This week we are excited to announce the arrival of three new board members to the N+T Board. Following Michele Davis, we introduce Brian Moy.

Brian, the second-generation owner of Chinatown’s landmark dim-sum destination China Pearl, along with sister restaurants Shōjō and Ruckus, shares with us his experiences as a small business owner and dedicated neighborhood advocate.

Your family has been a fixture in Chinatown's culinary scene for generations and you’re enhancing the legacy by introducing murals, graffiti, and sign painting into many of your restaurants — how do you think your ability to bridge the traditional with contemporary will support Now + There’s mission?

A constant goal of mine is always to learn and understand improved methods of service being in the restaurant industry. When incorporating these new standards of practice into my business, there is always a heightened sensitivity from me whether the traditional crowd that has supported the business for generations will accept it. This translates directly to the art that I have been involved with in the community. Preserving culture and traditions while pushing the envelope of change and forward movement in art on display has been a primary goal for me. What I have done with art and my businesses aligns with Now + There’s mission because doing something that is non-traditional in a setting that is super traditional like Chinatown, pushes the envelope showcasing something that has cultural imagery, but done in a manner that has not been seen by the neighborhood. One particular piece on my building [Shōjō] drew much of the community to come and watch the actual painting process. People commented about how it looks so different and even suggested classic techniques, looks, and feel of traditional Chinese art would make it better. Those same people today will stop and look at the same piece and now comment to me about what they notice in it that they have not seen before, and how they enjoy it being so different than the traditional art they see. This is exactly why I believe Now + There along with what I do in Chinatown and Boston align greatly by giving traditional elements the respect they deserve, push the envelope by incorporating modern art, and providing people the opportunity to open their minds and appreciate modern art.

What was your first experience with public art and how did it make you feel? Or what did it make you think?

Growing up in Boston I was exposed to Shepard Fairey at a very young age, even though I had no idea who he was or what I was witnessing with my eyes. It was the Obey Andre the Giant pieces that were on the sides of buildings in Chinatown. I was a huge fan of WWF as a child and I was amazed that there was an image of him on a building in Chinatown, and this led my brain to wander and imagine why and how. Why is there such a piece in Boston? Is he from here? How is that even possible to get up so high to install this piece? Every time my family would drive by I would seek it out to look, it brought excitement to my life and something to look forward to. Then I started seeing other Andre the Giant pieces throughout Boston and even other Shepard Fairey pieces scattered throughout Boston made me wonder in awe, it looks and feels very similar to Andre the Giant, but it’s not the same, why? What am I looking at? I think this is a pinpoint time in my life that sparked intrigue into art not knowingly.

How can creative placemaking and public art positively impact community development and/or celebrate neighborhood culture?

Placemaking to me means reimagining public space that ties in the community for activation and usage of an underutilized area of a community. Incorporating art into community placemaking is such a great addition because it allows a huge impact of change that is right in front of everyone’s eyes. The daily commuters and residents that turn a blind eye or overlook the space will now be naturally drawing their eyes to the site. Seeing a space become activated changes a person’s mind about what this space is utilized for, or it allows them to see something they have only overlooked. Today, every square inch is important to a community neighborhood and the challenge is to find areas to have community driven projects for the children and guests. Drawing attention and making noise that celebrates the culture through art is impactful to the neighborhood because it identifies who and what we are in a simplistic way, while serving the community.