The Museum of Chinese in America (; abbreviated MOCA) is a museum in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
which exhibits
Chinese American history. It is a
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...
education and cultural institution that presents the living history, heritage, culture, and diverse experiences of Chinese Americans through exhibitions, educational services and public programs. Much of its collection was damaged or destroyed in a fire in January 2020. After being closed for more than a year following the fire, the museum reopened to the public on July 15, 2021.
__TOC__
History
Founded in 1980 in
Manhattan's Chinatown, the museum began as the New York Chinatown History Project by historian
John Kuo Wei Tchen
John Kuo Wei Tchen, also known as Jack, is a historian of Chinese American history and the Inaugural Clement A. Price Chair in Public History and Humanities at Rutgers University.
Biography
Tchen received his B.A. at the University of Wisconsin� ...
and community resident and activist Charles Lai to promote understanding of the
Chinese American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
experience and to address the concern that "the memories and experiences of aging older generations would perish without oral history, photo documentation, research and collecting efforts."
From 1997 to 2006,
Fay Chew Matsuda served as director of the museum.
In 2005, the museum received part of a $20 million grant from the
Carnegie Corporation
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
, made possible through a donation by then-New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
.
The museum moved to a new site at 215
Centre Street in 2009.
The space was designed by architect
Maya Lin
Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...
and was six times as large as the old site.
The permanent exhibition, ''With a Single Step'', was designed by Matter Practice.
In May 2011,
Herb Tam became curator and director of exhibitions.
In 2019, the museum relaunched their gift store with a new partner, the Asian American retail brand
Pearl River Mart. Called MOCA Shop by Pearl River, the store is a "curated collection of items that hold great meaning in Chinese American culture."
In January 2020, a fire damaged the building at 70 Mulberry Street, where the museum's collection was held, with about 85,000 items potentially affected by water damage.
While it was initially believed that nearly all of them might have been lost, a substantial part was determined to be "very much salvageable" several days after the incident.
Around 35,000 items had been digitized and backed up before the fire.
Much of the collection was restored by disaster-relief specialists who worked to prevent mold growth and preserve structure.
Exhibitions
The core exhibition ''With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America'' discusses over 160 years of Chinese American history and is augmented annually with two to four rotating exhibitions on thematic, historic, and artistic subjects.
The museum in January 2015 presented ''Waves of Identity: 35 Years of Archiving.'' The title of the exhibit was inspired by a Chinese proverb, “Each wave of the Yangtze River pushes at the wave ahead.”
Current
* With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America (September 1, 2009 – December 31, 2023)
Former
* Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism (July 15, 2021 – September 18, 2022)
* an unlikely photojournalist: Emile Bocian in Chinatown (December 14, 2020 – December 31, 2021)
* Gathering: Collecting and Documenting Chinese American History (October 17, 2019 – March 22, 2020)
* The Chinese Helped Build the Railroad - The Railroad Helped Build America (October 17, 2019 – March 22, 2020)
* FOLD: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures (October 5, 2017 - March 25, 2018)
* Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America (October 6, 2016 – September 10, 2017)
* Stage Design by
Ming Cho Lee
Ming Cho Lee (; October 3, 1930 – October 23, 2020) was a Chinese-American theatrical set designer and professor at the Yale School of Drama.
Personal life
Lee was born on Oct. 3, 1930, in Shanghai, China to Lee Tsu Fa and Tang Ing. Lee, whose ...
(April 28, 2016 – September 11, 2016)
* Chinese Style: Rediscovering the Architecture of
Poy Gum Lee
Poy Gum Lee (; 1900–1968) was a Chinese-American architect. Lee is known for his Art Deco buildings with Chinese architectural influence or "Chinese Deco" in Shanghai as well as in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City.
Early life and education ...
, 1923–1968 (September 24, 2015 – March 27, 2016)
* SUB URBANISMS: Casino Urbanization, Chinatowns, and the Contested American Landscape (September 24, 2015 – March 27, 2016)
*
Yu Lik Wai: It's a Bright Guilty World (October 8, 2015 – August 11, 2016)
* Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of
Tyrus Wong
Tyrus Wong (October 25, 1910 – December 30, 2016) was a Chinese-born American artist. He was a painter, animator, calligrapher, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer and kite maker, as well as a set designer and storyboard artist. One of the mo ...
