How 5 NYC Photographers Celebrated Lunar New Year in 2023
To celebrate this Lunar New Year, Asian American Arts Alliance commissioned five AAPI photographers based in NYC to document their celebrations.
Untitled (2023) by Cal HsiaoAsian American Arts Alliance
Celebrating Year of the Rabbit
Hear from AAPI photographers in their own words, reflecting upon Lunar New Year and how they relate to the holiday.
1. Marion Aguas
"I was drawn to documenting Bubble_T, the queer AAPI dance party collective, like a moth to a flame: it’s the perfect blend of fashion, horniness, good lighting, sick beats, chismis ('gossip' in Tagalog), and social stratification that makes it impossible to take a bad photo."
2. Alec Dai
"Families, including mine, gather for dinner on Lunar New Year’s Eve where you devour long noodles for long lives, eat steamed fish to sharpen your brains, and drink Merlot because your brother picked up wine tasting in college."
3. Cal Hsiao
"After I was outed, going home became sporadic. Family gatherings turned into sites where my sexuality was frequently contested...No longer connected to family who would otherwise guide me through celebrations and customs, I began to recontextualize these traditions for myself."
4. Elinor Kry
"I didn’t really celebrate Lunar New Year growing up because my parents did not know how to celebrate it — my mom lived with an American foster family and my dad spent time away at a boarding school on scholarship."
5. Anh Nguyen
"The idea behind my photo series, 'Mâm Cơm Ngày Tết,' which refers to the spread of food eaten around Lunar New Year, is to capture the feeling of togetherness that comes from being at a shared meal during the holiday."
Untitled (2023) by Anh NguyenAsian American Arts Alliance
Embracing Difference
Between intimate family reunions to dancing at the club, these images prove there is no right or wrong way to gather for Lunar New Year.
