History Walk: Asian Americans and the Downtown Arts Scene, 1980–2000

Many talented artists of Asian descent helped define the vibrant art scene in downtown New York in the last decades of the 20th century, including some in China Institute Gallery’s current exhibition, Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation. On World AIDS Day, we will remember their contributions and those who lost their lives during the AIDS crisis by tracing their steps on the trendy Lower East Side and East Village. Artists highlighted in this walk may include Ching Ho Cheng, Chuang Che, David Diao, Ming Fay, Tehching Hsieh, Ma Hao, Anna Sui, Tan Dun, Tseng Kwong Chi, Muna Tseng, and Martin Wong. The sites to be visited include where they exhibited, worked, and hung out with peers.

Whether you are a local who knows these neighborhoods well or just visiting the city, join us for this unique art historian’s perspective on downtown New York, a chance to see its streets not just as they are today, but as the vibrant canvas for a generation of transformative artists.

The tour begins from the Lower East Side, inside the Delancey St – Essex St subway station on the downtown F-Train platform at 1 PM. Run time is approximately 2 hours. The tour totals 3 miles of walking on uneven terrain on the Lower East Side, East Village, SoHo, Tribeca, and Chinatown, making brief standing stops at each selected site. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. The tour will proceed rain or shine; in the event of extreme weather that requires a tour cancellation, we will contact registered guests in advance.

The tour is limited to a maximum of 20 people. Reservations close two hours before the scheduled start time. For more information, please contact Tracy Jiao at dGppYW8gfCBjaGluYWluc3RpdHV0ZSAhIG9yZw==.

Image: Martin Wong (1964-1999). Canal Street, 1992. Acrylic on canvas. 72 x 96 ins. (182.9 x 243.8 cm). Collection of The New-York Historical, Purchase, Watson Fund, 2000.6ab. Copyright Martin Wong Foundation. Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York.

Program guide’s bio:

Kelly Ma is a curator and writer based in New York. She organizes exhibitions and museum education programs internationally to broaden art historical narratives. Ma held various curatorial and programming roles at Asia Society Museum in New York from 2013 to 2025, and was most recently Curator, Learning & Outreach. She oversaw the Museum’s public programs and international conferences for arts professionals, including the Arts & Museum Summit, and their related publications. Her programs brought together artists, scholars, and thinkers to speak on subjects ranging from aesthetics, food, literature, music, and urban planning. While living in Hong Kong from 2021 to 2024, she first served as Deputy Director at Para Site, where she led strategic planning, and later as Curator of Public Programmes at M+, where she envisioned discursive programs, including the Lars Nittve Keynote Lectures. As Project Manager at artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s studio in New York from 2009 to 2013, she oversaw Cai’s exhibitions worldwide, including at the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Her bilingual writing has been published in the Taiwanese art magazine ARTCO, and anthologies Hidden Realms: Korean Artists Today (ArtAsiaPacific, 2024); and Great Women Painters (Phaidon, 2022).

Supporters of the exhibition “Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation” and its accompanying public programs are the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Abel and Sophia Sheng, Su Xiaobai Foundation, Alisan Fine Arts New York, and other individuals and institutional funders.

Also check out other Arts events in Lake Park, Exhibitions in Lake Park, Literary Art events in Lake Park.