Celebrate the opening of Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond, an exhibition presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center that showcases the impacts of Asian American culture and creativity on Washington, D.C.
Enjoy an afternoon of martial arts presentations, visual arts demonstrations and hands-on craft activities, a discussion with local Asian American chefs, and music and dance performances, including DJ sets.
Representatives from local Asian American community organizations will speak with visitors about their work and histories in the area.
This event is co-presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Notice of Filming and Photography: The Sightlines exhibition opening festival will be photographed, filmed, and recorded.
About the Exhibition
Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond offers new vantage points on the cultural imprint of Asian Americans on Washington, D.C. through three narratives explored in the show’s three primary sections.
“Making Place” illuminates efforts to increase Chinatown’s visibility in the 1970s and ’80s, a period in which its survival was threatened. Architectural drawings by Alfred H. Liu, who designed the Friendship Arch marking the entrance to Chinatown, and archival materials related to the Eastern Wind Collective, a grassroots organization devoted to building pan-ethnic solidarity among Asian ethnic groups, are highlights of this section. While Liu sought to safeguard Chinatown by creating a newly built environment that would emphasize its Asian heritage and attract international visitors, Eastern Wind’s strategy looked to the past to reinforce a sense of community.
“Transforming Tradition” examines Asian martial arts as vehicles for self-expression and community building. Several schools and styles of martial arts flourished in Washington during the ’70s, resulting in the formation of a racially and ethnically diverse lineage of practitioners that continues today. Clothing, badges, trophies, photographs, and artwork that chart the fascinating rise, spread, and impact of martial arts in the city and beyond are highlighted in this section. It also tells the story of Simba Dojang, a tae kwon do school whose successes earned it the accolade of “the winningest team.”
“Visualizing Identity” centers on the work of MISS CHELOVE (aka Cita Sadeli), a contemporary Washington artist who draws inspiration from her Indonesian mother’s heritage and uses the tools and methods of graffiti and street art to claim space for multiple communities. Throughout the city, MISS CHELOVE’s vibrant murals celebrate her multicultural identity and her deep community connections that aim to encourage reflection on personal and communal obligations to cultural traditions. Original artwork and objects from the artist’s personal collection offer insight into how she connects the dots across the communities with whom she identifies.
Image Credit: Safety Jacket: A Mourning in Chinatown, 2018. Terence Nicholson (American, born 1968). Mixed media. Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, 2022.1.1.
