{"id":26165,"date":"2016-01-27T14:30:15","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T20:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=26165"},"modified":"2016-01-27T14:30:15","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T20:30:15","slug":"chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sophie Zhang<\/strong><\/p>\n

Red and yellow pigment splashes above glittering glass mosaic on two Chinatown murals, connects dozens of photos featuring residents to the body of a huge dragon sculpture.<\/p>\n

Under the Metra railroad bridge on Archer Avenue, these murals commemorate the 100th year of Chinatown. To integrate the ancient and the modern, artists applied Chinese traditional painting techniques with the use of glass and 3D sculpture.<\/p>\n

About 100 people attended a dedication ceremony Jan. 23. More than 40 photos about the community and its people \u2013 not all Chinese \u2013 are imbedded onto the wall that also functions as a timeline of Chinatown\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The $125,000 art pieces are designed to enhance Chinatown\u2019s streetscape, adding value to unused public space, said Debbie Liu, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Better Chinese American Community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people to linger, to have conversations, to use the murals to talk about the history and the community,\u201d Liu said.<\/p>\n

The wall on the north side emphasizes on the community\u2019s past. Besides the big Chinese characters \u201cThe Golden Years,\u201d an image of a Chinese woman carrying her baby appears on the top. Wearing traditional Chinese clothes, the figure represents one of the first Chinese immigrants in Chicago, according to C.W. Chan, chairman of the Centennial Planning Committee.<\/p>\n

The theme of the south mural is \u201cThe Beautiful Future.\u201d Photos are chosen to remind onlookers of residents\u2019 engagement in community life and their endeavor in fighting for minority rights.<\/p>\n

\"The
The view of the new murals from Metra and CTA commuter trains in Chinatown just got much more interesting. (Sophie Zhang\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an outdoor artwork that is accessible to everyone,\u201d Chan said. \u201cWe want it to be a strong expression of what Chinatown stands for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Artists
Artists spent time learning how to write Chinese characters before they designed the font for \u201cThe Golden Years\u201d and \u201cThe Beautiful Future\u201d installments. (Sophie Zhang\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the murals, a new entrance to the CTA L stop at 22nd St. was built in 2010, and the Chinatown Public Library opened in August, both done under the efforts of the Centennial Planning Committee.<\/p>\n

Chan said the murals explored the neighborhood\u2019s spirit and help people realize Chinatown is more than a developed commercial area to attract tourists. It\u2019s home to people with a deep history and commitment to Chicago, he said.<\/p>\n

Bernard Williams, one of the artists helped create the murals, said he aimed to give a dynamic explanation of Chinese identity and their importance to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut in the public, [the murals] celebrate who they are, what they\u2019re proud of, that they are moving forward, and they plan to hold onto that community, to support the people who are live here,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Chinatown, on Near South Side, is now home to nearly 27,000 Chinese Americans, according to the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. The neighborhood now covers parts of Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Armour Square and South Loop. The population increased more than 11 percent between 2000 and 2010 with young immigrants from China contributing greatly to the growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Citywide, Chinese is now the largest Asian group, counting for 1.6 percent of Chicago\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

Chinese students working with After School Matters, a non-profit organization for teens\u2019 development, helped paint the murals and served as an opportunity to understand their community, Liu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also want to present the concept that Chinatown is not 100 percent Chinese because it has been developing into a very comprehensive ethnic community,\u201d Chan said.<\/p>\n

\"Andy
Andy Bellomo, a glass artist, paints scholar\u2019s rocks, meant as a sign of appreciation in China. (Sophie Zhang\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andy Bellomo, who created the glass decorations, wasn\u2019t familiar with Chinese art and wider culture when she started but spent nearly a year going to museums, talking to residents and making friends in Chinatown to tell an authentic story.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople can merge together through art,\u201d Bellomo said. \u201cArt ends up being the thing, the tool that you use to find commonality, to find a common ground, to speak to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: A 3D dragon head, symbol of power and blessing in Chinese culture represents residents\u2019 hope for a prosperous Chinatown in the future. (Sophie Zhang\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sophie Zhang Red and yellow pigment splashes above glittering glass mosaic on two Chinatown murals, connects dozens of photos featuring residents to the body of a huge dragon sculpture. Under the Metra railroad bridge on Archer Avenue, these murals commemorate the 100th year of Chinatown. To integrate the ancient and the modern, artists applied […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":26173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[585],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2016"],"yoast_head":"\nChinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Sophie Zhang Red and yellow pigment splashes above glittering glass mosaic on two Chinatown murals, connects dozens of photos featuring residents to the body of a huge dragon sculpture. Under the Metra railroad bridge on Archer Avenue, these murals commemorate the 100th year of Chinatown. To integrate the ancient and the modern, artists applied […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-27T20:30:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"825\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"yichenzhang\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"yichenzhang\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/\",\"name\":\"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-27T20:30:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/e264daccf07d52c756c4845a0bbc9278\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":825},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/e264daccf07d52c756c4845a0bbc9278\",\"name\":\"yichenzhang\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa67db5a855eda721d4dd7fafe2d33fcf747536789e15ab732c6aafe64f14ade?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa67db5a855eda721d4dd7fafe2d33fcf747536789e15ab732c6aafe64f14ade?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"yichenzhang\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/yichenzhang\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Sophie Zhang Red and yellow pigment splashes above glittering glass mosaic on two Chinatown murals, connects dozens of photos featuring residents to the body of a huge dragon sculpture. Under the Metra railroad bridge on Archer Avenue, these murals commemorate the 100th year of Chinatown. To integrate the ancient and the modern, artists applied […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2016-01-27T20:30:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":825,"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"yichenzhang","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"yichenzhang","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/","name":"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg","datePublished":"2016-01-27T20:30:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/e264daccf07d52c756c4845a0bbc9278"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Photo1.jpg","width":1100,"height":825},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chinatown-reflects-on-its-100-year-history-through-public-art\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chinatown reflects on its 100-year history through public art"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/e264daccf07d52c756c4845a0bbc9278","name":"yichenzhang","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa67db5a855eda721d4dd7fafe2d33fcf747536789e15ab732c6aafe64f14ade?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa67db5a855eda721d4dd7fafe2d33fcf747536789e15ab732c6aafe64f14ade?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"yichenzhang"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/yichenzhang\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}