‘Care for Chinatown’ Brings Vibrancy Back to the Heart of Manhattan Chinatown With Murals By Loe Lee
Since Care for Chinatown launched in May 2020, muralist Loe Lee has designed and painted five large-scale murals in various parts of Manhattan Chinatown. Care for Chinatown is a neighborhood revitalization project founded by Welcome to Chinatown and Loe Lee at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in hopes of conveying the stories of small businesses through meaningful artwork. The murals would jump start the growth and livelihood of the business while welcoming locals and visitors alike.
Loe’s intention is to preserve the rich culture and history of the business in her work. When Loe speaks to the business owners, she first attentively listens to their story and vision for the mural. Loe and the owner then carefully select colors, themes, and content they feel will best speak to the customers. From there, Loe enlists a team of her own volunteers to bring the vision to life.
Loe has finished installing murals for CPC Daycare, CPC Little Star, CPC Manhattan Community Center, Chinatown Optical, Soft Swerve, Sun’s Organic Garden, and Yaya Tea Garden. You can access the beautiful murals (and snap a few selfies for the ‘gram) by visiting the stores in person! We hope you enjoy the emotionally-charged artwork and some information on the Care for Chinatown participants below.
On behalf of the Chinatown community and Welcome to Chinatown, we’d like to thank Loe Lee for her continued contribution and hard work over the past 17 months! Loe’s bright and beautiful murals can be spotted from afar and fill any passerby with cheer. Her artwork wrapped up just in time for the city’s return and bustling streets filled with tourists.
Chinese-American Planning Council’s (CPC) mission is to promote the social and economic empowerment of Chinese-American, immigrant, and low-income communities.
First Mural at CPC’s Child Care Center (115 Chrystie Street)
CPC envisioned their first mural to have families who are diverse in age and ethnicity surrounded by nature to represent growth with the Williamsburg bridge set in the background. The diversity incorporates their mission and values connecting to the mural. The dim sum, fruit stand, and noodles are where the parents often go for children’s breakfast and snacks, which are all key features of the neighborhood.
Second Mural at CPC’s Early Childhood Center at Little Star (151 Broome Street)
This mural represents a dreamscape to open up the children’s eyes to whimsical and magical experiences. This hallway is meant to instill calmness and wonder for all who enter through.
Third Mural at CPC’s Manhattan Community Center (165 Eldridge Street)
The third CPC mural is painted in the largest room on the second floor of the community center. The CPC team wanted to decorate the space to help foster an empowering learning environment for its visitors and members alike. The space is currently used to hold a variety of educational events, including adult literacy classes, career and college readiness workshops / career panels for high school youth, information sessions for jobseekers, and staff meetings. CPC’s mission is to provide a sense of togetherness through support, professional development, and transformative change, and they were hoping to convey this message through the images. In the artwork, you will see a diverse group of people that portrays the Chinatown community interacting with one another and symbols of Chinatown placed throughout the mural.
Chinatown Optical (40 Mott Street)
Chinatown Optical is a family owned and operated business serving the Chinatown community for over 40 years since 1979. The founder started the business to cater to the recent immigrant community back in the 70s when optical shops were limited for the Chinese community. The story they wanted to tell through its mural was about Chinatown’s transformation. In the 1870s, Manhattan Chinatown was known as an immigrant hub and newly found home for immigrants of China. The community built a tight-knit bond by helping their fellow peers find familiarity in the land of promised opportunity. As time passed, Chinatown became more open to outsiders and embracing Western culture, and ultimately, bridging cultures of the East and West. Chinatown Optical, like Manhattan Chinatown, is a place where people expand their horizons, metaphorically and practically, through not only giving one clear sight to see farther, but showing the community and visitors its excellent eyewear craftsmanship and innovation from around the world.
“From a place you see home to a place you can see the world.” - Ken Ma, Chinatown Optical Director of Business Development
Nestled on the humble intersection of Mott Street and Pell Street, you can see the newly installed murals with the well-known icons of Chinatown (fishmonger, shoppers, lion-dancer) and a variety of products offered at Chinatown Optical.
Learn more about Chinatown Optical here.
Read about Ken Ma’s story on how he is expanding his parent’s optical empire here.
Soft Swerve Ice Cream (85B Allen Street)
Opened by childhood friends Mike and Jason, Soft Swerve, has been serving unique, Asian-inspired ice cream flavors from its original location on Allen Street. Over the years, Soft Swerve has captured the hearts of many with their exciting flavor rotations and drool-worthy Instagram page.
The co-founders and Loe wanted to create a mural that stood out in the neighborhood and apart from the existing graffiti. They combined the main social demographic of Soft Swerve’s customers with the whimsical, fun-loving feeling of dessert. Besides the cone the character in the mural is holding, there are subtle nods to Soft Swerve’s menu, such as the clouds being marshmallow fluff and the pattern on the character’s clothing being sprinkles and crumble topping. Learn more about Soft Swerve in their business spotlight here.
Sun’s Organic Garden (79 Bayard Street)
This charming tea specialty store was founded in 2010 and offers over 1,000 loose-leaf teas & herbs (mostly wild or organic) and serves as a cultural center for people from all over to learn about its various health benefits.
For this artwork, owners Natalie and Art wanted to show a paradise oasis as a metaphor that their shop is a safe escape from the rest of the city. They wanted to add elements that hold special meaning to their shop and message; this includes gardens and fields to pay homage to where their leaves originate from, a 500 year old tree, a character from imperial times drinking tea, the blue lotus flower (popular item in their shop), and the white monkey (a gatherer of herbs). Learn more about Sun’s Organic Garden in their business spotlight here.
Yaya Tea Garden (206 Grand Street)
Yaya Tea is a café specializing in freshly brewed tea through a purifier filtration system where premium tea leaves are brewed fresh daily. They also offer unique imported snacks and homemade onigiri (also known as rice ball).
Loe collaborated with Yaya Tea Garden to design two window murals. One mural is traditionally commercial with their menu items displayed around the borders of the windows and the second mural depicts a child and her grandmother enjoying Yaya’s products in a carefree space. This scene is personally inspired by the owner’s family. The artwork was printed and installed by VIDA Signs, another Chinatown business.
Learn more about the business on their website here.
To learn more about the Care for Chinatown: Murals by Loe Lee and to donate, visit https://give.cornerstone.cc/welcometochinatownfr.
About the artist
Loe Lee is a senior branding designer turned illustrator living in Chinatown NYC. She has had the privilege of illustrating for both Fortune 100 companies and local businesses. Loe has been part of the Chinatown community since before her birth, her grandparents having immigrated there in the 1960s.
She attended preschool there, went to Dr. Poon’s, volunteered at Fun Fun Saturday, gets her hair cut at Cutting Edge Z, and goes to Kong Sihk Tong every Sunday.
