We’re seeking volunteers to help clean up the 8 Hudson Street lot, where Residence Lab will hold a space activation as part of an art installation.

Volunteers will help break down materials from previous exhibits, pick up debris/trash, cut down weeds, and powerwash surfaces. Cleaning supplies will be provided. Volunteers need to bring their own masks.

Saturday, August 22nd, 2020

• Morning shift: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

• Afternoon shift: 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Sign up to volunteer at bcnc.net/hudsonlot-cleanup.

We are at capacity for this event. Due to health precautions, we request that only participants who have registered come to the clean-up. Thank you for your interest!

As part of the We Love Boston Chinatown resiliency campaign, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) and Love Your Block (City of Boston) are leading a socially distant Chinatown Clean-up Day on Saturday, August 22nd from 9 am – 12 pm.

Please join us in this effort to show love and support to Chinatown. Invite your friends and family to help clean up the neighborhood! End your time with supporting a neighborhood business and buying a drink, baked good or take out meal!

Social distancing and facial coverings are mandatory. Volunteers must bring their own masks.

Let’s help Boston shine, one neighborhood at a time!

Please register by the end of Thursday, August 20th. Each person must individually register.

Join Asian American Resource Workshop and Pao Arts Center to reconnect with history as we orient for our future in conversation with global diasporas as explored in Pao Arts Center's current exhibition Homeward Bound. In this facilitated journey in conversation with histories of queer Asian American organizing, participants will ground into personal and collective histories to inform our understandings of the current global pandemic and interconnected structures of oppression and resilience. Everyone is welcome, and this event is created by and for queer and trans Asian Americans.

This is a free virtual event, though donations to support Pao Arts Center programming are welcome. To receive an email with the Zoom link, please register below:

Partner:

Sponsors:

This exhibition is brought to the Pao Arts Center with generous support from Mass Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, finding, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of Mass Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Contact: Anju Madhok | anju.madhok@bcnc.net

Join us for a night of poetry, healing, and conversation with Sham-e-Ali Nayeem.

What happens when we lose our anchor? In her debut book City of Pearls, Sham-e-Ali Nayeem writes poetry to offer a meditation on healing from grief. Weaving together memories of her late father and ancestral home of Hyderabad, Nayeem explores the landscapes of loss. Nayeem, an Indian Muslim American, draws from the languages of her life to express vulnerability and tenderness in her poetry: Hyderabad—the City of Pearls—become a metaphor for resilience and growth to transform the grit of migration, displacement and loss.

Nayeem will be joined in conversation with spoken word poet Bao Phi.

Pre-register to receive livestream directions and event reminders.

About the Artists:

Chinatown Presents is funded is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Mass Cultural Council, and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA Green, Red, and Orange lines.

Contact: Cynthia Woo | 617-863-9080

This bilingual (Chinese/English) event is a chance to enjoy food, hear from the Fellows, and start a conversation with the artist team about your visions for a theatrical work based on the stories of Boston’s Chinatown.

Company One Theatre (C1) and the Pao Arts Center are thrilled to announce the 2020-2021 PlayLab Pao Fellows, Kit Yan and Melissa Li. Over the next two years of community-centered art making, Yan and Li, with the support of Community Producer Christina R. Chan, will create a new theatrical work that responds to the neighborhood’s concerns and shapes a rapidly changing Chinatown through artistry.

Click here to RSVP to the Fellowship Kickoff.

About the Fellows:

Kit Yan is a transgender, Yellow American, New York based artist, born in Enping, China, and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Kit is a 2019 Vivace Award winner, 2019 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, 2019 Lincoln Center Writer in residence, a 2019 MacDowell Fellow, 2019-2020 Musical Theater Factory Makers Fellow, and a 2019-2020 Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellow. Works include Interstate, which won "Best Lyrics" at the 2018 New York Musical Theater Festival, and Queer Heartache, which won 5 awards at the Chicago and SF Fringe Festivals. Their work has been produced by the American Repertory Theater, the Smithsonian, Musical Theater Factory, the New York Musical Festival, and Diversionary Theater. They have been a resident with the Civilians, Mitten Lab, 5th Avenue Theater, and the Village Theater. 

