When we started our art gallery 10 years ago, the goal was broad — showcase local artists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Since then over 200 artists in group and solo shows have shared their work. Many have highlighted communities in New York while others have explored the lives of Asian Americans across the country. Together they form a tapestry of what it means to be Asian in America.

On this 250th anniversary of the U.S., we're taking a look back at some those exhibitions and the stories they told.

Chinese America on My Mind by Corky Lee

We were so honored to have the late, great "Asian American Photographer Laureate" Corky Lee (1947–2021) as one of our earliest artists. Born and bred in NYC, Corky strove to make visible the often invisible aspects of AAPI culture and history. "My life's mission can be described as 'photographic justice,'" he said. "Rectifying omissions in American history one photograph at a time."

You can see much of Corky's work in the beautiful book, Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice.

The Mississippi Delta Chinese by Andrew Kung and Emanuel Hahn

Through a mixture of audio recordings, portraiture, and environmental photography, this project from photographers Andrew Kung and Emanuel Hahn explored the lives of the Chinese community in the rural South. It introduced viewers to the community’s experiences and worldview pertaining to their racial and regional identity in the context of a historically segregated part of America.

Homeward Bound: Global Intimacies in Converging Chinatowns by Diane Wong and Huiying B. Chan

From scholars, activists, and artists Diane Wong and Huiying B. Chan came this exhibition highlighting stories of migration, displacement, and everyday resilience in Chinatowns around the world. Their work drew from four years of research and interviews with the Chinese diaspora across 13 worldwide cities, including New York, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle, Lima, Havana, Johannesburg, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, and Sydney.

Just Between Us: From the Archives of Arlan Huang

Accompanying his exhibition in our Soho gallery was an installation in the Meatpacking district of Arlan Huang's collected photographs. Featured were seminal figures in the early days of Asian American NYC activism, including activist, painter, and poet Fay Chiang, the Asian Coalition Against the Vietnam War, and Corky Lee.

Shared Lines: Asian American Stories on Route 66 by Sammy Yuen

Through intricate line drawings, Sammy Yuen (pictured above at his opening reception) shares the stories of some of the Asian American communities on Route 66, a historic highway that ran from Santa Monica, CA to Chicago, IL. Coinciding with the highway's 100th anniversary and the U.S.'s 250th, "Shared Lines" brings to light some of those invisible aspects of American history.

On view through Sept. 27. Free and open to the public every day from 11 AM to 7 PM at our 452 Broadway gallery.