Exhibits currently showing at CHSA:
Exhibits
“Finding Jake Lee: The Paintings at Kan’s”
In the early 1960s, restaurateur Johnny Kan commissioned a series of water color paintings by artist Jake Lee. For many years, these stunning paintings hung in the private Gum Shan (“Gold Mountain”) dining room of the landmark Kan’s Restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Each Jake Lee painting showcases specific aspects and milestones in early Chinese American history, including scenes of San Francisco’s Chinatown, railroad-building in the Sierra Nevadas, Sonoma wine country, cigar & lantern factories, and the 1888 champion Chinese fire-hose team of Deadwood, South Dakota. Come view first-hand these stunning & significant landscapes of our history! News & Press View the latest press coverage for Finding Jake Lee Catalog for Finding Jake Lee The [...]
Remnants
Artists Respond to the Chinese American Experience Opening April 14, 2012 The struggle and triumph of Chinese America is expressed and celebrated through story and myth, pieced together by contemporary voices that enable legacy to endure. This exhibition features unique examples of this expression with the presentation of site-specific works by selected artists. The works serve as responses to memory and record, as well as interpretations of historical narrative. The artists are invited to mount their works in direct juxtaposition with the didactic history exhibition at the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum. A full range of artistic media will be presented, offering diverse fragments of expression and interpretation. The new works may include objects selected from [...]
Sun Yat-sen: An American Legacy
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the modern republic of China, CHSA presents the exhibition Sun Yat-sen: An American Legacy. The exhibition tells the story of the “father of modern China” Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his travels in America as he rallied support to the cause of a free and modern China. The exhibit was organized by Connie Young Yu from her family’s collection of Sun Yat-sen memorabilia. Special programs include History Alive! Performances “Sun Yat-sen & The Three People’s Principles” by Artist-in-Residence Charlie Chin, and a brand-new documentary Dr. Sun at Liberty’s Door by Connie Young-Yu. On display now in the Phillip Choy Gallery.
Detained at Liberty’s Door
Detained at Liberty's Door traces the formation of the Angel Island Immigration Station and highlights the inspiring story of Mrs. Lee Yoke Suey, the wife of a native-born citizen who was detained for more than 15 months on Angel Island. Only an association with one of California's most powerful & iconic families secured her freedom. This traveling exhibit, developed by CHSA, has been displayed at the California History Center, De Anza College in 2011.
Remembering 1882: Fighting for Civil Rights in the Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act
In 1882 Congress passed the nation's first major immigration legislation — a law to prevent people of Chinese descent from entering the United States. The law would tear apart families, cut the nation's Chinese American population in half, and remove the right to become citizens. Remembering 1882 explores the historical debate around the Exclusion Act from its origins through its full repeal in 1968, the civil rights struggle of Chinese Americans and allies, and the historic importance of habeas corpus in the Chinese American community. In 2009, the California Legislature passed a Bill that apologizes to Chinese Americans for the the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and other unjust discriminatory laws which resulted in the persecution of Chinese living in California. Online [...]