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Pao Arts Center

Name: Pao Arts Center
Address: 99 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02111, US
Telephone: +16178639080

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany Street, Boston, MA.

Pao Arts Center was established in 2017 as a visionary program collaboration between Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) and Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) as Chinatown’s first arts and cultural center. Pao Arts Center’s mission is to celebrate and strengthen the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community of Chinatown and Greater Boston through access to culturally relevant art, educatio

n, and creative programs. Pao Arts Center sits on a historically significant piece of land, Parcel 24, where hundreds of Chinatown residents were displaced in the 1960s in order to build a highway on-ramp. The redevelopment of this land as a place to celebrate and explore Asian culture represents a powerful shift towards community-oriented development in the face of gentrification and the belief that investing in arts, culture, and creativity are vital to the health, well-being, and vibrancy of communities.

08/31/2026

🎉 Huge thank-you to the 26 volunteers who came out over the past two weeks to support our muralists during installation! The Experience Chinatown murals project wouldn't have been possible without your invaluable behind-the-scenes work. We see you, and we appreciate you!

🖼️ Murals will be on view at locations throughout the neighborhood as part of our Experience Chinatown festival, starting tomorrow, August 29, through October 18. Check the link in our bio for the full map of mural locations.

✨ Experience Chinatown to discover a new take on Asian American cultures — see, hear, create, and connect. Together, let's celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities for all.

Learn more about Experience Chinatown on our website: https://www.paoartscenter.org/events/ec26

📸 Photo credit: Pao Arts Center Staff

08/27/2026

Join us for a 🚶‍♀️ walking tour of Chinatown to see this year's Experience Chinatown murals 🎨 and hear from each artist about their unique interpretation of this year's theme: "What makes Chinatown abundant?" 🌸 This year, artists have been partnered with local businesses to create one-of-a-kind painted murals that respond to the theme.

Every fall 🍂, the streets of Boston's Chinatown come alive with newly commissioned window murals by local AAPI artists created in collaboration with neighborhood businesses as part of the Experience Chinatown Festival. 🏮

📌 RSVP required--https://www.paoartscenter.org/events/2026/ecmuraltour
☔ Rain date: Thursday, September 17 | 6:00 - 7:30 PM

This program is part of the current exhibit, "Tracing Our Footprints/Carving Chinatown's Future," on view at Pao Arts Center through October 17.

📸 Photo credit: The Chinatown Project

08/25/2026

Catching up with our Artist-in-Residence, Amanda 陳 Beard Garcia, as she completes her first month 🎨 She's been exploring Chinatown's restaurant legacies as neighborhood anchors, family business opportunities, and gateways to immigration and citizenship.

Thank you to ponnapa prakkamakul, and CHSNE for welcoming Amanda into your spaces for this immersive work. Swipe through the photos, and let us know what's resonating from her first month of research and community engagement!

1. Amanda visited the BCNC Summer Youth Mural group, a 6-week program led by ponnapa prakkamakul. In a 2-hour workshop, she shared pieces of her family's and Boston Chinatown's history, walked students through designing a mural from start to finish, and led a reflection activity on sentimental third spaces.

2. Amanda joined Events Associate Ashley Jin at the Chinese Progressive Association's Chinatown Stabilization Block Party, where they ran a creative activity 🏮 asking: "What restaurant or food spot (past or present) in Chinatown means the most to you, and why?"

3. Amanda took a Chinatown walking tour with Alice Kane, Managing Director of CHSNE — pictured here at Oxford Place.

4. Amanda has been spending weekly sessions at CHSNE digitizing their Chinese Menu collection 📕 So far she's logged over 130 vintage menus from across Greater Boston, including one from Polynesian Village — the Westbrook, Maine restaurant her grandparents ran from 1975–1980! 🏝️

5. Amanda admired a floor-to-ceiling replica of Wen-Ti Tsen and David Fichter's 1986 "Unity and Community" mural, once located at BCNC's current headquarters on Ash St.

6. She checked out progress at 55 Hudson St, where a permanent Chinatown Branch Library and affordable housing are finally underway 🏢

7. Amanda said hi to Emily Kwong as she painted her joyful lion dancer murals at Q Restaurant for Experience Chinatown!

08/20/2026

📣 We're looking for volunteers for Experience Chinatown, happening Saturday, 9/26 (rain date: Sunday, 9/27)! This is a great opportunity to help bring our signature annual event to life. Volunteers will help greet visitors, assist with arts activities, and more.

📝 Register to volunteer by Wednesday, 9/16. All volunteers must attend an online information session on Wednesday, 9/23, from 5:30–6:00 PM.

🔗 Sign up online today: https://www.paoartscenter.org/ec26-volunteering

🎨 What is Experience Chinatown? It's your chance to discover a new take on Asian American cultures — see, hear, create, and connect. Together, we'll celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through free creative activities for all.

🗓️ Key dates:

Murals on view: 8/29 – 10/18
Live performances, activities, and exhibits: Saturday, 9/26 (rain date: Sunday, 9/27)

Photo Credit: Olivia Moon Photography

08/12/2026

🎨 Join us this Friday! We're excited to invite you to the Experience Chinatown Youth Mural Unveiling and Public Presentation, at 2pm at BCNC, 38 Ash Street, Boston!

🌱 Over the past several weeks, eight dedicated youth artists have created a mural inspired by this year's theme, "What Makes Chinatown Abundant?" Through the process, they explored storytelling, community connection, and creative expression.

