Why Soup, Why Now
Inspired by the success of Detroit Soup, a nonprofit startup established in 2010 by two young women to benefit local artist initiatives through microfunding dinners, Chinatown Soup built upon this interactive, democratic model to design an art space for a neighborhood that has shifted from an immigrant populated enclave to a hotbed for real estate development and the new art scene.
Drawing from the Stone Soup folk parable and artist-run collectives of 1970s New York, such as Chinatown’s Basement Workshop and SoHo’s FOOD, we’re reimagining how people can work together to live creatively in the 21st-century city. Our connective strategy is an example of creative placemaking, which proposes arts-based solutions to community challenges as economic forces and government policies drive corporate-luxury expansion and displace residents.
This intervention begins by enabling cultural organizations to provide emerging artists with their first significant exposure, offer studio space, and present public programming with strong commitments to local communities.
Press
Hyperallergic, June 5, 2023
La Nacion, May 7, 2023
Arte Fuse, March 7, 2023
The Municipal Art Society, December 21, 2022
Hypebeast, August 1, 2022
The Art Newspaper, July 28, 2022
Hyperallergic, July 27, 2022
Gothamist, July 22, 2022
Pink Essay, June 28, 2022
Whitehot Magazine, May 21, 2022
Art in America, May 16, 2022
The New York Times, April 15, 2022
L’Officiel, March 31, 2022
El Nuevo Herald, July 1, 2021
Curbed, March 29, 2021
Own It, December 1, 2020
Asia Society, June 10, 2020
Cool Hunting, January 21, 2020
Busboy, November 20, 2019
Datura, November 13, 2019
Artsy, September 5, 2019
Cultbytes, April 24, 2019
New York Magazine, February 26, 2019
Performance Is Alive, February 19, 2019
The New York Times, February 4, 2019
Artsy, September 20, 2018
i-D Magazine, July 25, 2018
Juxtapoz, May 18, 2018
Sinovision, May 14, 2018
Future Current, February 25, 2018
Broadway World, January 14, 2018
Musee Magazine, July 8, 2017
Cool Hunting, June 16, 2017
Newest York, September 15, 2017
Huffington Post, March 31, 2017
Purple Art, October 20, 2016
Opening Ceremony, October 16, 2016
China Daily USA, September 12, 2016
New York Magazine, September 9, 2016
W Magazine, August 5, 2016
Vogue, August 1, 2016
Artsy, August 1, 2016
The Lo-Down, July 20, 2016
Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, June 11, 2016
Huffington Post, May 24, 2016
Hyperallergic, March 4, 2016
The New York Times, February 7, 2016
DNAInfo, August 25, 2015
New York Magazine, May 11, 2015
Purple Diary, March 24, 2015