Melissa Li is a composer, lyricist, performer, and writer based in New York and Baltimore. She is a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, a Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, a 2019 Lincoln Center Theater Writer-in-Residence, a 2019 Musical Theater Factory Maker, a 2019 Macdowell Colony Fellow, and a former Queer|Art|Mentorship Fellow. Musicals include Interstate (New York Musical Festival, Winner “Outstanding Lyrics”), Surviving the Nian (The Theater Offensive, IRNE Award Winner for "Best New Play" 2007), and 99% Stone (The Theater Offensive). Her works have received support from The 5th Avenue Theatre, The Village Theater, Musical Theater Factory, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, Dixon Place, and others. 

About the Community Producer

Christina R. Chan is a founding member of the Asian American Playwright Collective (AAPC). As an actor, director, and writer, her work focuses on the Asian, Asian American immigration experience. She identifies as a 1.5 generation immigrant: born in Hong Kong, she then immigrated to the US as a toddler, and grew up in Boston. Christina was a Company One 2016 PlayLab Fellow, and her first full length play, Stir Frying Mahjong, was a Eugene O'Neill National Theater Conference 2017 Semi-Finalist. She was commissioned to adapt and direct a play written by Harry H Dow, the first Asian-American lawyer in 1938 to pass the Massachusetts bar. She is the recipient of 2016 and 2017 Live Art Boston grants from The Boston Foundation. 

About Company One Theatre

Company One Theatre builds community at the intersection of art and social change.  Founded in 1998, Company One has situated itself as a home for social justice and artistic excellence by connecting Boston’s diverse communities through live performance, the development of new plays and playwrights, arts education, and public engagement programming. By establishing a dedicated space for marginalized and alternative narratives to thrive and working with partners and collaborators across the city, Company One has become a local leader in the ongoing conversations that continue to define the era of social change in contemporary America.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA green, red, and orange lines.

Contact: Anju Madhok | 617-863-9073

Humans are storytelling creatures. As far as we know, we are the only species on the planet to tell and transfer information through story. We make meaning of and understand the world through stories. But sadly, some stories improve the worlds we live in and others destroy them.

As work for justice intensifies amid rising global populism, learning to wield our personal stories to support the change we want to see in our communities at all scales (local, regional, national, global) grows more important by the minute.

Pao Arts Center, PRX Podcast Garage and Dudley Café join together to present two nights of storytelling across neighborhoods by everyday community members.

Twelve participants will participate in a four-week workshop to learn about storytelling skills and share their personal stories!

These stories will be shared at Pao Arts Center on October 25th and Dudley Café on November 23rd. We hope you can join us at both locations to support our community storytellers!

Registration is free! Suggested donation: $10

About PRX: PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences. PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

About Dudley Cafe: The mission of Dudley Cafe is to provide the Roxbury family with wholesome food, in-house youth empowerment programs, a continued celebration of the arts, along with a creative space encouraging collaboration between locals and neighborhood organizations. Based out of the newly renovated historic Ferdinand building, a former furniture company, Dudley Cafe is part of Bruce C. Bolling Building in Dudley Square.

Chinatown Presents is funded is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Mass Cultural Council, and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

Contact: Chavi Bansal | 617-863-9072

Humans are storytelling creatures. As far as we know, we are the only species on the planet to tell and transfer information through story. We make meaning of and understand the world through stories. But sadly, some stories improve the worlds we live in and others destroy them.

As work for justice intensifies amid rising global populism, learning to wield our personal stories to support the change we want to see in our communities at all scales (local, regional, national, global) grows more important by the minute.

Pao Arts Center, PRX Podcast Garage and Dudley Café join together to present two nights of storytelling across neighborhoods by everyday community members.

Twelve participants will participate in a four-week workshop to learn about storytelling skills and share their personal stories!

These stories will be shared at Pao Arts Center on October 25th and Dudley Café on November 23rd. We hope you can join us at both locations to support our community storytellers!

