When We Come Together, We Win

Inis Chen’s research project investigates intergenerational solidarity through art in Chinatown. Her project spotlights the Basement Workshop in the 1970s to contemporary collectives like the Chinatown Art Brigade and Apex for Youth, where Asian American artists & organizers have used visual storytelling, poetry, murals, projections, and education to push back against erasure caused by racism and growing gentrification. Inis shares insights from her oral history interviews and archival materials to challenge the stereotypes that portray Asian Americans as passive or apolitical. Instead, this project shows how artistic practices are a continuum of Asian American activism. Inis hopes to redefine the scope of art as not only a medium of expression but a voice within political landscapes.

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01 Historical Context 02 The Rise of Collective Art: Basement Workshop 03 Yellow Pearl 04 Wall of Respect: The Working People of Chinatown 05 The Chinatown Art Brigade 06 The "Here to Stay" Project 07 Carrying Art Forward 08 Apex for Youth 09 Works Cited 10 Oral History Biographies Enter the Exhibit