Curated by Katie Gee Salisbury, the author of Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong, Pearl River Mart’s newest exhibition shines a light on the life and career of Hollywood’s first Asian American movie star.

Born Wong Liu Tsong (“Frosted Yellow Willows”) in 1905 to a Chinese American family in Los Angeles, Wong settled on her future profession by age 11. By 14, she was doing extra work in films, and by 17, had won her first starring role. Two years later, she got her unlikely breakout role in The Thief of Bagdad (starring Douglas Fairbanks in brown face), which skyrocketed her to stardom.

While many roles followed, most were stereotypes — China dolls or dragon ladies always scripted to die in the end. After some success in Europe, she returned to Hollywood and spoke out against the industry’s blatant racism (she had been passed over for The Good Earth’s lead female role, which went to German-born Luise Rainier), eventually parlaying her renewed stature into a series of groundbreaking films with Paramount. In 1961, just weeks before rehearsals were set to begin for Flower Drum Song, in which she was to play the role of Madame Liang, Wong died in her sleep of a heart attack.

“The idea of the show is to give people a primer on Anna May Wong’s life and career, the important achievements she made, and why she’s still relevant today,” Ms. Salisbury says. “It’s also a celebration of how glamorous, beautiful, and composed she was, and a way to introduce people to her filmography. A lot of people who know about Anna May Wong haven’t watched her films. You won’t fully get her until you see her on screen. Her magnetism and charm — you just have to see the moving pictures themselves. In the end, I hope the show inspires people to explore more about Anna May Wong.”

This event is generously sponsored by Nom Wah, Moshi Sparkling Drinks, and Lunar Hard Seltzer.

About the Curator

Katie Gee Salisbury is the author of Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong, a new biography of the first Asian American movie star. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Believer, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and elsewhere. She was a finalist for the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship in 2021 and gave the TED Talk “As American as Chop Suey.” She also writes the newsletter Half-Caste Woman. A fifth-generation Chinese American who hails from Southern California, she now lives in Brooklyn.

About Pearl River Mart

Pearl River Mart was founded as a “friendship store” in 1971. The iconic Asian emporium has locations in New York City’s SoHo district and the popular Chelsea Market with both a retail outlet and Pearl River Mart Foods. From home furnishings to fashion to snacks and everything in between, the store features one-of-a-kind items imported from Asia, as well as innovative merchandise designed and created by Asian Americans. A beloved destination for people from all over the globe, Pearl River has become symbolic of the uniqueness, authenticity, and multiculturalism of New York City. Visit the website and follow on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

About the Pearl River Mart Gallery

The Pearl River Mart gallery features curated exhibitions with local artists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Previous artists include sculptor Warren King; New Yorker magazine cartoonists Amy Hwang, Jeremy Nguyen, Suerynn Lee, Evan Hahn, and more; photographers Louis Chan, Hiroyuki Ito, and Corky Lee; painters Julia Chon, Arlan Huang, Kam Mak; illustrators Sammy Yuen, Nancy Pappas, Jerry Ma, Yumi Sakugawa, and Felicia Liang; and multimedia artists Wiena Lin, Ben Sloat, and Xin Song.

Recent exhibitions include “Reunion: Food as Culture, Community, and Coming Home” curated by Christine Wong; “Spirit Dreams: Where Ancestors Come to Speak” by Julia Chon; “Just Between Us: From the Archives of Arlan Huang” curated by Danielle Wu and Howie Chen; “Our Roots Run Deep: Finding Home in Chinatown” by Warren King; “Drawn Together: Stories of Resilience and Renewal in NYC Chinatown” by Sammy Yuen; “Soft Solidarity (SoS): Uniting to Protect, Empower, and Heal,” a group show of AAPI women artists; “Heartmind: Portraits from the Bob Eng Lee and Asian American Arts Centre Collections,” presented in collaboration with nonprofit arts organization Think! Chinatown; “Corky Lee on My Mind: A Photographic Tribute,” dedicated to the legendary photographer and activist Corky Lee (1947–2021).

Time: 6:00-8:00 pm EDT

Free!

Registration