Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series - Talk Six

Date 8 March 2024
Time 11am - 12:30pm

Connecting Culture, History and Heritage: Museum of Chinese Australian History

连接文化、历史和遗产:澳华历史博物馆

connecting culture, history and heritage public event
  • Zoom ID: 829 1750 5030
  • Password: 12345

Meeting Zoom link

The talk will be given in English. Simultaneous translation into Mandarin Chinese is provided. 

Chair: Cangbai Wang, Co-Director, HOMELandS

Speakers: Mark Wang, CEO, Museum of Chinese Australian History

This talk will discuss how the Museum has broadened its activities over the last five years to create a socially connected community that places all Chinese Australians and their descendants in the context of their diverse diasporic journeys over the past two centuries to the present day. Our inclusive focus strengthens our identity as individuals and as a community in a contemporary Australian multicultural society.

The talk will include:

  • Background of the Museum of Chinese Australian History
  • History of Chinese in Australia
  • Standing on 3 pillars of understanding - Culture, History and Heritage
  • The Museum's operations, its collection, current research and public programs
  • The Museum's future plan for growth

The event is jointly hosted by HOMELandS (Hub On Migration, Exile, Languages and Spaces) at the University of Westminster and the Chinese Heritage Centre of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. It is organised as part of the ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative’ project funded by AHRC. 
 

About the speaker

Mark Wang is a fifth generation Chinese Australian, a descendant of his mother's great grandfather, who arrived in Australia during the 1830s. The family established businesses in Melbourne's Chinatown in the 1930s. Whilst Mark's father, David Wang, migrated to Australia from Shanghai in 1948 and diligently grew a successful importing business, David then became the first Chinese Melbourne City Councilor in the 1970s. Mark studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School then travelled around China extensively to import arts and crafts products for his father's business. With his family background and sense of civic duty, Mark has an insightful interest and understanding of the Chinese diaspora in Australia and has supported the Chinese Museum since its inception in 1984.