Pao Arts Center welcomes the Year of the Snake with a special, two-part exhibition: a mural and a salon style gallery exhibit.
Bring in the Year of the Snake with an elegant reception featuring live music, small plates, and drinks. Enjoy imaginative Lunar New Year-inspired dishes provided by local chef, Asia Mei of Moonshine 152. Experience live performances and the current exhibit at Pao Arts Center. Before the night is over, leave your hopes for the new year on our wishing tree to bring good fortune to the community and local artists.
Vermilion Theater’s bilingual project explores how the intersection of theater, visual arts, music, and mental health awareness can support cultural expression and wellness among immigrant families in Boston. Working closely with the Families Services department at BCNC, Vermilion Theater engages Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking participants in Karaoke and Ping-Pong Nights, by creating a welcoming space for connection and outreach to address critical issues such as well-being and sense of belonging in a fun, supportive environment.
We are excited to invite you to the culmination of Vermillion Theatre’s artist residency at Pao Arts Center, showcasing their innovative work in building connections through art and storytelling.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate with in-person Chinese brush painting at Pao Arts Center. Create an original work to take home featuring the bamboo motif.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate with in-person Chinese brush painting at Pao Arts Center. Create an original work to take home featuring the bamboo motif.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate with in-person Chinese brush painting at Pao Arts Center. Create an original work to take home featuring the bamboo motif.
Join us for an evening of high-energy hip-hop performances to celebrate the Year of the Wood Snake curated by local artist Kold Kwan, featuring performances by Alan Z, Aztech from Hybrid Thoughts, NITA SLAY, and shiori_kubrick.
Pao Arts Center’s annual Lunar New Year celebration is back! Come by for an afternoon of art, interactive workshops, and performances. All ages are invited to join us for cultural activities as we usher in the year of the snake! Register to receive event updates and reminders.
Join us for a lecture from curator and Professor Aida Yuen Wong. Professor Wong curated our current exhibition, The Inventive Brush: Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate from your home with virtual Chinese brush painting.
The Thousand Bloom uses the chrysanthemum as a metaphor for Boston Chinatown’s resilience in a nod to popular novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Come celebrate the neighborhood’s rich legacy and enduring spirit through three distinct yet complementary parts.
Join community artists Jennifer Duan, Stephanie Li, and Katelyn Lipton for the unveiling of their public art project, Ping Pong Tables of Chinatown: A Celebration of Diversity and Nature. Spend the afternoon participating in friendly ping pong competitions, art making, lawn games, face painting, and win prizes!
Bring the whole family for an afternoon of fun with crafts, snacks, and a peek into Noodle & Bao by Shaina Lu.
Under the glow of the lights of Chinatown, discover new artists who are lighting up the neighborhood with new murals. Meet up at Pao Arts Center and then you will be taken on an exclusive tour of Experience Chinatown murals. After the tour, enjoy award-winning Asian-inspired small plates and drinks at a cocktail reception at Shojo Boston.
RSVP by Wednesday, October 9th.
Artwork: “A Breath into the Future” by Sam Lê Shave. Photo Credit: Mel Taing
Funds raised will support free public arts and culture activities by Pao Arts Center. Your donation will ensure that arts is accessible to all.
Schedule
6:00 PM - Check-in and view The Inventive Brush: Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea at Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany Street, Boston
6:15 PM - Tour of Experience Chinatown Murals
7:00 PM - Reception with small plates and cocktails at Shojo Boston, 9A Tyler Street, Boston
Tickets
Single Ticket: $150
Make a bigger impact with a sponsorship of $1,000. Sponsorship includes 6 tickets.
Goods and services are valued at $100 per ticket.
Artwork: “A Breath into the Future” by Sam Lê Shave. Photo Credit: Mel Taing
For questions please contact Wes Boudreau at 617-249-2995 x1091
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate from your home with virtual Chinese brush painting.
Join us for a dance workshop as part of The Thousand Bloom, a public art project by artist
Anita Yip celebrating the unwavering resilience and rich legacy of Boston Chinatown.
Performances, Activities, and Exhibits
Saturday, September 28 from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Rain Date: Sunday, September 29
Access the digital program here
This fall, see, hear, create, and connect. Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities.
11:00 AM | Kwong Kow Chinese School, Youth Lion Dance Team
11:15 AM | BU Bhangra, an all-inclusive Bhangra team
11:30 AM | Kapatid Kud, global fusion music collective
12:30 PM | Kold Kwan, Chinese-American hip-hop artist
1:30 PM | The Flavor Continues, community-led street dance organization
2:00 PM | JC Alula + her band, Chinese/Cantopop singer-songwriter and band
Passport to Experience Chinatown
Look for the Pao Arts Center yellow tent and pick up your passport to visit the mural sites in Chinatown. Collect your stamps to redeem a special prize!
Imagine Safety with Joanna Tam
Share what safety means to you in this project which amplifies the voices of Chinatown community members.
The Thousand Bloom: A Chrysanthemum Grows in Chinatown with Anita Yip
Contribute to a collaborative puzzle that celebrates Chinatown’s rich legacy and enduring spirit.
Sprouts of Resilience: A Journey from Seed to Tofu with Ying Ye
Explore gardening, food, and healing in her communal project.
Flower-Crown Making
Celebrate the end of summer and show off your creativity by making your own decorative headpiece.
Library Park Cart with Maria Fong and ACDC
Fold paper fans and learn about heat resilience in Boston Chinatown. Share what open space and public parks mean to you.
Fun with Bunker Hill Community College
Come by for an interactive activity.
