Arts

March 2, 2024 0

Wu Tsang’s ‘Of Whales’ Lets You Immerse Yourself Into the World of Ocean Life

Of Whales by artist Wu Tsang is a gently calming, fully engrossing exhibit in the heart of the Institute of Contemporary Art– first presented at the Venice Biennale in 2022. On display now until Aug 4th the giant, 40-50ft long screen which displays the piece is in the Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser and Fotene Demoulas Galleries. This major work is premiering in New England in a gallery that is positioned above the Boston Harbor. According to the accompanying museum label, […]

February 16, 2024 0

The Final Bow: The Life and Legacy of Maestro Seiji Ozawa

by Damica Feliciano

Famed maestro Seiji Ozawa, who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra for longer than any other conductor at nearly three decades, died last Tuesday at age 88. The eccentric Japanese director will be remembered for his commitment to his craft, attention-grabbing stage presence, and his continual love for the city of Boston. He passed away on February 6 at his home in Tokyo from heart failure, according to a spokesperson for the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland. Ozawa was championed as […]

February 3, 2024 0

Chinatown Worker Statues Show the ‘Greatness of Our Immigrant Community’

by Brandon Wong

[Editor’s Note: SAMPAN first spoke with sculptor Wen-Ti Tsen nearly two years ago as he was preparing for the opening of his exhibit “Chinatown Worker Statues: A Statue In the Making.” As noted in his artist statement, the mission of this art is to examine “the intersectionalities of people, work, and forms of social constructs.” The exhibit opened October 27, 2023. Interested readers can still see the exhibit through its closing day, February 17, 2024.] Arranging the assorted tools at […]

January 13, 2024 0

Representation, Discrimination, and Stereotypes in Ballet

by Angela Yuan

The classical art form of ballet that we know today was established in 18th century Europe. Many different countries such as Russia, France, Italy, and Germany, developed their own style of ballet that corresponded with the influences of the time. Around the 20th century, the art form spread across the world and widely retained the European style choreography until recently. In the United States, more and more companies are straying away from pure Eurocentric traditions and incorporating more diverse cultural […]

January 13, 2024 0

“Objects of Addiction” Exhibit Confronts America’s Profiteering in China’s Opium Wars

by Ryan Lundgren

At the entrance to “Objects of Addiction” , a new exhibit at the Harvard Art Museums, is displayed, front and center, a very large opium smoking pipe. Its size and elaborate design indicate that it was not a commoner’s opium pipe. This piece, being chosen as the front facing display of the exhibition, speaks to the widespread use of opium in China during the Opium War period and the powerfully consuming and destructive nature of this addiction. The Opium Wars […]

December 23, 2023 0

Lunchbox Moments Interview with Artist Aime Bantz

by Harmony Witte

Step into the Pao Arts Center in Chinatown before Feb 17th of 2024 and you will be greeted with colorful walls covered in metal lunchboxes with phrases painted on them. The phrases are distilled from stories by people in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community who attended workshops with artist Aime Bantz. She wrote down the encounters they shared with her during communal meal times throughout their lives. Some of these encounters were positive moments of cultural exchange, but […]

December 9, 2023 0

Artist Tammy Nguyen Asks, ‘What Is A Farm?’

by Harmony Witte

In Tammy Nguyen’s self-titled exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, she repeats a question that was originally posed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What is a farm but a mute Gospel?” It’s a question that Nguyen is prepared to try to answer through her paintings, collage, and self-published art books in the exhibit. Nguyen is a talented artist, born 1984 in San Francisco.Her father was a Vietnamese refugee. Her work spans several disciplines across environmental, geopolitical, and spiritual […]

November 3, 2023 0

“Endurance Streets”: A History of Chinatown’s People in Pictures

by Mary Wong-Sommer

Endurance Streets: Resilience and Response in Boston’s Chinese Community is on display in special windows throughout Chinatown at 2 Boylston St. (China Trade Center) and 116 Harrison Ave. (Tufts University Health Sciences Building). The exhibition compiled over 30 panels with photographs and accompanying texts presenting scenes from Chinatown’s past and present with a focus on the people living and working in the neighborhood and the issues they have faced over the years… It is a collaboration between Tuft University’s Tisch […]

October 20, 2023 0

I See a Dream : Immigrant Artists Mural of Newfound Home in America

by Kristen Si

Last month, Watertown saw an addition to its growing collection of street art through the opening of a new mural created by artists Amir Tabatabaei and Niloufar Keyhani. Located on the wall of Watertown Square’s CVS, the new mural, titled “I See a Dream”, opened to a crowd of nearly 100 onlookers on September 19, 2023. The original wall is in an area of Watertown known as Merchant’s Row, and contains more than 1000 square feet of space that was […]

October 20, 2023 0

Blue Triangle Gallery: Opens with Brash Colors and Words

by Harmony Witte

There’s a new art gallery in Chinatown and it’s proving to be quite the hot spot. The Blue Triangle Gallery, at 17 Edinboro Street, invites visitors to climb a steep set of stairs to the 3rd floor and then they enter into a world of color and words The walls are currently covered in plywood and are wheat pasted from floor to ceiling with posters and framed art by prettycoolstrangers in his first gallery show and first offline art exhibition. […]

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