Suggested donation: $10

About PRX: PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences. PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

About Dudley Cafe: The mission of Dudley Cafe is to provide the Roxbury family with wholesome food, in-house youth empowerment programs, a continued celebration of the arts, along with a creative space encouraging collaboration between locals and neighborhood organizations. Based out of the newly renovated historic Ferdinand building, a former furniture company, Dudley Cafe is part of Bruce C. Bolling Building in Dudley Square.

Chinatown Presents is funded is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Mass Cultural Council, and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA Green, Red, and Orange lines.

Contact: Chavi Bansal | 617-863-9072

Hear, see, and create together at BCNC’s annual family-friendly arts festival! Join us for a day of arts and culture in Chinatown.

Our featured artists, performers, and workshops: Boston Bhangra * Community Music Center of Boston * Circus Up * Henna Café * International Institute of New England - Flag-making * Jason Fei - Interactive Drumming * Lily Xie - Collaborative Map-making * Maple Leaf Dance Group * Museum of Fine Arts - Kite-making * Odaiko New England - Japanese Taiko Drumming * PRX Podcast Garage, Rayna Lo - Calligraphy * Residence Lab * Rex Mac * Shonool Malik - Kathak Dance * Pao Arts Center Senior Dance and Softball Group * Violin Viv * Wah Lum Kung Fu - Lion Dancing * Yosi Karahashi – Flamenco

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Jean Quintal.

Watch a video from last year’s Experience Chinatown here:

Contact: Vanessa Woo | 617-863-9080

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Contact: Anju Madhok | 617-635-5129 x 2017

Silent Flight is a site-responsive and improvisational dance piece directed by Wendy Jehlen, Artistic Director of ANIKAYA Dance Theater, in collaboration with an international ensemble of professional dancers from Asia, Africa, South America and the United States.

Through community workshops, the dancers collaborate with seniors from the Chinatown community who practice folk dance weekly at the Pao Arts Center. The performance incorporates elements based on the flocking behavior of birds, exploring similarities between the movements found in human cultures, with relatable content about migration and immigration. The dance piece uses creativity and culture to improve community health and well-being.

The performance will take place at the Rose Kennedy Greenway - Chinatown Park, and is funded in part by Boston Cultural Council; Eastern Bank; and the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

Contact: Vanessa Woo | 617-863-9080

About the event:

Bring your family members of all ages to BCNC Quincy's second annual Family Fun Fair! 

This FREE event brings children and families together for an afternoon of outdoor summer fun and entertainment. Activities and attractions include arts and crafts, family competitions, a bouncy house, a petting zoo, and more. 

The day will also feature a reunion for BCNC Child Care Programs.

Volunteers needed to help with this event. Please click here to register.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Jean Quintal, 617-603-2540.

Special thanks to our 50th Anniversary sponsors:

Nancy Wang Adams and Scott A. Schoen * Bank of America * The Blossom Fund * Capital One * Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation * Larry and Atsuko Fish * Harvard Pilgrim Health Care * Liberty Mutual Insurance * Ong Family Foundation * Eleanor and Frank Pao * Riemer Braunstein LLP * South Cove Community Health Center * State Street Corporation * TA Realty * TJX * Tufts Medical Center

Special thanks to our Quincy Family Fun Fair sponsors:

Join us for our Acorn, Red Oak, and Family Child Care program reunions! If you have been a teacher, staff, alum, volunteer, or parent at any of BCNC’s childcare programs, we’d love to see you there!

Our reunion will take place at the Quincy Family Fun Fair.

Please register by June 21st for this free event so we know you are coming. The first 50 people to register for one of our program reunions will get a small thank-you gift from BCNC. Follow this event on Facebook to get updates.

Contact: Julia Deng | 617-635-5129 x1098

Host Committee: Lai Chan, Kathy Cheng, Peter Kiang, Denise Lau, Jeff Wong, Sheila Wong, Victoria Yue

You are invited to the ribbon cutting and open house for our new location in Quincy Center. Refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public. This event will serve as BCNC’s 2019 annual meeting.

Please use the form below to register for this free event.

