Welcome To Chinatown

AI curious? Join me online or IRL in NYC on October 17 for a #NonprofitAI panel and mini-workshop to help you get started with artificial intelligence to boost your nonprofit team's communications and productivity efforts. Learn more and RSVP at https://lnkd.in/gzCcbe_k. PS - If you'd like to share your nonprofit's experience with AI during this event, DM me!

On Tuesday evening, AZN AMERICANA hosted our FIRST Women's Entrepreneurship Workshop and FIRST event hosted at the new Welcome To Chinatown Small Business Innovation Hub in NYC. Tiffany Pham and Mai Vu helped us christen the space with invaluable life lessons and real-talk pitch experiences shared with a room full of creative and inspired Asian women & femmes. They shared their experiences across tech and alcohol/wine industries and how they've navigated being Asian women in the space while trying to get investors, partners and distributors to believe in them. Guests engaged in a self-exploration exercise to support them on their entrepreneurship journeys while getting to know more each other and making a new friend! Thank you to everyone who came to participate and for our INCREDIBLE partners Welcome To Chinatown Jacqueline Wang Victoria Lee Jeff Javier Harry Trinh Mai Vino Uncle Lou FLY BY JING Verloop Knits Sanzo for making this night of community celebration so meaningful 💘 Connie Chweh <3 <3

Introducing our first #ArtistAlley takeover at The Hub, Karen Chankalun! Chankalun (陳家倫), a #HongKong-based, female #neon artist thriving in the traditionally male-dominated industry, explores the fusion of new technology in her captivating neon designs. Known as an "art-vocate" by National Geographic, her art goes beyond aesthetics; her works transcend traditional neon to address important issues and inspire change. Through resilience and innovative experimentation, her mission is clear: to keep the neon legacy vibrant and enduring. Our Artist Alley at The Hub is a dedicated space for young #AAPI designers, creatives and beyond to explore, showcase, and engage the public with their art. At a time when #Chinatown is facing pressures of change, this space serves as a beacon of cultural pride and innovation. It is our vision for the Artist Alley to be a platform where young AAPI artists and designers can connect with the community, using their art to both reflect and celebrate the essence of Chinatown. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eBn9YeG8 The Artist Alley opens next month, and stay tuned for an upcoming artist talk with Karen Chankalun and Carnaby Fair at The Hub.

#THEHUB IS HERE! After months of construction and hard work from countless individuals, we finally inaugurated our new home, and this next phase of Welcome To Chinatown's work. Last week our partners and supporters came to celebrate this special milestone with us – peep below for moments from our #ribboncutting. Starting Oct 1st, we'll be open Tue, Wed and Thur from 10-5. During this soft open period for the rest of the year, we'll be taking drop in consultations and hosting a series of events (check out our first one on 9/4 with AZN AMERICANA)! And starting Jan 25th, we'll be fully open 5 days a week with even more in-store. Please stop by to say hello, learn more about what The Hub can offer you, and check out our upcoming events! This revamped space will be a place where entrepreneurs can embrace the innovation and creativity embedded in this neighborhood, a space where the community can network and receive resources and information. We are currently creating (and have already piloted) a diverse range of programming needs around new incubation, acceleration, technical training, advocacy, and more.

Next week on Tueday 9/24, we're hosting an Asian women & femmes entrepreneurship workshop in partnership with Welcome To Chinatown on, featuring Tiffany Pham and Mai Vu! At the workshop, they will share personal stories about their own pitch experiences, how they've navigated the tech and wine & beverage industries, and give attendees the opportunity to workshop their own pitches. Get your tickets below :) https://lnkd.in/g-NxRFdj

Awkwafina is joining Welcome To Chinatown at our Gala on 9/19! We’re so excited to celebrate with Nora, who was one of our earliest supporters in 2020 ♥️ Did you know that Nora’s great grandpa opened a restaurant in the Bronx, and then the first Chinese-American restaurant in Flushing? Her great grandma was a seamstress on the Lower East Side, and lived on Orchard St. Like so many, NYC’s Chinatowns and #AsianAmerican enclaves have meant a lot to her and her family. In 2020, Nora committed music sales to support our Longevity Fund, and helped bring visibility to our work in the early days of Welcome to Chinatown. Join us on 9/19 as we celebrate #Chinatown, and together reimagine what a thriving community could look like. Sponsorships and tickets: https://lnkd.in/evqpwFb6

Exciting News! After a journey of trials and learning, Welcome to Chinatown’s Coach Program has successfully completed its first pilot with Corina’s Beauty Center! We've connected them with top subject matter experts to refresh their branding, build a website, and update print design. Dive into the full story and see how it all came together: https://lnkd.in/eFk-vimV

Earlier this year I got to speak with 🦄 Steven Wakabayashi on his podcast Yellow Glitter about my work at Welcome To Chinatown, what it was like to transition into the nonprofit design space AND how I even became a designer to begin with! Thank you Steven for spotlighting queer AAPI creatives and making space for us to tell our stories! https://lnkd.in/ehk35uNa

As Chinatown's population ages and a wave of business owners retire, the futures of many small businesses are thrown into uncertainty. On American Public Media Group's Marketplace, our CEO Victoria Lee (along with Grand Tea Imports' Karen Liu and Hunter College's Margaret M. Chin) shares how our community should think about succession planning and change. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e9thR2gx

Calling all friends, partners and supporters of Welcome To Chinatown – we're turning to you for insights on building the most impactful small business programming at our Hub. We'd love to know how we can partner with you (or your company) to build high-impact programming, and also hear what you'd like to see at the Hub. Please help us fill out this short survey: https://lnkd.in/eHSpHTEd (For every 15 respondents we get, we’ll select one winner for a $50 gift card to a Chinatown small business.) Our Hub is SO close to being open and we’re preparing a diverse calendar of programming for our wide community. But as always, our work is rooted in listening and adapting to our communities needs. Our survey closes 9/6, thank you in advance for sharing your time and thoughts with us :)