Chiara Galimberti

Chicago Chinatown Centennial

This video was made for the Chicago Chinatown Centennial exhibition at the Chinese American Museum in Chicago.
In my research about Chinatown and as an immigrant myself, I wanted to focus on the dynamic of displacement and strategies of survival found in many immigrant communities. The piece speaks to the continual movement of people caused by persecution and hostility. It also addresses the power of connectivity in creating a stable and thriving community.

Chinatown in Chicago came to be because of persecution on the West Coast, and was only able to survive and flourish thanks to the formation of community organizations and the collective pooling of resources. I am attempting to capture the shifting of people, boundaries and ultimate settling with a simple visual narrative that is particular to Chinatown thanks to the materials employed (Joss paper, brown paper traditionally used in laundry facilities, and the colors red and gold), but that encompasses the experience of most immigrant group to the US.

Chinatown Centennial from chiara galimberti on Vimeo.