Contact: Julia Deng | 617-635-5129 x1098

As part of Artweek, join us on May 4th at 2PM outdoors at Rose Kennedy Greenway - Chinatown Park for excerpts from Company One Theatre's production of Qui Nguyen's Vietgone, plus special open-mic-style performances from Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston! The performances will be followed by cake and refreshments at the Pao Arts Center in celebration of its second birthday.

Please note that in the event of rain, the performances will be moved to Pao Arts Center.

After the event, head over to Pao Arts Center for an interactive workshop with Artist-in-Residence Yu-Wen Wu, part of the Leavings/Belongings project.

In addition, at 8pm that evening, you can join us at the Boston Center for the Arts for a full performance of VIETGONE! Get your tickets here!

About Company One Theatre
Company One Theatre builds community at the intersection of art and social change. Founded in 1998, Company One has situated itself as a home for social justice and artistic excellence by connecting Boston’s diverse communities through live performance, the development of new plays and playwrights, arts education, and public engagement programming. By establishing a dedicated space for marginalized and alternative narratives to thrive and working with partners and collaborators across the city, Company One has become a local leader in the ongoing conversations that continue to define the era of social change in contemporary America.

About Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston
AATAB is a collective formed to connect and empower the Asian American, MENA American, Kanaka Maoli, and Pacific-Islander American Boston theatre artists.

Contact: Vanessa Woo | 617-863-9080

Hosted by:

Acclaimed songwriter musician Julian Saporiti brings his No-No Boy project, an innovative blend of music and scholarship, to Pao Arts Center. Working from years of doctoral research at Brown University, Saporiti has transformed Asian American histories into an immersive multimedia concert using original folk songs and archival projections to create what NPR has called "an act of revisionist subversion." This concert will focus on a selection of songs from Saporiti's vast catalogue that highlight his family's history as Vietnamese refugees, as well as a suite of songs that look at diverse stories from North America's Chinatowns. 

Suggested donation for the event: $10. All proceeds support arts programming at the Pao Arts Center.

About the Artists:

No-No Boy is a multimedia concert featuring the music of singer/songwriter Julian Saporiti. Inspired by his doctoral research at Brown University, as well as his experiences growing up as the son of a Vietnamese refugee in Tennessee, Saporiti’s original songs, interwoven amongst stories he has collected through the years, are performed against a backdrop of projections displaying archival photographs and films. No-No Boy creates an immersive experience which shines a light on diverse but interconnected histories: WWII Japanese Incarceration, southeast Asian refugees, and kids in middle-America making sense of hyphenated identities.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA green, red, and orange lines.

Contact: Vanessa Woo | 617-863-9080

Silent Flight is a site-responsive and improvisational dance piece directed by Wendy Jehlen, Artistic Director of ANIKAYA Dance Theater, in collaboration with an international ensemble of professional dancers from Asia, Africa, South America and the United States.

Through community workshops, the dancers collaborate with seniors from the Chinatown community who practice folk dance weekly at the Pao Arts Center. The performance incorporates elements based on the flocking behavior of birds, exploring similarities between the movements found in human cultures, with relatable content about migration and immigration. The dance piece uses creativity and culture to improve community health and well-being.

The performance will take place at the Rose Kennedy Greenway - Chinatown Park, and is funded in part by Boston Cultural Council; Eastern Bank; and the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

Contact: Vanessa Woo | 617-863-9080

Ever wanted to learn about the world of podcasting? Or to start your own podcast? We have something for you! PRX Podcast Garage will be holding their podcast orientation at the Pao Arts Center in March.

Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. In this orientation, PRX Podcast Garage will equip you with the knowledge and lingo to begin your podcast journey. 

More than 650 people have attended PRX’s popular orientation with the intention of starting their audio journey. After this orientation, you will know:

• The landscape of podcast makers, distributors, and listeners

• How to identify different podcast styles

• The seven steps of producing a podcast - including gear, software, and setting up your RSS Feed

• What support the PRX Podcast Garage can offer you

Tickets are $10.

To sign up, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/is-this-thing-on-an-orientation-to-podcasting-at-pao-arts-center-tickets-55000003491

About PRX:

PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences. PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA Green, Red, and Orange lines.