(March 26, 2015 – September 13, 2015)
* Memory Prints: The Story World of Phillip Chen (September 25, 2014 – January 3, 2015)
* Waves of Identity: 35 Years of Archiving (September 25, 2014 – January 3, 2015)
* Oil and Water: Reinterpreting Ink (April 24, 2014 – September 14, 2014)
* The Lee Family of New York Chinatown Since 1888 (October 23, 2013 – June 6, 2014)
* A Floating Population (December 13, 2013 – April 13, 2014)
* Portraits of New York Chinatown (December 13, 2013 – April 13, 2014)
* Front Row: Chinese American Designers (April 26, 2013 – December 1, 2013)
* Shanghai Glamour: New Women 1910s–40s (April 26, 2013 – November 3, 2013)
* Marvels and Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942–1986 and Alt. Comics: Asian American Artists Reinvent the Comic (September 27, 2012 – February 24, 2013)
* America through a Chinese Lens (April 26, 2012 – September 9, 2012)
* Lee Mingwei: The Travelers and The Quartet Project (October 20, 2011 – March 26, 2012)
* Unearthing (May 5, 2011 – September 19, 2011)
* Chinese Puzzles (November 6, 2010 – April 9, 2011)
* Chinatown POV: Reflections on
September 11
Events Pre-1600
* 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
(September 11, 2010 – November 29, 2010)
* Both Here and There: Yale-China and a Century of Transformative Encounters (September 2, 2010 – October 11, 2010)
* Here & Now: Chapter III Towards Transculturalism (February 11, 2010 – March 28, 2010)
* Here & Now: Chapter II Crossing Boundaries (November 19, 2009 – January 4, 2010)
* Here & Now: Chinese Artists in New York Chapter 1 (September 22, 2009 – November 2, 2009)
Collections
As of early 2020, MOCA's Collections and Research Center contained more than 85,000 artifacts, photos, memorabilia, documents, oral histories, and art work. The collection covers a timespan of 160 years and includes e.g. historical Chinese restaurant menus, boat tickets, family photographs, and wedding dresses.
Research Center
The museum's previous gallery space on 70 Mulberry Street is used as an archival center and serves as a research center. The Research Center contains applications, such as Web-based versions of gallery exhibitions and an interactive timeline of Chinese American history. The center also provides resources on topics such as immigration and diversity. The Research Center was damaged by fire in 2020.
Special collections
Special collections include:
Legacy Awards Gala
At MOCA's 2015 Legacy Awards Gala, the museum honored several people and organizations for their roles in Chinese-American culture. Honorees were the
C.V. Starr Scholars, Hong Kong-born American actor
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939) is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in ...
, and
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates founding design partner William C. Louie.
2014 honorees included:
*
Tyrus Wong
Tyrus Wong (October 25, 1910 – December 30, 2016) was a Chinese-born American artist. He was a painter, animator, calligrapher, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer and kite maker, as well as a set designer and storyboard artist. One of the mo ...
* Theodore T. Wang
* Victor and William Fung Foundation Ltd.
2013 honorees included:
[
* ]Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
* Pei-Yuan Chia
* Ming Tsai
* Wang Yannan
2012 honorees included:[
* ]Angelica Cheung
Angelica Cheung (born April 24, 1966, in Beijing) is a Chinese fashion journalist and the founding editor-in-chief of ''Vogue China'', launching its first issue in 2005. Previously editorial director of ''Elle China'' and editor-in-chief of ''M ...
* Silas Chou
Silas K. F. Chou (; born 1946) is a Hong Kong billionaire, active in the fashion sector.
Early life
Chou's father was Chao Kuang-piu. His father founded South Ocean Knitters, one of the Hong Kong's "largest knitwear manufacturers and exporters", ...
* Calvin Tsao
* Humberto Leon and Carol Lim
2011 honorees included:[
* Oscar L. Tang
* David Liu
* Dominic Ng
* ]Pichet Ong
Pichet Ong (pee-shay, born October 28, 1969) is a 5 times James Beard Award nominated chef who specializes in desserts. As a self-taught chef with no formal training Chef Ong is best known for pioneering savory techniques and forgoing the heavy u ...
2010 honorees included:[
* The Chao Family
* Maurice R. Greenberg & The Starr Foundation
* HSBC Bank USA
* Anita Lo
* Bill and Judith Davidson Moyers
* Ben Wang
* Major General John L. Fugh *(posthumous award)
2009 honorees included:][
* Ronnie C. Chan
* Charles B. Wang Community Health Center
* Anla Cheng
* Mark E. Kingdon
* ]Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Liu has sta ...
* Wan-go Weng
* Jerry Yang
Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang (born November 6, 1968) is a Taiwanese-American billionaire computer programmer, internet entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He is the co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo! Inc.
As of February 2022, Yang has a net worth ...
See also
*Chinese Americans in New York City
The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest and most prominent ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, hosting Chinese populations representing all 34 provincial-level administrative units of China. The Chinese American population ...
*Chinese American Museum
The Chinese American Museum (Chinese: 華美 博物館; abbreviated CAM) is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans ...
(based in Los Angeles)
*Chinese Historical Society of America
The Chinese Historical Society of America (; abbreviated CHSA) is the oldest and largest archive and history center documenting the Chinese American experience in the United States. It is based in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, Cali ...
(based in San Francisco)
*Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC, ) is an organization based in Chinatown, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Chinatown, California.
History
On November 1, 1975, the society held its founding meeting at Cathay Bank in Los Angeles ...
*Chinese Culture Center
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco (or CCC) (; Jyutping: ''Gau6gam1saan1 Zung1waa4 Man4faa3 Zung1sam1'') is a community-based, non-profit organization established in 1965 as the operations center of the Chinese Culture Foundation locate ...
(based in San Francisco)
* Chinese American Museum Washington, DC
*Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park is a state park located in the center of the town of Weaverville, California. The site is a Taoist temple which is still in use, and is the oldest Chinese temple in California.
History
The original tem ...
* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 40, 42, 58, N, 73, 59, 58, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title
Museums in Manhattan
Museums established in 1980
Chinese-American museums
Chinese-American culture in New York City
Chinatown, Manhattan
Ethnic museums in New York City
History museums in New York City
1980 establishments in New York City