Abstract Mary Ping is the mastermind behind the Front Row exhibit. Born in Queens, NY and raised in Westchester County, she graduated with a bachelor in fine arts from Vassar and credits her experience working with Anna Sui and the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute with providing her with a hands-on fashion education. She discusses the piece selected for the exhibit and how it was inspired by her grandmother, who had a very unique sense of style for a woman in Shanghai during the 1930s. She...

Abstract Peter Som is a San Francisco-born fashion designer who developed an interest in fashion from an early age. As a child, he avidly sketched women and their clothes, beginning with his first subject, his mother. He credits his parents, who were both architects, with inspiring his sense of design. He later came to New York to study fashion at Parsons School of Design and started his own clothing line, fulfilling a childhood dream. In describing how his identity is reflected in his design, he...

Abstract When Wayne Lee was five, she left Vietnam by boat with her parents and was marooned on an island for a year before being rescued and brought to Orlando, Florida. This formative experience has greatly influenced her designs, which she describes as clothing of quality which could easily travel and be worn for a year on an island without falling apart. She initially thought to pursue a career in medicine but was inspired by the enthusiasm and spirit of her coworkers in her first job to...

Abstract Yeohlee Teng was born in Penang, Malaysia and studied fashion at Parsons School of Design. She grew up with the idea of zero waste, and believes that the most successful and universal designs are all one-size-fits-all, zero waste and unisex. She also thinks that math is the foundation of design and the pieces selected for the exhibition reflect that. She thinks that fashion has become an art form that is more accessible in the sense that anyone can become a designer because of the...

Scope and Contents

The materials in this series include ads and cartoons from the paper, rough drafts for articles, business correspondence, news clippings from other sources, newsletters, copies of Chinatown News, and programs, all of which are related to Chinese-Americans and Chinese-American culture. Additionally, there is some personal correspondence.

Scope and Contents

The documents in this series include items such as a Christmas card in Chinese and English, an invitation to an anniversary event for a local business, Chinese-language newspapers, and blank visa applications to China.

Scope and Contents

The documents in this series include a pack of cigars, medical receipts, unopened correspondence, photographs, and an immigration notice from Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Scope and Contents

The documents in this series include items such as cards, notebooks, herbal recipes, letters, and envelopes.

Scope and Contents

The documents in this series include personal correspondence; illustrations (in pencil, pastel, and pen); and holiday and greeting cards in Chinese and English. The bulk of the material is research and mock-ups for a book that Samuel S. Fung was trying to write and possibly publish.

Scope and Contents

The photographs (3.75" x 5.75") and negatives capture the salvaging day of Wah Kiu Wet Wash, Flushing, New York, in December of 2001. The pictures were taken by Cynthia Lee, a former curator of the Museum of Chinese in America.