About The W.O.W. Project
Strengthening Chinatown’s community through arts and activism
We envision a Chinatown led by women, non-binary, queer, and trans people, fostering intergenerational understanding through youth and public programming to build solidarity against cultural displacement. By using art and culture, W.O.W. connects Chinatown's history with its future through cultural organizing practices.
Our history
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![Three women in white dresses dancing on an outdoor stage in a city, with one woman kneeling and holding a shoe, and a colorful balloon arch in the background.]()
2016
W.O.W. Project is founded by Mei Lum and begins running programming addressing gentrification and neighborhood change in Chinatown.
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![A group of women standing in line at a workshop, with a wall behind them decorated with large, colorful letters spelling 'ROOTWORK'. A table in front has snacks, drinks, and papers.]()
2017
We launch our first youth cohort program, Resist, Recycle, Regenerate.
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![A man playing a traditional wooden flute, wearing a blue cap, at a cultural event with others in the background.]()
2020
W.O.W. shifts to virtual programming to address COVID-19 in Chinatown and provide mutual aid for small businesses.
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![A group of nine young women standing outdoors in a grassy area with a chain-link fence behind them. They are smiling and posing with colorful paper lanterns, including a large tail-shaped lantern and a white umbrella, during a celebration or gathering in the evening.]()
2023
We work with five artists as part of the Creatives Rebuild New York fellowship to run public programming addressing the proposed construction of a megajail in Chinatown.
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![Four young women smiling and holding blue fabric with white designs outdoors in front of a black metal fence with hanging blue fabric. Behind them is a green sign with Chinese characters and a parking lot.]()
2025
We begin to expand our youth program offerings for high schoolers.
In the News
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![People celebrating on a city street, some wearing traditional Chinese costumes, with colorful confetti and a man holding a pole with lettuce on it, in front of a restaurant with neon signs and hanging lights.]()
Community Care Through Art in Chinatown
Hyperallergic (2025)
In an already trying year, the art in From Chinatown, With Love is a reminder that community will help us get through the tremendous challenges.
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![People participating in a protest march, holding a large banner that reads 'Chinatown is a site of resistance', while wearing face masks. Some participants are dressed in colorful outfits, and one is holding a dragon puppet. The background shows construction equipment and tall buildings.]()
“It's about stamina and the belief that we will win”
Prism (2025)
Organizers with Chinatown Art Brigade and the W.O.W. Project spoke to Prism about why the city’s plan to replace Rikers Island with four borough-based jails is a dangerous continuation of the carceral system
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![A woman with short black hair wearing a teal blazer and white blouse, standing outside a restaurant with a sign that says "Wing," gesturing with arms outstretched.]()
The Hard-Won Beauty of Staying Put
Mellon Foundation (2025)
Out of a historic storefront, with arts as their armor, Mei Lum and the W.O.W. Project are fighting forces of unwanted change in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
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![Three women standing together in front of a store with Chinese decorations, smiling at the camera, with lanterns and ornaments displayed in the window.]()
“Our Resistance Is in Being Here”: Q&A with Mei Lum
LISC (2020)
Mei Lum, a 2020 Rubinger Fellow, talks with LISC about fighting gentrification—and facing a pandemic and its social and economic fallout—from a historic Chinatown storefront that has been in her family for generations.
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![A person playing a card game with a deck of cards on a table. Text overlay says 'HOW WE STAY'.]()
How We Stay
All Arts (video, 2020)
Placekeeping can take many forms. For the young organizers of New York's Chinatown community, it's an act of resistance. As higher rents and unfamiliar businesses made their way into their neighborhood, locals turned to community gatherings, art and education in a shared solidarity to stay. "How We Stay" sees this change through the lens of Wing on Wo & Co and the Chinatown Art Brigade.
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![A woman in a red jacket holding a large burgundy banner with white text during a street protest. The crowd is surrounded by confetti and streamers, with buildings and a cloudy sky in the background.]()
Arts Project Mixes Old and New in Chinatown
Next City (2018)
Chinatown isn’t Chinatown because of the buildings, it’s because of of the people.
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![Storefront window display with various decorative items, plants, and colorful umbrellas hanging inside.]()
Chinatown Shop Talk
Urban Omnibus (2017)
When Diane Wong sat down to interview Mei Lum as part of her research on gentrification in Chinatowns, Mei’s family was about to sell the building and business they’ve run on Mott Street since 1925. Instead, their conversation about neighborhood change led to a series of interviews with neighbors and a year of community dialogue at the W.O.W. Project.
Annual Report
View our community initiatives, achievements, and financials as we work to preserve cultural heritage through arts and activism. Download our 2023 and 2024 Annual Report to see your support in action.