Peabody Essex Museum is America’s oldest continuously operating museum. It was founded in 1799, sixteen years after the establishment of the nation and nearly three-quarters of a century before the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Seven years ago, the Peabody Essex began a comprehensive campaign to conceptually and physically integrate, interpret, and exhibit the full breadth of museum collections for the first time in its 200-year history. It is one of the nation’s leading museums for Asian art, as well as for collections reflecting over 300 years of New England history.

Because museums are filled with symbols from our past, the link with community is not always apparent. The Chinatown Heritage Project, however, allows all people to make connections with history in a meaningful and educational way; it brings the museum experience into a specific neighborhood and further advances PEM’s mission of educating communities and offering the opportunity for people to interact with history. Being involved in the project is a chance for the Museum to expressly focus on people rather than objects, reminding our audience of the multitude of stories behind every piece we have on display.

Through the Peabody Essex Museum, the Chinatown Heritage Project has access to trained museum education professionals, with collective decades of experience in the field. With the assistance of museum staff, educational programming around the CHP will be balanced against unmatched expertise, coming from the countless programs PEM has run in the past. The success of the Chinatown Heritage Project will mean a success for the Peabody Essex Museum, and all museums that desire intimate dealings with communities.

Click here to visit Peabody Essex Museum.