The Pao Arts Center is taking action to fulfill the longstanding wish of Chinatown’s residents to bring public events, art and community to the neighborhood’s outdoor spaces.
“In order for people, their families and neighborhoods to be healthy and thriving, they need access to arts, creativity and cultural content that’s relatable and relevant to their lives,” said Cynthia Woo, director of the Pao Arts Center.
The cultural center was created in 2017 as a collaboration between the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) and Bunker Hill Community College. The driving force behind its inception was to strengthen Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) narratives while “thinking about how we can leverage creative activity to support community,” said Woo.
An example of this in practice is the Pao Arts Center’s “Experience Chinatown Arts Festival,” an annual event that was celebrated for the sixth time last weekend on September 30.
The festivities, which were held in Chin Park on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, included live performances by local AAPI musicians as well as a contemporary dance act and a traditional Chinese lion dance.
“It’s meant to be a festival that first and foremost activates public space in Chinatown but also ensures that Chinatown’s AAPI narratives are seen and amplified,” said Woo. “People are really inspired to see artists who look like them performing in the community.”
Additionally, this year’s arts festival features six temporary murals located at the BCNC and five of Chinatown’s restaurants, all of which will remain on display through October 14.
“We leverage the visibility of business windows to use them as canvases that share and uplift stories of Asian artists,” explained Woo.
The murals were spearheaded by Boston-based AAPI artists and a group of Chinatown’s high schoolers, who created pieces that touched on “themes ranging from collective action to racial solidarity, sense of belonging and cultural understanding,” said Woo.
As mounting gentrification displaces many of Chinatown’s residents, Woo said that installing cultural art in public is “a strategy to create and keep an anchor of belonging that represents Asian-American perspectives.
“This is a form of action and advocacy by holding space for the AAPI community to gather, share their stories and have dialogue.”
This year’s arts festival is a part of Chinatown HOPE, a new two-year initiative led by eight Chinatown organizations that support interests including resident representation, community development, preservation and political advocacy.
Chinatown HOPE seeks to activate the neighborhood’s greenery through outdoor wellness activities, advocacy for open space and increased gardening opportunities for residents. “It’s about how we can improve our environment and promote the health and well-being of residents by expanding parks and open spaces,” said Woo.
She mentioned that one way to alleviate climate change stress during the neighborhood’s grueling summers is to bring natural shading and misting stations to Chinatown’s open spaces such as Chin Park, Phillips Square and Reggie Wong Memorial Park.
Looking to the future, Woo said the Pao Arts Center “will be partnering with some organizations to do more performances and creative activities this spring.”