Contact: Vanessa Woo | 617-863-9080

11.6.18 - REGISTRATION IS NOW FULL ! Please email cynthia.woo@bcnc.net to be added to the waiting list.

Don't miss the opportunity to work with Sara Porkalob, award-winning storyteller activist based in Seattle. Storytelling is one of the most rigorous tools we have to fight oppression and social injustice and this three hour workshop provides accessible creative strategies to individuals interested in pairing activism with their specific practice via storytelling. In partner and individual exercises, we will engage in a series of written and performative fast-paced content generative prompts. You’ll learn how to create a dynamic physical world out of nothing and play multiple characters, all the while using YOUR unique strengths and truths to engage your audience towards a shared goal. Stories can change the world. Share yours.

Participants will need: something to write with, something to write on (ideally not an electronic device), a water-bottle, and comfortable clothing.

Funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Suggested Pay-What-You-Can Donation: $20 including dinner and workshop

About Sara Porkalob:

Sara Porkalob is an award winning storyteller activist based in Seattle. She served as Intiman Theatre's 2017 Co-Curator and is the Managing Director for their Emerging Artist Program. Dragon Lady, her first full length work, has garnered a Seattle Times Footlight Award, Broadway World Award for “Best New Play”, and is nominated for three Gregory Awards (Best Musical Production, Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and Outstanding Sound/Music Design). She was one of the first recipients of a Village Theatre Original Writers Residency and is a Nominee for the 2019 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities. In spring of 2019, American Repertory Theatre will produce Dragon Lady and Dragon Mama, the first two solo-shows in her family trilogy THE DRAGON CYCLE . Her new play 7th and Jackson--a coming-of-age tale about three young women set in 1940's Seattle's International District and accompanied by live music--will be produced by Nordo's Culinarium in July 2019. This fall and winter, she is teaching and focusing on writing her family memoir/cookbook/graphic novel.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA Green, Red, and Orange lines.

Contact: Cynthia Woo | 617-863-9071

Chinatown Presents two nights of storytelling across neighborhood borders with partners PRX Podcast Garage and Dudley Café.

What if we treat our life stories like the most powerful tools for social change we have? PRX Podcast Garage, the BCNC Pao Arts Center, and Dudley Café join together to showcase ten stories about immigration, cultural visibility/invisibility, multicultural parenting and representation in education as told by everyday community members.

After four weeks of storytelling workshops, ten participants are ready to share their personal stories!

These stories will be shared at Dudley Café on October 19th and at the BCNC Pao Arts Center on October 26th. We hope you can join us at both locations and celebrate these stories with us!

• Dudley Café

  • Colgan Johnson

  • Rosann Tung

  • Katherine Djom

  • Tammarrah A. Lee

  • Jane Reed

• Pao Arts Center

  • Monica Scrobotovici

  • Nanthana Nicol

  • Julia Chen

  • Bo

  • Krina Patel

Suggested donation: $10

About PRX: PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences. PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA Green, Red, and Orange lines.

Contact: Karthik Submaranian | 617-863-9072

Chinatown Presents two nights of storytelling across neighborhood borders with partners PRX Podcast Garage and Dudley Café.

What if we treat our life stories like the most powerful tools for social change we have? PRX Podcast Garage, the BCNC Pao Arts Center, and Dudley Café join together to showcase ten stories about immigration, cultural visibility/invisibility, multicultural parenting, and representation in education as told by everyday community members.

After four weeks of storytelling workshops, ten participants are ready to share their personal stories!

These stories will be shared at Dudley Café on October 19th and at the BCNC Pao Arts Center on October 26th. We hope you can join us at both locations and celebrate these stories with us!

• Dudley Café

  • Colgan Johnson

  • Rosann Tung

  • Katherine Djom

  • Tammarrah A. Lee

  • Jane Reed

• Pao

  • Monica Scrobotovici

  • Nanthana Nicol

  • Julia Chen

  • Bo

  • Krina Patel

Suggested donation: $10

About PRX: PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences. PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA Green, Red, and Orange lines.

Contact: Karthik Submaranian | 617-863-9072