FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Davis Director,Development and Operations
Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia
215.685.4828, christine.davis@atwaterkentmuseum.org

March 22, 2006, Philadelphia
- The exhibition, Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America opens on April 5 at the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia (AKMP) and will be on display through September 10, 2006. On loan from the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) in New York City, the exhibition provides a national context with AKMP adding images, films and programs featuring the rich history of Philadelphia's Chinatown. This critically acclaimed exhibition has received national attention. In a September 22, 2004, New York Times review, Yong Chen, history professor at the University of California, Irvine, and co-curator of the exhibition said, "The Chinese restaurant has become part of our consciousness. It is quintessentially American."

Often the first introduction to Chinese culture for many Americans, the Chinese restaurant has functioned since the 19th century as a site of cultural exchange. Have You Eaten Yet? spans two centuries of American Chinese restaurants, from the earliest "chow chow" restaurants of the West in the mid-1800s, to the nightclub dinner shows of the 1940s, through President Nixon's visit to China renewing interest in "authentic" Chinese cuisine in the 1970s, up through the take-out culture of today.

"While most Americans consider Chinese food and restaurants part of their regular dining experience, probably few have ever questioned or understood the significant role the Chinese restaurant has had throughout the history of Chinese immigration to the United States," said Viki Sand, AKMP Executive Director. "We believe that Have You Eaten Yet? will be an engaging exhibition for the general public as well as the Chinese and Asian communities. "

Through menus, souvenirs, glassware, postcards, scrapbooks and vintage radio commercials, Have You Eaten Yet? explores the topics and themes surrounding Chinese immigration and the assimilation of Chinese culture in the United States. Without fanfare, Chinese food merchants over the last 150 years have successfully introduced Chinese culture to America through their cuisine. According to Chinese Restaurant news, the 36,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States now outnumber the combined number of McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger Kings. "Have you eaten yet," is a standard Chinese greeting sharing the same connotation as "how are you?" Its incorporation into the daily vernacular attests to the significance of food in Chinese culture, where meals are a fusion of art and entertainment and a venue for dialogue and reconnecting with family, friends and guests.

Have You Eaten Yet? melds food history, art and personal stories with an engaging design by exhibition designers Pei Hsieh and Stephanie Reyer. Hsieh and Reyer, along with co-curators Cynthia Lee and Yong Chen, examine the saga of Chinese restaurants through the collection of Harley Spiller. Also known as "Inspector Collector," Spiller is a New York City writer, collector and teacher. The installation at AKMP is organized by Cynthia Little, Ph.D., Historian and Director of Interpretive programming, and is designed by Assemblage, Inc.

Have You Eaten Yet?: The Chinese Restaurant in America was organized by the Museum of Chinese in the Americas, New York City, and made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and MoCA members. Additional support was provided by MoCA benefactors Roderick G. W. Chu, Drs. Mary Leong and Peter Hong, Linda Sun and Jadin Wong. The Atwater Kent Museum exhibition is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People initiative on American history.

IMAGES OF EXHIBITION MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PRESS

Cynthia Lee received her BA from Vassar College and her MA and M.Phil in Sociocultural Anthropology from Columbia University. Lee oversees and integrates the work of MoCA's program, Collection and Education staff. She served for three years as a panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts (2001-2004), and has lent her expertise in exhibition development, oral history, research and graphics design to arts organizations in the New York area.

Yong Chen received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and is associate professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, where he also serves as the University's Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. His research on diverse topics such as Chinese American history, United States ethnic food, and higher education has been published in various leading academic journals in the United States and China.

The Museum of Chinese in the Americas is the first full-time, professionally staffed museum dedicated to reclaiming, preserving, and interpreting the history and culture of Chinese and their descendants in the Western Hemisphere. The Museum provides historical and visual arts exhibitions, walking tours, school and public programs, a museum shop and extensive archives in the fields of Chinese American and Asian American studies.

The Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia is a not-for-profit, educational institution and the city's history museum, founded in 1938 by industrialist A. Atwater Kent. AKMP holds the Philadelphia City History Collection, now numbering nearly 100,000 objects, and accessible through programs and exhibitions for children, families and adults as well as available for research.

Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia is at 15 South 7th Street, one block west of Independence Hall, between Market and Chestnut Street. It is open for general admission Wednesday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m. School and group tours are scheduled everyday from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Admission is: adults, $5; seniors and children 13-17, $3; members and children 12 and under, free. The Museum Store is open Monday and Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00-5:00 p.m. For program information call 215.685.4830 or visit www.philadelphiahistory.org