Celebrating its Present
Helping to Create its Future
Thursday - Sunday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Adult $8
Senior $6
Student $5
Child (12 Under) Free
Curator's Group Tours Monday through Wednesday by Reservation Only. Email info@portlandchinatown.org for more details.
Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland’s Historic Chinatowns Beyond the Gate was created as a temporary exhibit for the Oregon Historical Society by Dr. Jacqueline Peterson-Loomis, Curator, with the help of Jennifer Fang Associate Curator, and Carey Wong, noted theater and opera set designer, as Exhibition Designer. It was presented for three months in spring, 2016 as a companion to the New York City show Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion and then dismantled. The Portland Chinatown Museum is deeply grateful to the Oregon Historical Society for enabling us to develop with the Chinese community the story of Portland's early Chinatowns as an exhibition and to bring that story home.
Courtesy of Jeff Lee Photography and Janine Wong
Courtesy of Jeff Lee Photography
EXHIBITIONS
The Color of Black and White
Jeff Lee
June 27 to November 3, 2019
Jeff Lee is a Portland-based commercial photographer, whose fine art photography centers on the natural landscape and capturing the beauty and emotion of the moment. Through the practice of shooting black and white film, he has developed a strong formalist approach that highlights shape, form, and pattern. The Color of Black and White showcases a collection of Lee's landscapes of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Northwest.
The Color of Black and White is the second installment of the Portland Chinatown Museum's new series of exhibitions celebrating the work of Portland Chinatown artists.
Model Minority: Do the Math
Documentary Screening and Discussion with Producer, Darby Li Po Price, Ph.D.
October 24th
5:30-7:00 PM
$10/Members; $15/General
Includes admission to museum exhibitions
Stop by the museum after work to browse our exhibits and unpack the Model Minority stereotype.
The award winning PBS documentary Model Minority: Do the Math by Teja Arboleda and Darby Li Po Price (2013) explores how the model minority myth is a contradictory stereotype of Asian Americans as overachievers. While many believe the stereotype is positive, it causes many problems. Disproportionately tracked into math intensive fields by dominant expectations, parents, and advisors, many struggle to balance mental health and aspirations. The film addresses how the myth impacts Asian Americans across diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, goals, abilities, and needs.
Dr. Price will present Model Minority: Do the Math (30 mins.), answer questions about the film, and facilitate discussion about the Model Minority stereotype.
Darby Li Po Price teaches Asian American Studies online for Merritt College, and has taught at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, San Jose State, DePaul, Vassar, and Mills. Price is also a docent for the Portland Chinatown Museum. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in Ethnic Studies. Price has published in Amerasia Journal, Critical Mass: A Journal of Asian American Cultural Criticism, The American Indian Culture and Research Journal, and several anthologies. From his research, Price also produced the Telly award winning PBS documentaries: Model Minority: Do the Math and Crossing the Line: Multiracial Comedians.
Doors open at 5:30, film screening begins at 6:00. Come early to browse the exhibits!
Cantonese Opera Performance
Featuring Members of the Yat Sing Music Club
August 18
3:00-5:00 PM
Spend an afternoon in Chinatown. Enjoy light food and drink and a performance of full dress Cantonese Opera by members of the Yat Sing Music Club. The program will include regional folk music from South China and Cantonese Opera songs. Through music, songs, dialogue, and poetry, stories will unfold to tell how people lived centuries ago.
Founded in 1929, the Yat Sing Music Club, a Cantonese Opera ensemble, is one of the longest-running community groups in Portland's Chinatown.
Afterwards, Portland Chinatown Members and Volunteers can visit our neighboring institutions, the Lan Su Garden and Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center for free from 6:00-8:00 PM.
Tickets: $18/General; $15/Members
Patsy Fong Lee and Kenneth Fong
August 29
5:30-7:00 PM
Sharing their family stories are Patsy Fong Lee and her younger brother, Kenneth Fong. The Fongs grew up in a flat with no running water on SW Pine Avenue and Second Avenue at the north end of Old Chinatown. Their father, Gui Duck Fong, fought in World War I and was awarded U.S. citizenship for his service overseas. Returning from the war, he opened the Hop Lee Tailor Shop on SW Third and Ankeny, which became the front for one of the largest gambling casinos in Portland Chinatown.
This event is part of our ongoing series Stories My Mother and Father Told Me, featuring artists, writers, and community elders. The series is sponsored in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities.
Tickets: $12/General; $10/Members
Chinatown teens gathered to celebrate a high school graduation. Patsy Fong is seated in the middle of the table facing the camera. Photograph courtesy of Bruce and Gloria Wong Family.
Honor and Duty: The Mississippi Delta Chinese
A Portland Chinatown Museum and Chinese American Citizens Alliance Member/Volunteer Appreciation Event
August 14
5:30-8:00 PM
Enjoy a reception, screening of the documentary series, Honor and Duty: The Mississippi Delta Chinese, and Q&A with Executive Producer, E. Samantha Cheng.
Part One 1870 to 1940 How Chinese first came to Mississippi told in the context of the period. The what, where and why’s they came and stayed.
Part Two 1941-1945 Chinese WWII veterans and their families share stories of the war and its impact on their lives in the Mississippi Delta.
Part Three 1946 to Present How Chinese have influenced the social and economic fabric, custom and culture of Mississippi.
This event is free and exclusive to members of the Portland Chinatown Museum and/or the Chinese American Citizens Alliance. RSVP to info@portlandchinatown.org or (503) 208-2642 by Monday, August 12th.
The Portland Chinatown Museum is located in the heart of the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District:
127 NW Third Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2925 Portland, OR 97208
info@portlandchinatown.org
(503) 224-0008
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Photo: Courtesy May Chang, Courtesy Jeff Lee Photography.
You can support the Portland Chinatown Museum and its mission through the purchase of an annual membership for yourself or your family. We offer pricing for seniors, educators, students, families, and Friends of the Museum. For more info about higher-level memberships and associated benefits, contact jackie@portlandchinatown.org.
Contributing Member (2 complimentary passes): $125
Family (up to 5 members): $100
Spouses: $75
Individual: $50
Seniors: $35
Educators: $35
Students: $25
Free admission to Portland Chinatown Museum, Invitation to Members' Only Exhibit Previews, Discounted program and special events pricing, 10% discount for purchases in Museuem Store.
Membership Includes: Free Admission to Museum and all Member Events, 10% off all Ticketed Programs & Store Purchases, Invitation to all Patron Previews and Annual Patron Party, and Recognition on Major Donor Panel
$2,500
The construction of the Portland Chinatown Museum is made possible by generous grants from:
Banner: New Chinatown development c. 1910 from Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland's Historic Chinatowns. Courtesy of Oregon Historical Society