Abstract The Journey Wall is a custom art installation created for MOCA's lobby by renowned artist/designer Maya Lin. The wall is composed of bronze tiles through which Chinese Americans can permanently honor and remember their family roots. Each tile bears the name of an individual or family, their ancestral home, and current place of residence in America. The complete wall will highlight the expansiveness of the Chinese American Diaspora and the diversity of immigration stories from across the...

Abstract Anne Ho is a longtime resident of Chinatown in New York City. Ho reflects on how her family moved to the United States and her early childhood growing up in Chinatown. She discusses the garment factory her mother worked at along with her daily routine living in Chinatown. She continues the discussion of garment factories by stating their importance of Chinatown during her childhood along with how Chinatown has changed overall. She then goes to discuss the development of Confucius Plaza and...

Abstract In this interview, the narrator discusses Chinese assimilation to American culture by contrasting her own experiences with those of her younger sister and of her parents. She notes class and lifestyle differences among the different Chinese immigrants of New York City and delineates them by their home provinces, their education levels, their native language, and "old" versus "new" immigrants, while also considering "ABCs" or American-Born Chinese. She discusses ethnic tensions between...

Abstract In this interview, the narrator relates her life story with a backdrop of generations of her family history. She describes Vietnam, living in Saigon, the Vietcong takeover, the process of her family fleeing, and immigrating to America as a refugee. The narrator discusses her entrepreneurial pursuits by evaluating each business that she started along with each demise. She looks at the real estate business in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn; providing general rent information and...

Abstract In this interview, the narrator provides an overview of her life; both before and after immigrating to New York City from Hong Kong. She discusses her childhood and private schooling in Kowloon, her decision to move to America with her husband and her trip to New York City in the 1960s. The narrator recounts the evolution of her career; from typist, to bridal gown seamstress, to art gallery owner. She offers her thoughts on parenting and practical home economics and provides an overview of...

Abstract Bert Feinberg, native to Brooklyn and long-term resident of New York, describes his experiences in Chinatown and the block often referred to as the Daily Forward block, colloquially named after the Yiddish Daily Forward newspaper. There, Feinberg was employed at a family-owned catering and restaurant business called the Garden Cafeteria. During his time at the Cafeteria between 1949 and 1974, he saw significant demographic changes in the neighborhood. Feinberg initially estimates that the...

Abstract Betty Sze discusses her vague memory of spending her early childhood playing outside of the Grand Machinery Exchange building, which was located on Centre Street. Her father owned a produce wholesale supply company, while her mother worked in factories. In her interview, she describes gentrification in terms of rent-prices consistently rising, developers becoming more aggressive in planning building projects, and entire neighborhoods such as Little Italy, being taken over by Chinese...

Abstract Billy and Duyen Chang are originally immigrants from Hong Kong and Vietnam respectively who grew up in the U.S. and now live in the D.C. Metro area. They both faced challenges while assimilating to American life and culture, most notably in learning English, but they were both able to fully adjust to life in the U.S. after their initial transition periods. When their families immigrated to the U.S. (Duyen’s family moved to the suburbs of Chicago, while Billy’s originally moved to Miami) they...

Abstract Elizabeth Ng talks about growing up in Depression Era New York City living in a big family and participating in the neighborhood church. She speaks about her brothers going to war and her parents’ relationship and histories. Growing up she went to Washington Irving high School and then Hunter College. She also reflects upon her sister dancing in the World’s Fair in Queens. After college with a degree in teaching she became a teacher in New York City. She discusses her relationships with the...

Abstract Capturing daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American Photojournalist Eric Lee roamed the streets of Washington D.C and New York recording his experience through street photography. Selected shots from the project have been put together for his photo series “a distanced memory” which explores his feelings of despair, isolation, loneliness and hope. In this interview, he discusses graduating from Corcoran College of the Arts and Design during the pandemic and his thesis exploring...