ABOUT THE SERIES: 

Homeward Bound: Memories, Identity, and Resilience across the Chinese Diaspora is a series of public events that highlights everyday resilience in Chinatowns around the world. It is spearheaded by three local artists, ethnographers, and facilitators of The W.O.W. Project: Diane Wong, Mei Lum, and Huiying Bernice Chan, who have spent the past several years conducting ethnographic research and oral history interviews with the Chinese diaspora in New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle, Lima, Havana, Johannesburg, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, and Sydney. Each of these communities have overcome extraordinary struggles due to the lasting impacts of war, violence, displacement, and dispossession. This public series is the first of its kind to preserve and build on the history of Chinatowns around the world through community-led and curated narratives from residents globally. By sharing an expanded collection of oral history interviews, photographs, and videos, we hope to build collaborative knowledge and space for community members to come together to expand our understanding of diaspora. The first event of the series is titled “Chinatowns Around the World” featuring Huiying B. Chan, and will be held on April 6, 2018 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Wing On Wo & Co (26 Mott Street).

ABOUT HOMEWARD BOUND: WEST COAST CHINATOWN SOLIDARITY TOUR 

Recognizing that gentrification is not isolated but part of a larger system of dispossession, Diane Wong and Mei Lum wanted to learn how other communities were fighting for their homes and neighborhoods. Bringing their work from east to the west coast in October 2017, Diane & Mei were able to learn from tenants, organizers, small shop owners, restaurant and garment workers, artists, allied researchers, and nonprofit workers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Seattle Chinatown. Together they share their reflections and stories of those they connected and built with during their time on the west coast. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Mei Lum is the fifth generation owner of her family’s 93-year-old porcelain ware business, Wing On Wo & Co. (W.O.W.) In early 2016, her family’s building and business was on the brink of sale. In an effort to resist against contributing to the process of gentrification in NYC’s Chinatown, Mei decided to take on the role of running W.O.W. to continue her family’s five-generation-long legacy in the neighborhood and help protect the heart of Chinatown from encroaching gentrifying forces. In May 2016, with the help of Diane, Mei founded The W.O.W Project out of a desire to bring community members’ concerns of a rapidly changing Chinatown into a space for dialogue. At its core, The W.O.W Project is working to reclaim ownership over Chinatown's future by reviving, protecting and encouraging Chinatown's creative culture through arts, culture and activism.

Diane Wong is a doctoral candidate at Cornell University, where she writes on race, gender, and the gentrification of Chinatowns. As a writer, educator, and multimedia storyteller, her research stems from a place of revolutionary praxis and deep love for community. Her current research explores how gentrification led displacement politically impacts the Chinese immigrant communities in New York City, San Francisco, and Boston. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Mellon Foundation, American Political Science Association, and Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and it has appeared in a variety of publications, journals, anthologies, and podcasts. Diane is currently a visiting scholar at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University where she is finishing her dissertation and working closely with The W.O.W. Project and Chinatown Art Brigade 唐人街藝術隊／ 唐人街艺术队. 

SPECIAL NOTE: Donations for tickets are accepted on a sliding scale basis. Please email wingonwo26mott@gmail.com if you would like a ticket and cannot make a donation. *No one will be turned away for lack of funds!* All donations go towards supporting The W.O.W. Project and Homeward Bound Series.