Starting on April 26, creativity of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community will fill Saratoga Library’s Group Study Room along with student artists’ works.
The Chinese club is hosting the Teen Multimedia Art Exhibition in honor of AAPI Heritage Month, showcasing student artwork from different backgrounds, mainly focusing on pieces inspired by AAPI culture and identity.
This year, the club is run by senior co-presidents Zoe Chiu and Sophia Tsives, junior secretary Zitong Sun and sophomores treasurer Sid Chiu, event organizer Loreen Lu and outreach officer Selina Xu. Most of them spent many years living in China and developed a deep understanding of its traditions, and all of them are passionate about sharing Chinese culture with a larger audience.
“You don’t have to be Chinese or know anything about the culture to join,” Zoe said. “We just want people to come, try new things and feel included.”
Around 20 to 30 members attend the club’s biweekly meetings, which take place every Blue Day Friday in Chinese teacher Chenhui Wu’s classroom. At each meeting, the officers introduce a part of Chinese culture — from holidays to traditional toys to China’s education system. They often bring Chinese traditional food and materials for calligraphy or paper cutting to the meetings for members to experiment with.
In the past, the club has held multiple events both inside and outside of the school, in addition to the Hakone event. This February, they manned two booths at the school’s Lunar New Year event, in collaboration with Wu’s Chinese classes, where they introduced students to temple fortunes and Chinese riddles.
As part of the Hakone Lunar New Year festival on March 8 in association with the Chinese Club, junior Joseph Zhao and sophomore Sid Chiu performed a show with diabolos — Chinese yoyos. With music and beating drums in Hakone Estate and Gardens, they soared diabolos several meters in the air, promoting Chinese culture.
Some members and officers also held a booth that allowed visitors to play with diabolos and shuttlecocks and learn about traditional Chinese culture.
“These events are important because they help people understand Chinese culture in a real way, not just from textbooks,” Zoe said. “It also gives Chinese students a chance to share their culture, while others get to learn and experience something new.”
