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This venue is closed until September, 2008.

Nestled discreetly on the second story of an old schoolhouse, the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) celebrates the fusion of Chinese and American lifestyles. In 1980, Jack Tchen and Charlie Lai began this community-based project to document the memories of first-generation Chinese-Americans, and more importantly, the cultural result of this blended heritage. The small, two-gallery installation is dedicated to uncovering and displaying information about the Chinese immigration to the Western Hemisphere. Its collection of unusual artifacts—from a Cantonese opera costume to old store signs—attempt to answer the museum’s overarching question: Where is home? Visitors can fill out forms with personal answers to this query, or explore an interactive multimedia timeline of the changing profile of New York’s Chinatown. This permanent fixture of the Museum deals with migration, women, faith, youth and home. Each season, MoCA also adopts a theme that is explored through other colorful exhibits, as well as city events that bring together the Chinese-American community. The museum also showcases Asian-American artists who, through multiple media, delve into topics as broad as the first Chinese restaurants in the Western hemisphere to the historical gems discarded in a Chinatown dumpster. — Lindsay Damast

Available on a range of levels, beginning with student/senior at $25. Get a 20% discount at the Museum Shop, free admission, as well as special invitations to previews and events, and the museum’s publications.

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