Curated by Riley Ren

A Plot of One’s Own 一亩三分地, opens on September 19, 2026. This exhibition on the “farm-gardens” of Chinatown will take a deeper look at the urban landscape to showcase the creativity and resourcefulness beneath the surface. The unique ways Chinese Americans have used and shared domestic yard space to grow food, stay connected to their heritage, and care for one another expand into explorations of Chicago’s urban planning & industrial history, and relationships between gardening, food sovereignty, orientalism, and American identity. 

This exhibition is in partnership with:

Meet The Artists

Selected Work

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Jenie Gao, The Deer Garden, 2022-2025.

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Mel Chin, Garden where the Wild Grass Obscures the True Pearl, 1987

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Stephanie H. Shih (b. 1986), 蓮霧 (Wax Apple Pyramid), 2023