☀️ Even through last week's extreme heat, our youth stayed committed — writing thoughtful invitations to community members, including BCNC staff, fellow muralists, and guest speakers. Their care and intention shine through every part of this project.

📣 With guidance from teaching artist ponnapa prakkamakul and support from Communications and Development Manager Wes Boudreau, the youth also learned about branding and outreach, gaining hands-on insight into how to share their work with the wider community.

🙌 We'd love for you to celebrate this meaningful culmination of learning, collaboration, and reflection with us. We hope to see you there!

08/09/2026

🏮 Experience Chinatown is where you can discover a new take on Asian American cultures — see, hear, create, and connect! Together, celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston's Chinatown through free creative activities for all, presented by Pao Arts Center.

🎉 Come to Chinatown to support local businesses, experience breathtaking murals, and celebrate together with free performances, activities, and exhibits on Saturday, September 26 (rain date: Sunday, September 27)! 🖼️ Murals will be up to enjoy from August 29 – October 18.

🔗 Check out the festival website for more about the muralists, performers, activities, and exhibits: https://www.paoartscenter.org/events/ec26

Photo Credit: Olivia Moon Photography

08/08/2026

🖼️ We officially began installing our youth mural last week on the first-floor windows at BCNC at 38 Ash Street!

🎨 After four weeks of learning, building relationships, and exploring the histories and people of Boston Chinatown, our youth muralists spent the following week refining their design through feedback sessions with community members. With the final mural drafted on paper, they have now begun painting the four window panels.

🖌️ From preparing tarps and taping window frames to tracing the design and painting at a large public scale, the youth have experienced every step of creating a community mural. Along the way, they've developed new artistic skills while learning what it takes to bring a public artwork to life through collaboration, creativity, and care.

📅 We invite you to celebrate their hard work at the public mural presentation on Friday, August 14, at 2:00 PM at BCNC's Ash Street location. Join us to hear the stories behind the mural, meet the youth artists, and celebrate this collaborative artwork with our community!

💛 Bloomberg Arts Initiative, ponnapa prakkamakul, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center - BCNC, Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture Boston

08/07/2026

🌀 The call for artists for “Emerging from Rupture: Chinese Adoptee Voices” closes at midnight this Sunday, August 9! 🌀

In a recent interview with Boston Neighborhood Network (BNNMEDIA), our very own Visual Arts Manager Maia Erslev shared thoughts on their identity as a q***r Chinese adoptee, and on their work as a board member of China’s Children International (China's Children International).

Maia also shared why the upcoming exhibit at Pao Arts Center matters, “Many Chinese adoptee stories were told by their parents and so it’s kind of the first opportunity, the first moment right now, where we’re finally of an age and in positions where we can tell our own stories.”

This fall, Pao Arts Center is proud to present one of the first exhibits of its kind that features solely Chinese adoptee artists and their narratives. If you’re a Chinese adoptee artist ready to share your voice, we want to hear from you!

📅 Open call closes Sunday, August 9
🔗 Links in bio to submit and to view the full interview (interview begins at timestamp 11:45)

07/31/2026

🎨 Take a look inside the process of our Summer Youth Mural Program! 🖌️

🤝 Over the past few weeks, our BAI summer interns have been deep in collaboration with the Experience Chinatown muralist cohort — trading feedback, joining hands-on design sessions, and even taking a field trip to the ICA/Boston!

✏️ From early sketches to evolving concepts, our youth participants are exploring how public art can reflect community voices and lived experience. Through this intergenerational exchange, they're building creative confidence — and real connections along the way.

🌟 This program celebrates more than just the final mural. It's about the relationships, questions, and ideas that shape it.

💛 We're so grateful for our continued partnership with the Bloomberg Arts Internship program and look forward to more collaboration ahead!

07/31/2026

REMINDER: applications for this call are due by August 9!

🌀 CALL FOR ARTISTS: Emerging from Rupture: Chinese Adoptee Voices 🌀

Are you a Chinese adoptee artist whose work explores adoptee identity? We want to hear from you!

This exhibit, one of the first of its kind to center Chinese adoptee voices, invites artists of all mediums to share their lived experiences and creative expressions that emerge as they negotiate, reimagine, and reclaim their complex identities.

This call for artists is organized around the Adoptee Consciousness Model — an academic framework that traces the nonlinear, ever-evolving path of adoptee identity. Learn more about the model at adopteeconsciousness.com.

Selected artists receive an honorarium and the opportunity to connect with other Chinese adoptee artists and a large community of AAPI artists through Pao Arts Center. The application is now open — link in bio to learn more and to apply!

🗓️ Key Dates:
Exhibit on view November 12, 2026 - January 15, 2027

Aug 9 | Application deadline
Nov 12 | Opening Reception at Pao Arts Center (all selected artists required to attend)

This exhibit will be curated by Maia Erslev (they/them), Visual Arts Manager at Pao Arts Center and a Chinese adoptee. Questions? Reach out to [email protected].

Learn more and apply: https://www.paoartscenter.org/call-for-artists-rupture

Graphic by Dana Balletta

Address

99 Albany Street
Boston, MA
02111

Opening Hours

Wednesday	1pm - 5pm
Thursday	1pm - 6pm
Friday	1pm - 5pm
Saturday	1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16178639080

Website

http://paoartscenter.org/

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