Finding Identity: Heritage as Inspiration - Exhibition Reception

Join us for the opening of Finding Identity: Heritage as Inspiration, on Saturday, April 1, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This exhibition will remain on view through May 21, 2023. For more information visit www.MassMu.org/the-big-read.

The term Asian American often elicits a singular image whether in popular culture or in the media landscape. The concept of “Asia” tends to find itself simplified without any distinction between the many varied cultures, languages, and people that make up the region.

In Finding Identity: Heritage as Inspiration, three Asian American artists, Aimee Lee, Chi Wong, and Jordan Wong, share artwork that shows the different ways one’s unique Asian American experience can be brought to life. Drawing inspiration from various places and ideas such as the bustling crowds of Chinatown, and the pop culture influences of manga and video games, to the more traditional craft of Korean papermaking, the artwork illustrates that being Asian American is not a singular experience, but one that is varied through heritage, personal experience, and time to define one’s unique identity.

We invite the visitor to both engage with the big picture as well as take time to look at the details and see commonalities as well as differences between the artwork and the cultures that inspired their creation, and leave with a more nuanced idea of what it means to be Asian American in today’s society.

—Tim Arai, Guest Curator

The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,700 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 97,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.