SaturPLAY with ACDC’s A-VOYCE Youth | 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Family friend activities at Mary Soo Hoo Park celebrating this month’s theme Back to School!
Pao Arts Center | 99 Albany Street
Enjoy the current exhibit: The Inventive Brush: Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea
BCNC | 38 Ash Street
BCNC Acorn’s 50th Anniversary Celebration | 10:00 AM -12:00 PM
BCNC’s Acorn program turns 50 years old! Reconnect with fellow alumni, beloved teachers, and supportive parents. It's a perfect opportunity to relive cherished memories and create new ones.
Credit: BUIC 2024 Spring Show
BU Bhangra is Boston University’s premier all-inclusive bhangra team. They are dedicated to raising awareness about South Asian culture through a folk Indian dance form, bhangra. The team fosters a safe space for members of all backgrounds to become not just skilled dancers, but moreover, confident artists. They perform at events, such as festivals and weddings, and compete in national competitions.
Credit: The Flavor Continues
The Flavor Continues is Massachusetts’ first community-led nonprofit serving the Street and Club dance communities.
Credit: zeroeriko
JC Alula + her band bring the energies of jazz, R&B, and rock together for audiences to enjoy. JC Alula is a Taiwanese artist based in Boston who is also the music director, singer, and arranger for the Taiwanese Music Festival. Be sure to check out their set, which will feature upbeat Mandarin songs!
Credit: courtesy of artist
Kapatid Kud is proud to present their multicultural collective including third culture artists hailing from Bahrain, India, and the Philippines. Their playful music is grounded in community and joy. They also strive to explore music as a way to process trauma, bring to light stories of those in the margins, and connect with those around them.
Credit: Krispy Pic
Kold Kwan is a Chinese-American hip-hop artist raised by Cantonese speaking immigrants from Guandong. Inspired by lyricists and storytellers such as Lupe Fiasco, Nas, and Kendrick Lamar, Kwan makes music authentic to his personality and lived Asian American experiences and aims to represent Asian Americans in a positive light.
Credit: Kwong Kow Chinese School
Kwong Kow Chinese School's Youth Lion Dance Team unites teens from their community to positively impact schools, organizations, and AAPI communities by showcasing traditional Chinese culture. With more than two dozen members, the team is uniquely driven, led, and governed by its members and its elected youth executive board. Since its formation in 2021, the team has performed traditional lion dance at nearly a hundred festivals and events throughout Greater Boston.
Thanks to our official parking partner, SP+ Parking, we can offer a discounted rate at the Beach Street Garage (40 Beach Street Boston, MA 02111).
From September 1 - October 27, you can book a parking reservation at $10 for 4 hours and $19 for 8 hours. Click the link below to get started.
Join us for a deep dive into the Chinese calligraphic form in a demonstration led by master artist, Mike Yuguo Mei.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate from your home with virtual Chinese brush painting.
This fall, see, hear, create, and connect. Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities.
Join us for a unique experience that blends dance and calligraphy.
The "abundance among us" table installation first created spaces for intergenerational gatherings in Boston's Chinatown in 2021. Co-designed by artist Sheila Novak and Chinatown resident Cass Li as part of Residence Lab, this functional artwork ensures that children and elders all have a seat at the same table, illustrating the abundance in community and emphasizing how individuals contribute to community power, regardless of their age. Joining the team this year, artist Wen-hao Tien’s new activity book for the Year of the Dragon called “dragons and friends” will guide the projects community event in mythical storytelling.
Join us for a unique experience that blends music and calligraphy. Japanese master calligrapher Michiko Imai.
Everyone deserves to feel safe in a neighborhood where they live and work. During ACDC’s Summer Picnic, Joanna Tam honors the resilient history of Boston Chinatown residents and inspires the community to continue its civic engagement tradition.
Join us to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibit with artists Mike Mei, Michiko Imai, and YoungSun Jang and exhibit curator, Aida Yuen Wong.
The Inventive Brush: Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea, curated by Professor Aida Yuen Wong, showcases the diversity of contemporary calligraphy; it features the works of three Massachusetts-based artists, Mike Yuguo Mei, Michiko Imai, and YoungSun Jang.
Join us on Thursday, June 20, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM for a screening of the film Twilight’s Kiss (“Suk Suk”), 2019 co-presented with BAAFF. The film follows the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years as they navigate their families and personal histories while contemplating a possible future together.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate from your home with virtual Chinese brush painting.
Join us on Thursday, June 20, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM for a screening of the film Twilight’s Kiss (“Suk Suk”), 2019 co-presented with BAAFF. The film follows the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years as they navigate their families and personal histories while contemplating a possible future together.
Join us in celebrating the release of Corky Lee’s Asian America, a stunning retrospective of his life’s work- a selection of the best photographs from his vast collection, from his start in New York’s Chinatown in the 1970s to his coverage of diverse Asian American communities until his passing in 2021.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate from your home with virtual Chinese brush painting.
Join Maddie Lam, Anny Thach, and Pao Arts Center for an evening of poetry and music. The performances take you through an inner landscape of a human heart, charting the atlas of grief and loss, celebration and regeneration. Through prose and poetry, visual narrative, and song, Dandelions in the Stardust is a soft place to land.
Turn everyday pantry items into tiny, delectable sculptures using quick dry clay and paints.
Experiment with vibrant colors, textures, and shapes to create one-of-a-kind prints that capture the imagination.
Based on traditional Mexican tile art, this workshop will encourage participants to think about patterns in new and exciting ways.
Take a Saturday afternoon to relax, create, and meditate from your home with virtual Chinese brush painting.
