Hmong Cultural Center Museum Expansion Open House And More News!
By Mark Pfeifer
Hmong Cultural Center Museum Expansion Open House July 2
The Hmong Cultural Center is excited to announce the completion of the next phase of its museum expansion! In the first half of 2024, nearly 800 square feet of storefront space has been added to the museum along with track lighting in all exhibit areas and additional security enhancements.
On July 2, 2024, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM our museum will celebrate the next phase of its expansion with an open house open to the public. Admission to the museum will be free during the open house, light food and refreshments will be served and Hmong Cultural Center leadership will discuss the next phase in the museum expansion to occur later this year and into 2025.
The museum now encompasses more than 2,000 square feet of educational displays and exhibits. In the new space, an exhibit on Hmong cultural objects has been incorporated along with a significantly larger gift shop. The centerpiece of the newly enlarged portion of the museum is an entirely new exhibit featuring the James E. Williams Photograph Collection that was donated by his family to our museum earlier this year. Williams served as USAID Comptroller in Vientiane, Laos from the Summer 1965 – Summer 1968. This series of compelling photographs encompassing clothing, farming, the New Year celebration and everyday life helps viewers learn about the Hmong culture and lifestyle in Laos during the late 1960s.
Txongpao Lee, Executive Director of Hmong Cultural Center stated, “With the completion of this next phase of our museum expansion we are able to serve even larger school classes and other types of groups on educational or tourist field trips with even more exhibits to teach about Hmong folk arts, culture, history and contributions to Minnesota. Our museum is one of only a handful of Hmong and Asian American museums with its own dedicated space in the Midwest and the United States. Our expanded museum helps Hmong Cultural Center even more fully fulfill its mission of bringing Hmong and non-Hmong together to learn about Hmong history, folk art, and the Hmong cultural heritage.”
The 2024-25 Hmong Cultural Center Museum expansion project has been supported by grants from the Freeman Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
2024 Queej And Hmong Arts Festival A Major Success
The Hmong Cultural Center’s 2024 Qeej and Hmong Arts Festival was held in downtown St. Paul on May 26, 2024. This event, likely the only Hmong arts festival of its kind in the entire United States, moved to a larger venue, the Saint Paul RiverCentre, this year having outgrown the Landmark Center. At the new location, attendance doubled from just over 1,000 in 2023 to well over 2,000 visitors to the daylong festival in 2024. The festival included Qeej and other performing artists and dance groups from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California along with a wide variety of arts and crafts vendors. To view the complete archived live stream of the 2024 Qeej and Hmong Arts Festival visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG2MmGhAma
Citizen Success Stories
Congratulations to our Citizenship Class graduate Kai Xiong for becoming a U.S. Citizen at the end of May 2024! Hmong Cultural Center offers Citizenship classes to meet any schedule throughout the day and on weekends. Contact Kang Vang at 651-917-9937 or kangvang@hmongcc.org for more information about signing up for a Citizenship class.
About the Hmong Cultural Center Museum: Founded in 1992, Hmong Cultural Center’s mission is to promote the personal development of children, youth, and adults through Hmong cultural education while providing resources that enhance cross-cultural awareness and understanding between Hmong and non-Hmong persons. The Hmong Cultural Center Museum (www.hmongculturalcentermuseum.org) is located at 375 University Avenue at the corner of Western and University Avenues in Saint Paul just four blocks from the Minnesota State Capitol in the Little Mekong District.
Images courtesy Hmong Cultural Center Museum
