PHILADELPHIA — Shedding light on the evolution and expansion of Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) communities through photography, Chinatown’s Asian Arts Initiative presents Into the Picture: Images of Asian Pacific America by Corky Lee. On view Sept. 4-Oct. 5, the exhibition walks viewers through images of labor, protest and resistance, as well as the celebrations, rituals and gatherings that have defined the socio-political and cultural landscape of APIA communities over the past five decades.
New York-based photojournalist and self-described “unofficial and undisputed Asian American Photographer Laureate,” Corky Lee is the most prolific photographer of the APIA experience working today. He employs a trademark bystander perspective, capturing personal stories amid chaotic public spheres — from images of police brutality and hate crime memorials to snapshots of parades and celebrations.
A second-generation Chinese American, Lee started his photojournalistic career in junior high school when he saw a photograph commemorating the 1869 completion of the Transcontinental Railroad that failed to include any Chinese workers despite the fact that thousands of them had worked and sacrificed their lives during its construction. Ever since, Lee has wielded a camera like a sword “to combat indifference, justice and discrimination,” chronicling scenes of the mundane to the explosive in the everyday lives of Asian Pacific Americans and capturing the nuances of all the moments in between.
“It’s an honor to host Corky Lee and his work,” says Gayle Isa, executive director at Asian Arts Initiative. “I’ve always been inspired by his passion and his persistence in documenting our communities, and I especially admire how he has often been able to see his role as a photographer as a community organizer catalyzing tangible, positive change.”
In the early 1970s, for example, Lee helped to organize a community health fair in response to perceived inequality in access to health care in NYC’s Chinatown. The fair resulted in the creation of a permanent health center in the neighborhood.
Concurrent with the Corky Lee exhibition, local photographer Jano Cohen’s The Vibrant Community of Philadelphia Chinatown: A Work in Progress documents the city’s Chinatown neighborhood through portraiture. By photographing community members as they work, worship, shop and play, Cohen hopes to “raise awareness of communities in need. Tourists and families come to Chinatown to enjoy the great selection of restaurants and experience Chinese New Year, but beyond the traditional Chinese gate is a complex commercial and residential community that is home to immigrants from many Pacific Asian countries, as well as their American-born children.” Cohen will introduce the project, as well as participating community members in attendance, at an opening reception on Friday, Sept. 7.
Schedule of Events
Into the Picture: Images of Asian Pacific America by Corky Lee
The Vibrant Community of Philadelphia Chinatown: A Work in Progress
On view Sept. 4 – Oct. 5, 2012
Opening Reception with Jano Cohen: Friday, Sept. 7, 6 p.m.
Artist Reception with Corky Lee: Friday, Sept. 28, 5:30 p.m.
First Friday Open House: Friday, Oct. 5, 6 p.m..
