Reimagining stoop culture in Boston’s Chinatown
Artist Ang Li (in front of “Place of Assembly” at its original location in Chinatown)
“Place of Assembly” by Ang Li, a participant in Now + There’s 2020 Public Art Accelerator cohort, was a temporary civic landscape that invited passers-by to reflect on the cycles of building and unbuilding that have shared the urban fabric of downtown Boston.
VISIT
The project was relocated to Leather District Park from its original home on Hudson Street in August. It closed on November 9, 2022.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ang Li is an architect and Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture at Northeastern University. She is the founder of Ang Li Projects, a research-centered design practice that operates at the intersection between architecture, experimental preservation, and public art to speculate on the maintenance rituals and material afterlives behind architectural production.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Using reclaimed brick pavers sourced from demolition sites around the city, the installation recalled the historic row houses that once defined Chinatown’s residential fabric and the vibrant stoop culture these buildings supported. The project reimagined the familiar symbol of the stoop as a series of modular, brick structures that could be reconfigured to allow for different seating arrangements.
As Ang put it during the creative process, “Once I started digging into this topic, I realized a lot of other artists and residents were doing something similar and preserving the oral histories from the neighborhood, specifically around the historic row houses that were demolished during the highway construction projects in the 1950s and 60s. It’s been exciting to plug into this history in some way and consider how to recreate this social environment that isn’t really there anymore.”
As its title suggests, “Place of Assembly” provided two parallel experiences: as an adaptable gathering space reflecting the collective needs of the Chinatown community and as a relatable, human-scale monument that drew attention to the rapid material turnover of the city. The project’s original placement was a vacant lot at 8-12 Hudson Street in Boston’s Chinatown, known as Chinatown Backyard. Later, it stood transformed into a gathering space recalling the neighborhood's stoop culture.
A set of nine structures made up an informal and interactive playground that complemented activities of the nearby community garden. Each unit could rotate to accommodate programming needs during events from story circles to movie screenings to outdoor concerts.
Ang Li’s project brilliantly captures and reimagines the history and spirit of Chinatown’s stoop culture with a nod to the development forces threatening the liveability of the neighborhood. We are proud to support this project that honors traditions while also asking audiences to reimagine how intergenerational dialogue and storytelling can enhance and preserve a vibrant neighborhood.
— N+T’s Executive Director Kate Gilbert
PARTNERS
Now + There’s Public Art Accelerator program grants Boston-based artists a $25,000 stipend along with a six-month curriculum to help them with curatorial, technical, and financial support as they develop new temporary and site-specific works of art for the neighborhoods of Boston. It is generously funded by individuals who believe in the power of art + community including Joyce Linde, and James and Audrey Foster.