There’s a new exhibition opening today at the Museum of Chinese in America. It’s Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America.
The heart of the show is a video installation that tells the stories of more than 30 Asian-American chefs and food entrepreneurs. The curators have set up several large video monitors around a huge table adorned with custom ceramic sculptures.
There was a press preview yesterday morning. The museum explains:
Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy invites the audience into a conversation about the meaning of Chinese food as a platform for experimentation, a test of authenticity, a means of immigrant survival, and a microcosm of Chinese culture. Following on the success of MOCA’s 2004 exhibit Have You Eaten Yet?, this new exhibit Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy dives deep into individual journeys, exploring how food represents a cultural form of expression and identity heavily influenced by life experiences and geographical landscapes. The exhibit weaves together the complex stories through a dynamic video installation featuring pioneering chefs such as Cecilia Chiang, Ken Hom, Anita Lo, Ming Tsai, and Martin Yan; new restaurateurs like Peter Chang, Vivian Ku, and Danny Bowien; and persevering home cooks like Biying Ni, Yvette Lee and Ho-chin Yang.
MOCA, located at 215 Centre St., is offering free admission today (you can stop by any time before 9 p.m.) The exhibition runs through March of next year.
In conjunction with the show, there will be a number of public programs, walking tours and gallery tours. You can learn more about what’s scheduled on the museum’s website. See below for a video preview of the exhibition.
Sour Sweet Bitter Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America Preview from Museum of Chinese in America on Vimeo.
