To celebrate the year of the snake in 2025, ACC asked current grantees and alumni to describe their existing traditions for Lunar New Year and speak about what new discoveries they are looking forward to in the year to come. Read more below: 

  

Gus HOLLEY (ACC 2024)
United States → China 
Discipline: Ethnomusicology  
Grant Summary: To study, rehearse, and perform with prominent Tang music revivalists, Zhang Yi and Xu Ge.  

“I have fond memories of performing Chinese music at my hometown's Chinese New Year parties through middle and high school, but this year will be my first time spending Lunar New Year in China. I'm in Hangzhou now, meeting historical Chinese music revivalists and visiting instrument builders' shops, and I'm looking forward to attending some temple fairs as we get closer to New Years. And hopefully eating some niangao too!” 

 

NGUYEN PHUOC Bao Chau (ACC 2024)
Vietnam → United States 
Discipline: Conservation  
Grant Summary: To gain knowledge in art conservation through New York’s rich cultural landscape by visiting art institutions and archives to closely examine vintage propaganda posters produced by the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), c.1955-1975. 
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“Having the opportunity to welcome the beginning of the Year of the Snake in New York, a city so vibrant and rich in multi-culture is truly inspiring. I am looking forward to learning new things, embracing the unknowns and sharing my unique experiences from Vietnam with the individuals from far and wide whom I will encounter, so that we can exchange ideas and recognize how large, yet how small the world is through the ways we can connect and relate to each other, either personally or professionally.” 

 

Celine Wong KATZMAN (ACC 2024)
United States → Singapore   
Discipline: Curation  
Grant Summary: To research social and political conditions impacting contemporary artists working in new media, performance, and alternative education in Singapore. 
Photo by Douglas Ross 
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“On Lunar New Year my family eats lo hei which is a salad of shredded raw fish, fruits, and vegetables. Each ingredient has symbolic meaning and as they are added one by one, a corresponding auspicious wish is recited. Then, together, we stick our chopsticks into the plate and fling the ingredients as high into the air as possible (the greater the height, the greater the prosperity) while reciting more auspicious wishes. It makes a big mess and it's very fun!” 

 

Howie CHU (ACC 2024)
Taiwan → United States 
Discipline: Theater 
Grant Summary: To research and study the diverse and free-form expressions of Broadway theater (both on and off-Broadway) through extensive observations and exchange with the theater community, absorbing different forms of artistic expression and culture. 
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“Chinese New Year is one of the most anticipated holidays for every Chinese person because it symbolizes a fresh start, good fortune, and the promise of a prosperous year ahead. Children get red envelopes, adults enjoy time off, and it’s also an opportunity for family reunions. I’d like to share some of my personal experiences with celebrating the New Year. 

Since I was young, my mother sent me to learn calligraphy, so during the New Year, I would write Spring Festival couplets and give them to others, writing auspicious wishes on the couplets to wish others good luck! As I grew older, I began to create my own verses and wrote those on the Spring Festival couplets, making my couplets unique! For example, in the upcoming Year of the Snake, we also refer to the snake as the "little dragon," so many Spring Festival couplets will include verses related to the word "dragon," as dragons are considered sacred mythical creatures symbolizing blessings in our culture. Additionally, having grown up learning Peking Opera, I was deeply influenced by traditional customs. For instance, before the New Year holiday, we would gather with our teacher and perform a ritual to bow to the "mat," the very mat we used throughout the year for practice. This gesture was a way of showing gratitude to the mat for protecting us, preventing injury, and allowing us to train and hone our skills, ultimately becoming artists. 

Let me share another tradition that happens after the New Year. The first task we have when returning to the theater after the holiday is to hold a special ceremony. During this ceremony, actors and directors portray the God of Wealth, children, and various male and female deities, inviting the audience to come watch the performance. The audience can throw money onto the stage, and the God of Wealth will throw it back, symbolizing the wish for everyone to earn a lot of money in the coming year! I have played the role of the male deity before, holding a Spring Festival couplet and wearing a mask to offer blessings. This is also a unique Peking Opera tradition for celebrating the New Year! 

Since I became a disciple of Master Wu Hsing Kuo, I have made it a tradition to visit his home every year for New Year’s. I would kneel and bow to him as a form of respect, a traditional ritual that represents our ethical values. Then, I would present him with a red envelope, and he would give me one in return, offering his blessings and expectations for the year ahead. This might be hard to imagine in modern life, but to me, it is a virtuous practice. I adhere to these traditional principles not because I am conservative, but because, in today’s society, they represent a fresh and meaningful concept!  

Lastly, I would like to offer my best wishes: Happy New Year to everyone at ACC! May you all experience a prosperous Year of the Snake, with dragons soaring in the sky and achieving great success!” 

 

Heeryoon SHIN (ACC 2024)
Korea → India 
Discipline: Art History 
Grant Summary: To investigate the localized reception of blue-and-white ceramics in colonial India and study the innovative architectural reuse of Chinese, Dutch, and British ceramics in Indian interiors. 

“Making and eating tteokguk (떡국/rice cake soup), the quintessential New Year's Day food in Korea. What many people may not know, however, is that tteokguk has regional varieties. My mom's family is originally from the north, so they always put homemade dumplings in their tteokguk - when my mom married my dad, who is from the southern part of Korea, she was shocked to see no dumplings in the soup on her first New Year's Day with her in-laws. I personally prefer the northern style.   

I will be actually conducting archival research in Bikaner, India on this year's Lunar New Year's Day, so I hope I can find what I am looking for - records about the construction of the ceramic-covered spaces in Bikaner's Junagarh Fort! The Year of the Snake is also personally special to me because it's my mom's zodiac year. Since I am on sabbatical and can spend more time with my family in Korea, I hope to travel with her more and discover new places together.” 

 

Sandra Eula LEE (ACC 2009)
United States → Korea 
Discipline: Visual Art 
Grant Summary: To undertake a 6-month residency in Korea at GOYANG (National Museum of Contemporary Art) from May- November 2009 
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“I'm wishing us all more moments to reflect, heal, and nourish this year.”