We Are:
Photo credit: Siyi Chu
Empowering
Photo credit: Andrew Wang
Welcoming and Respectful
Photo credit: Black Dog Pictures
Collaborative
Photo credit: Proshot Kalami
Contemporary and Innovative
Our Mission and Vision
Our mission is to celebrate and strengthen the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community of Chinatown and Greater Boston through access to culturally relevant art, education, and creative programs. Pao Arts Center functions in service of BCNC’s and BHCC’s goals to support the social well-being, economic success, and education of their constituents.
Our vision is that in the face of the gentrification of Chinatown and inequitable access to resources that enable cultural agency, Pao Arts Center promotes cultural equity in Greater Boston for the AAPI community.
Our Impact
Since 2017, Pao Arts Center has…
Engaged over 500 artists
Hosted over 500 events + exhibits
Welcomed over 25,000 visitors
Supported 150+ BCNC and BHCC events and classes
Our Programs
Events & Performances, Exhibits, BHCC Cultural Events, Special Presentations
Photo credit: Andrew Wang
Artist-in-Residence, Public Programs, Community Space Rentals, Residence Lab
Photo credit: Black Dog Pictures
Artist Space Rentals, API Artists Network, Partner Residencies
Photo credit: Tarik Bartel
Youth & Adult Art Classes, BHCC Classes, BHCC Student Support, Internships
Photo credit: Staff
Our History
Pao Arts Center sits on a historically significant piece of land, Parcel 24, where hundreds of Chinatown residents were displaced in the 1960s in order to build a highway on-ramp. In 2016, Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) developed Parcel 24 into 66 Hudson Street, which includes affordable housing as well as space intended for community and public use. In collaboration with Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), the idea for an arts and cultural hub was born.
In partnership with BHCC, BCNC opened Pao Arts Center in 2017 to be Chinatown’s first arts center and Boston’s newly dedicated Asian American and Asian immigrant cultural space. The opening was made possible by numerous supporters including Eleanor and Frank Pao, Barr Foundation, ArtPlace America, and Liberty Mutual Insurance.
The redevelopment of this land as a place to celebrate and explore Asian culture represents a powerful shift towards community oriented development in the face of rapid change. The preservation of Chinatown’s rich history has been a shared effort across many community groups.
History Firsthand: If Hudson Street Could Talk
Cynthia Yee and her friend’s brother in April 1962, before the demolition of Hudson Street.
Cynthia Yee is an artist, writer, educator, and Pao Arts Center supporter. Her stories of coming of age in the Boston Chinatown community at the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act are a resource for artists, journalists, university students, and academics interested in Chinese American history. Click here for the stories.
Our Team
Pao Arts Center Team at the 2024 BCNC Banquet. Photo credit: John Shesler
Pao Arts Center Leadership Council
Nancy Wang Adams, Co-chair
Eleanor Pao, Co-chair
Hsiu-Lan Chang
Ada Chu
Brian Chu
Laura Sen
Elaine Shiang
Ami Shim
Janet Wu
Yu-Wen Wu
George Yip
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Our Partners
BCNC (Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center) empowers Asians and new immigrants to build healthy families, achieve greater economic success, and contribute to thriving communities by providing a broad range of innovative and family-centered programs and services to more than 13,000 children, youth, and adults every year.
BCNC believes that families have enormous potential to thrive, and that when immigrants are able to participate fully in society and create their own success stories, all of society benefits. Our vision is that families and individuals are self-sufficient; families are strong, healthy, and safe; children have opportunities for school success; and neighborhoods are strong and cohesive.
Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest community college in Massachusetts, with more than 19,000 students enrolled annually. BHCC, founded in 1973, is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
BHCC is the most affordable community college in Massachusetts with more than 100 academic programs, including associate degree and certificate programs, designed to allow students to complete their first two years of a bachelor’s degree before transferring to a four-year university. Dedicated, caring faculty and counselors help students achieve their personal, academic and career goals.
Our Supporters
Pao Arts Center is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Pao Arts Center is also supported in part by a grant from the Reopen Creative Boston Fund, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.