The city of Antwerp has a large Chinese community amongst its inhabitants, you really can’t miss the presence of all the Chinese shops and restaurants in the direct neighborhood of the Central Station.
In our temporary exhibition Family Happiness, we spotlight this community, particularly the Chinese entrepreneurs in Antwerp's hospitality industry. We are collaborating on this with guest curator Ching Lin Pang (anthropologist, University of Antwerp/UAntwerpen, KULeuven).
Family Happiness
The title of the exhibition has multiple layers of meaning. It refers to:
- The importance of socioeconomic relationships among members of a Chinese family across generations.
- The social role that the Chinese restaurant has come to play in Antwerp as a 'family restaurant' for Flemish customers, also across generations.
- A specific dish from the South Chinese cuisine with this name. It is a stir-fry dish with many ingredients such as meat, fish, tofu, and various vegetables. Due to the abundance of ingredients, every family member finds something to their liking. Happiness for every member of the family, indeed.
Expo
We tell the story of three Chinese restaurant families through interviews and documents from their family archives. Photographer Vincen Beeckman captures images of the families and their restaurants.
However, the close connection between Chinese entrepreneurs and the hospitality industry is not limited to Antwerp. The exhibition also features work by Chinese-Belgian artist Sarah Yu Zeebroeck. Her maternal grandparents owned a Chinese restaurant in Aalst. Visual artist Von Hyin Kolk from New York explores the tensions and peculiarities of her multicultural existence in her work, drawing from her experiences as the daughter of Chinese-American immigrants.
Be amazed by the rich history, entrepreneurial spirit, and unparalleled work ethic of the Chinese community in Antwerp and around the world, through unique artworks and intriguing family stories.