Andrew Kung and Emanuel Hahn: The Mississippi Delta Chinese (May 18–July 15, 2018)

Through a mixture of audio recordings, portraiture, and environmental photography, this project from these New York-based photographers explores the lives of the Chinese community in the rural South. It introduces 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.

Asian Americans are relatively invisible outside of large cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, and even in these communities, they are often stereotyped as the model minority.

Kung and Hahn wanted to challenge this narrative and give a platform to the enormous contributions of the Delta Chinese community — from opening grocery stores to building lunar modules for NASA space missions.

Their hope was to broaden the viewer’s perspective and knowledge of Asian Americans through powerful audio-visual storytelling.

Learn more about the photographers in our interview with them.