History of Chinatown In/Flux

Chinatown History

Founded in 1681 by William Penn, Philadelphia was originally a port city, strategically located between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. In the nineteenth century, this area of the city really developed into an industrial neighborhood. Large factories and warehouses replaced individual homes. The remnants of these buildings are still visible in the Chinatown area.

At first, this area mostly had British owned residential homes. By 1850 more and more factories were built and the British moved westward. Irish and German immigrants moved in to replace them. Commercial loft buildings and row houses replaced private homes. The area then began to deteriorate and from 1870 -1890 it became known as the 'city's 'tenderloin' district known for its burlesque theaters, hotels, and rooming houses'.

Church records indicate that the Chinese occupation in this area began during this time period as early as 1845. In 1870, Lee Fong opened the first laundry at 913 Race Street. A decade later his cousin opened the first restaurant on the floor above the laundry. Factory owners began recruiting Chinese from the West coast to come work in their factories, sometimes as strike breakers. With the influx of more immigrants into this area, laundries, restaurants, and eventually grocery stores began to be opened by Chinese. By 1890 this section of Center City was inhabited by approximately 700 Chinese and it became widely known as Philadelphia's Chinatown.

Most residents of Chinatown were originally from Canton, and almost all were men. Immigration law at this time prohibited Chinese women from entering the US to prevent more permanent, family-based communities from forming. Most Chinese came to the United States intending to be sojourners, people who came to work for a few years with plans to return to China eventually. In fact, the first Chinese woman to Philadelphia came not as a settler but as an exhibit. In 1835 19-year old Afong Moy came and amazed crowds by speaking in Chinese and eating with chopsticks!

Within the last century, the population of Chinatown has grown to approximately 4000 residents and this number continues to increase. The latest wave of immigration has come from the Fujian province in China. This area also has a significant presence from the Southeast Asian Community. The area now known as Chinatown in Philadelphia is located in Center City near the Delaware River and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Its borders are generally thought to be Arch street in the south, 8th street in the east, and 13th street in the west.

Background

The Asian Arts Initiative is a community arts center in Philadelphia that is grounded in the belief that the arts can provide an important political and cultural voice for Asian Americans. Our Gallery Program is a forum for emerging visual artists to engage Asian American communities through contemporary art exhibitions, workshops, and events that address our current social context and challenge how we look at art and who participates in its creation. Chinatown In/flux takes art outside of the traditional “vanilla box” of a gallery and instead situates installations in public and private sites throughout a neighborhood, mirroring our belief that art is integral to and integrated with everyday life.
 
In 2006 the Asian Arts Initiative presented Chinatown In/flux as a major exhibition with site-specific installations created by 7 artists at over a dozen diverse locations throughout Chinatown Philadelphia—from restaurants and storefronts to community centers and outdoor plazas—engaging residents and visitors alike to shift their perceptions of art and definitions of community. The exhibition was the culmination of an intensive two-year process of planning and community involvement, which we have begun again for Chinatown In/flux: Future Landscape. 

The Phases

We conceive of Future Landscape in two phases: Planning and Exhibition. The Planning Phase began with the artist application and project concepts. Our curatorial committee reviewed the applications and selected eight artist/teams for the Planning Phase. The selected artist/teams were expected to attend a planning retreat to meet with and give presentations to local community members; and then spend time identifying potential site locations and refining their project concepts. During the planning retreat and following, Asian Arts Initiative staff were available to assist the artists in building community relationships, researching sites, and provided feedback on the project concepts.
 
During the Planning Phase, artists were expected to develop full project proposals and project budgets, and made final project presentations to our curatorial committee members. Based on the project proposals and presentations, our curatorial committee selected four artists’ projects to include in the Exhibition Phase: Nadia Hironaka, Rebecca Hackemann, Jeremy Liu and Hiroko Kikuchi, and Jonathan and Kimberly Stemler.
 
Over the next year, the Asian Arts Initiative will be continue to plan, do research, gather materials, and work to support the artists and their amazing project proposals, set to launch in Spring 2009.