Portland Chinatown Museum
Images and text by Dean Wong, 2018
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA (2018-08-16) by Portland Chinatown MuseumPortland Chinatown Museum
Celebrating Portland's Chinatown
A collection of photographs by acclaimed photographer Dean Wong, Made in Chinatown, USA documents the vibrancy, beauty, and pride of Chinatown and its people. It opened in 2018 as the inaugural exhibition for the Portland Chinatown Museum.
Dean Wong: Self Portrait (2016) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
About Dean Wong
Dean Wong is an artist based in Seattle, Washington. Born and raised in Seattle Chinatown, he has photographed his community for over 40 years. He has photographed Chinatowns in Seattle, Vancouver B.C., San Francisco, Oakland, New York, and Portland.
Learn more about the scenes captured in Made in Chinatown, USA by reading Dean's own words on documenting the places and people that make Portland's Chinatown so wonderfully unique. Of his storytelling that accompanies each portrait, Wong writes, "It is my wish that through my work, people gain a better understanding of the Asian community and the cultural diversity that is such an important part of our lives in this country."
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Chinatown Organizations Remain (2018-02-18) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
My primary motivation as an artist is to capture life in the Chinatowns of America as I see it. I’m a street photographer, capturing moments in life others don’t see. As an artist, I also paint and sketch scenes of interest to me. The theme of my art is Chinese America.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Chinatown Convenience Store (2018-05-17) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
Chinatown Convenience Store
I love the Chinatown Convenience Store. It’s not shiny and new like those chain operations. This store is Chinatown ghetto. And I say that with the utmost respect. After all it’s in the Hip Sing Building, one of the few remaining historical structures in Chinatown.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Hip Sing Association building (2018-06-13) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
Hip Sing Association Building
A homeless man passes the Hip Sing Association and the Chinatown Convenience Store with his possessions piled high on shopping cart. Recent brutal winters in Portland took the lives of some living on the streets.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Yat Sing John Lee (2018-08-14) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
Yat Sing John Lee
John Lee has been the leader of the Yat Sing Music Club for about twenty years. Without a venue to stage shows, the club performs at Chinese banquets in front of crowds as large as 250 on average. The shows are done in full costumes and in Cantonese.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - N.W. Chinese Fistology Lion Dancer (2018-06-13) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
N.W. Chinese Fistology Lion Dancer
Tradition may have taken awhile to change, but now it’s common to see women and girls doing the lion dance. They say it takes a year of kung fu training to acquire the skills. The confidence and poise of this lion dancer caught my eye.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Red Robe Tea House and Cafe (2018-05-17) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
Red Robe Tea House and Cafe
The store and café is a refreshing change to an old Chinatown battered and bruised by time. Red Robe is a beautiful place. You just want to be there. It’s like a shiny nugget in an otherwise bleak landscape.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Chen's Good Taste Restaurant (2018-05-17) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
Chen’s Good Taste Restaurant
Looking out the window, I see two Chinese women greeting a Good Taste employee pushing a hand truck full of vegetables. It’s a happy scene. It’s a brief moment, but it’s a sign of life in Chinatown, though it may be rare and fleeting.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatonw, USA - Golden Horse Restaurant (2018-05-17) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
Golden Horse Restaurant
Standing behind the counter of the Golden Horse Restaurant owner Sophie Li remembers when Portland Chinatown was full of life. “Before there were lots of people living here. In the old days, lots of Chinese people. Chinatown was more busy."
To learn more about Dean Wong and his work, click on the link to watch: On Memory and Public Space with Photographer Dean Wong.
To view images from Dean Wong's second show at the Portland Chinatown Museum, click on the link to learn more about: The Future of Chinatown: Decisive Moments.
