ArchivesSpace Public Interface

Abstract Husband and wife Daniel Carter and Marilyn Sontag moved together to Chinatown in 1970, where they continue to live and work today—Carter as a musician and writer and Sontag as an abstract artist and part-time gallery coordinator. In their interview, they describe their meeting in Italy and their decision to subsequently relocate to New York City. The couple illustrates Chinatowns community of artists present during the 70s and 80s, and describes the ways in which that atmosphere has changed....

Abstract Howard Pyle talks to MOCA about his experiences moving into the broader Chinatown area during the booming dot-com years of the 1990s and how he has witnessed things change since then. He offers listeners some interesting context for the rise and fall of the dot-com bubble and how 9/11 affected many parts of lower Manhattan and led to shifts in population. Howard also goes into detail about the punk scene in DC where he was from and how he felt when he first moved to NYC and was forced to...

Abstract Kam Mak is an artist who emigrated with his parents from Hong Kong to the United States at age ten in 1971. In this interview, he vividly describes growing up in an old tenement building on Eldridge Street and becoming involved with street kids during the seventies. He mentions the strong presence of street gangs during his childhood as well as the turning point during his youth that redirected him towards art as an escape from getting into trouble. Mak also discusses conceptual ideas that...

Abstract Husband and wife Daniel Carter and Marilyn Sontag sit down with Tomie Arai to discuss their lives living at 218 Centre Street, and all of the changes in the neighborhood that they have watched since they moved in in 1970. They begin by discussing their lives prior to their move to New York City, and how they found their apartment, which was actually designated as an artist’s residence, through word of mouth. Marilyn is a visual artist, and Daniel is a composer and musician. The couple...

Abstract Tomie Arai and Janice Lau sit down with Wing Lee to discuss his life and his experience growing up in and around New York City’s Chinatown in the ‘60s through the ‘80s. Wing talks about what it was like as a kid being raised in the US with Chinese parents, and growing up on the streets of Chinatown. He talks about the schools he went to in the area, and all the spots the neighborhood kids used to hang out. Later on in his late teenage years, he describes the experience at a popular...

Abstract Alice Mong is Executive Director of Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK). Prior to joining the Asia Society HK, Ms Mong worked for almost a decade in New York, where as Director of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) she was responsible for transforming MOCA from a New York Chinatown institution to a leading national museum. Prior to MOCA, Ms. Mong headed up The Committee of 100, a non-profit membership organization founded by world-class architect I.M Pei and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma....