Talk Story – 1882 Foundation

Event Recap: Generations Talk Story

On July 27, 2025, the 1882 Foundation hosted a “Talk Story” event at its Washington, D.C. office to discuss the curatorial process behind Generations: Stories of Asian Americans in Richmond, an exhibition that opened earlier that month at The Valentine museum in Richmond, Virginia. Approximately 20 people attended the exhibition’s opening reception online and in-person, reflecting strong community interest. The panel conversation featured Ting-Yi Oei (Education Director, 1882 Foundation), Meg Hughes (Director of Collections and Exhibitions, The Valentine), Rosario Igaras (Asian American Society of Central Virginia), and Dave Pearson (photographer for the exhibition). The panelists discussed how the exhibition was created collaboratively, without a traditional curator, and with heavy involvement from community members, making it both a grassroots and museum-level storytelling project.

The exhibit features 32 photographic portraits of Asian Americans in the Richmond area, each accompanied by a first-person narrative and a meaningful object representing family, heritage, or memory. Participants were recruited through community outreach efforts—particularly during the annual Asian American Celebration hosted by AASOCV—and were encouraged to share personal, multigenerational stories that might otherwise be overlooked. Objects featured in the portraits included a Korean hanbok gifted to a Korean American adoptee, a family calendar page marking a birth during the Chinese Communist takeover, and a chef’s cleaver used to represent culinary lineage and identity. Some portraits feature families spanning generations, while others portray individuals navigating personal journeys of cultural connection, migration, or belonging.

Pearson emphasized that although he was not traditionally a portrait photographer, his approach prioritized storytelling over formality, often working with participants to select meaningful settings and poses that reflected their lives. He described photo shoots as spontaneous and collaborative—often involving humor, creative location choices, and sensitivity to each subject’s comfort level. Hughes explained that the exhibit design intentionally allowed the portraits to speak to one another thematically, highlighting shared cultural objects like instruments, clothing, and heirlooms while revealing deeper patterns of adaptation, identity, and intergenerational memory.

The exhibition’s title, Generations, reflects both the presence of multiple age groups and the idea of cultural transmission over time. Stories of resilience, immigration, adaptation, and reclaiming identity echoed throughout the discussion. Rosario noted the significance of representing diverse national origins—including Filipino, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese Americans—and how the exhibition fostered pride, visibility, and emotional connection within the Richmond Asian American community. Panelists also discussed design elements, including a logo by Korean American designer Emily Park, and the inclusion of maps and data visualizations contextualizing demographic growth in Richmond’s Asian American population since 2000.

Looking ahead, the panelists expressed enthusiasm for the exhibition’s future. In addition to running at The Valentine through Memorial Day 2026, it will be transformed into a digital exhibition to broaden access and longevity. Plans are underway for related public programming focused on intergenerational storytelling, school visits, and potential future iterations of the exhibition in other cities. The event closed with a thoughtful Q&A session, during which audience members asked about multigenerational representation, favorite portraits, the photography selection process, and the potential for touring the exhibit beyond Richmond. Panelists emphasized that community storytelling is both a tool for belonging and a source of joy—and affirmed that Generations is ultimately an invitation to listen, reflect, and celebrate shared humanity.

Written by Sraavya Chintalapati, 2025 Summer Intern, University of Texas, Austin ’24

by Ellen Feng

Event Recap: Talk Story: Zine Edition!

Talk Story, Event Recaps

On Thursday, June 26, 2025, the 1882 Foundation hosted a zine-making event at the 1882 office with 14 attendees. The goal of this event was to encourage attendees to share their own personal stories and create their own zine.

The event began with a round of introductions with all attendees sharing their names, where they were from, and their single chosen lifetime condiment. Some were content with only using soy sauce or ranch in their lifetime, while many chose the highly esteemed Lao Gan Ma (chili crisps). This icebreaker sparked some introspection into the kinds of stories and opinions that will be shared in their zines.

Zine is short for “magazine” and is a self-produced printed form of self-expression. Creating a zine can be as simple or complicated as its maker wishes. For this event, the 1882 Foundation generously provided craft supplies such as gel pens, colored paper, stickers, washi tape, and stamps to fulfill the creative needs of the attendees. Zine topics can span from social issue awareness to remembering a fond childhood memory. For this event, attendees were given the following prompt suggestions for their zines: (1) Select an object that means something to you, and tell a story with that object. (2) What are three objects in your room? What do they say about you? (3) Share the story behind your name, nickname, or family name. However, attendees were not limited to those prompts and were free to create their zine on any topic they chose.

After reviewing the zine-folding instructions, the zine-making officially began! Tables began sharing their initial ideas with each other and planning their zines. After a few minutes, attendees sifted through the various craft supplies the 1882 Foundation provided and started constructing their creations. Soon, the swells of chatty conversations turned into focused, comfortable silence as people finished their zines.

Once the majority in the room finished their zines, attendees were encouraged to share a few words on their recent creation. Most followed the suggested prompts, while others shared stories of the vegetables they picked on their grandparents’ farm and their passion for the Afro-Brazilian martial art form, Capoeira.

By the end of the event, we all learned something new about the members of our community and explored a new pathway for self-expression. Thank you to everyone who came out, and we hope to see you again soon!

Recap written by Kristi Viray, 2025 Summer Intern, William & Mary ’24

by Ellen Feng

Recap: Tai Chi in the District

Talk Story, Event Recaps

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, the 1882 Foundation hosted a tai chi workshop with Terence Nicholson, practitioner and teacher of Chinese martial arts, curator, artist, and musician. The event was hosted in person at the 1882 office and had 17 attendees.

The workshop began with a sharing circle and all attendees shared their name, where they were from, and their experience with martial arts. There was a wide variety of experience levels with tai chi; some had become familiar with it at their local community centers while others had never tried the sport. Terence explained his introduction to tai chi, which was mostly based on watching kung-fu movies as a child. He liked the fighting action scenes in the movies, how actors leaped across the screen and beat up the bad guys. However, upon entering his first kung-fu class, he realized it would take a long time before he would be doing the same moves as the ones on TV.

Terence mentioned that many new students of kung-fu or other martial arts often struggle to maintain their interest after realizing most of the sport is not cool kicks, punches, and jumps. Nonetheless, Terence stuck with kung-fu into his adult life, and eventually expanded his learning into several different kinds of martial arts, like tai chi. Cool kung-fu moves may have gotten Terence in the door, but what made him stay was the effect it had on other people in his community as a child. Growing up in Anacostia, DC, was not easy for Terence; but watching other kids who studied martial arts seemed calm and collected in a time of chaos. Terence wanted to have that same demeanor – so he stuck with kung–fu.

One of the life long benefits of studying martial arts is the patience and discipline you gain. Terence recalled a story of after a long day of practice, his sifu would often have him help around the giftshop in DC’s Chinatown. Standing on ladders, or balancing between the walls and various shelves to fix various things. While his legs were already shaking from repeating forms, sifu would push his body even further. In hindsight, Terence now sees that these chores were really another way of training his mind – to continue forward even when you are exhausted. He said he “views time differently,” now because of this; not just in the context of learning a new form or move in tai chi, but in other areas of his life, such as creating art or music. Practice is no longer an obstacle to overcome, but is a vehicle to assist you to wherever you want to go.

The workshop included a short demo of tai chi by Terence, and even offered individual advice on forms. Thank you, Terence, for sharing your story and knowledge with us!

by Ellen Feng

Event Recap: Strangers in the Land – a Talk Story on Michael Luo’s new book

Talk Story, Event Recaps

On April 30, 2025, the 1882 Foundation partnered with Politics and Prose to host Michael Luo and Jia Lynn Yang to discuss his newest book, Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America. This event was held at Politics and Prose’s flagship location on Connecticut Avenue in Washington D.C. with Jia Lynn Yang as moderator.

In this Talk Story, Michael began with his inspiration for the book. In 2016, he was in New York with his family and was told to “go back to China.” Michael said while he had faced comments like this before, he had never felt the need to reply. However, in this instance, he felt so angry that he followed her down the street to tell her off, but only wound up saying, “I was born in this country!” Perhaps it was the political climate of 2016 when the debate of who was allowed to be American was resurfacing yet again, perhaps it was the fact that his daughters had witnessed the whole encounter, perhaps Michael had just had enough. Either way, the event had made enough of an impact for Michael to write a viral piece in the New York Times in 2016 and launched him into a journey of researching exclusion in America; he was on a mission to prove to everyone, and especially his two daughters, that they did belong in the United States.

As for his process, Michael said that he poured over archives and documents at various libraries or universities, and wrote all without ever taking leave from his position as an Executive Editor at the New Yorker. Digitization came in handy multiple times as he was able to research for his book from the comfort of his home instead of traveling. This became especially useful during the pandemic.

The history of the Chinese in America is not an inherently new story. It has been written about in the past, perhaps most memorably by Iris Chang and her book, The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. However, Michael says his book is unique because it tells this mostly from the perspective of exclusion and what that means for the future. Even though the 1882 Exclusion Act may be disbanded, the principles of exclusion can always come back to haunt those who can be othered.

Moderator Jia Lynn noted that the strength of this book lies in the powerful stories told about individuals who previously had no voice. She noted one particularly moving story of the 1871 lynching in L.A. Later, in the Q&A this was further clarified as a significant difference between Chang’s Book, and Betty Lee Sung’s Mountain of Gold: The Story of the Chinese in America, along with her other publications.

This event was very successful, with nearly every seat being filled at the Politics and Prose location, and with those who remained standing. A final count of attendees was not able to be conducted, but there was an estimate of around 50 people.

by Ellen Feng

Event Recap: Asian American Cuisine Culture in Washington DC (Intern Talk Story)

Talk Story, Event Recaps

On March 12, 2025, the 1882 Foundation Office hosted a Talk Story event for its Winter 2025 Intern Cohort. Eric Zhu, Isabelle Du, and Emily Ninh presented their research and creative project that they had been working on during their time in DC (January – Mid March 2025). 1882 frequently partners with the UCDC program by taking in interns from the University of California system while they study abroad in Washington, D.C.; the Foundation uses this internship to not only give UCDC interns a glimpse into a non-profit organization, but also to show interns various parts of D.C. culture. As a result, these interns decided to focus on the Asian food culture in D.C. which was relatively different from their respective homes in California.

The project consisted of traveling to three different Asian/Asian-inspired restaurants in D.C.: Rose Avenue Bakery, Chang Chang, and China Boy. The three tried various items on the menu and created a short-form video reviewing the restaurant and the menu; during the Talk Story presentation, the interns also researched the history behind the chefs and restaurants.

Food is often a cornerstone of various cultures around the world, despite the term “foodie” often being associated as a character trait among Asians and in Asian communities. This presentation demonstrated the idea that it is not simply the love of food that brings Asian communities together, but more so the desire for community itself and search for certain types of food that remind us of home and family that unites us. This was reflected in the personal stories of food the interns brought to this Talk Story, as well as in the discussion questions with the audience. These interns found that while D.C. may not be “famous” for its Asian food, it still has several pockets to remind its Asian American residents of home.

This Talk Story was an in-person only event and had around 10-12 attendees.

by Ellen Feng

Event Recap: Flashback: Chinatown DC – Classroom Application

Talk Story, Event Recaps

On February 9, 2025, the 1882 Foundation continued its tradition of hosting monthly Talk Story series with a presentation on new lesson plans regarding Washington D.C.’s Chinatown. The presentation was led by the Foundation’s Education Director, Ting-Yi Oei, and there were about 20 people in attendance, in-person and via Zoom.

These lesson plans stem from a series of videos made in conjunction with HumanitiesDC, filmmaker Penny Lee, and the 1882 Foundation, that focus on documenting the oral histories of people who grew up in D.C.’s Chinatown. The session began with a short “pop-quiz” to test the participants’ prior knowledge of Chinatown. Ting-Yi then launched into a mock lesson to imitate how these lesson plans could be implemented, guiding the audience through various activities, such as a roundtable discussion about childhood and memories and how that compares with the stories from Flashback. Having various generations in the audience allowed for an interesting discussion as to how communities have changed over time, mostly due to the rise of the internet.

The Flashback: Chinatown DC series were shown to be used as a launching point to connect to several different topics in school curriculums, whether it be immigration, local history, community building, this catalog of oral histories gives space to learn more about the Asian American community while also keeping in line with state curriculum. This was the first introduction of the lesson plans to the public. Ting-Yi and the Foundation intend to spread these lesson plans as a resource for teachers in the DMV area.

by Ellen Feng

Event Recap: Generations Talk Story

Event Recap: Talk Story: Zine Edition!

Recap: Tai Chi in the District

Event Recap: Strangers in the Land – a Talk Story on Michael Luo’s new book

Event Recap: Asian American Cuisine Culture in Washington DC (Intern Talk Story)

Event Recap: Flashback: Chinatown DC – Classroom Application

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