago opened its doors inside a former wholesale warehouse in mid
May.
The museum's first exhibit, "Paper Sons: Chinese in the Midwest,
1870-1945," introduces visitors to the history of Chinatown and the
Chinese Americans who settled there. It tells their story through
immigration papers, a sugar bowl from one of Chicago's first Chinese
restaurants, a replica of a Chinese laundry, inlaid rosewood chairs
and about 150 photographs.
"This is a sampling dish," said Ho, the museum's president.
The exhibit presents portions of future shows the museum hopes to
offer. It also tosses in personal stories of local Chinese
Americans.
"One of the nice things about this community is that they have
stories to tell," said Ben Bronson, curator of Asian archeology at
Chicago's Field Museum, who also acts as an advisor for the new
museum.
The museum is reaching out to its neighbors as it tells those
stories: Along with Chinese and English, many of the exhibit's
descriptions are in Spanish, a feature the museum hopes will attract
visitors from the largely Latino Pilsen neighborhood. "
Several cultural museums have openedin Chicago's ethnic
neighborhoods over the years, including the Polish Museum of
America, the DuSable Museum of African American History and the
Ukraninian National Museum of Chicago.
Toni Callas of the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center in Chicago's
Greektown, which first opened in 1992, said many of the museums work
together to share fundraising and exhibit ideas.
"We're all built by the labor of people who are dedicated and
devoted to perpetuating our heritage," Callas said.
Ke Jia