Basement Workshop

The Basement Workshop was the foremost pan-Asian political and arts organization operating on the East Coast of the United States. Formally founded in 1970, Basement began as a grassroots social services initiative created by Columbia graduate student, Danny N.T. Yung, with a focus on serving Manhattan Chinatown’s residents. Heavily influenced by the movement for Ethnic Studies, Black Power, the struggle for Puerto Rican independence, and the anti-war movement, Basement became a central place for young Asian Americans to explore their interests and expand their political horizons. Into the early 1970s, Basement’s members developed a myriad of visual arts, music, dance, and theater programs and performances, many of which were guided by radical leftist politics and the principle “Serve the People.”

Basement’s rapid expansion led to a division of arts and social services programming, with different arms of the organization running in various spaces throughout Manhattan’s Chinatown. In its early years, heavy priority was given to programs related to political and community organizing. As the organization’s leadership and membership shifted in the 1980s, so too did its focus. Under longtime member and director Fay Chiang, Basement re-framed their work to uplift and support Asian American artists, hosting group and solo exhibitions at their gallery space, as well as running poetry and writing workshops.

Closing in 1986, Basement left behind an interconnected network of Asian American artists and visionaries. A variety of existing Asian American organizations today credit their beginnings to Basement, including New York City’s Museum of Chinese in America, Asian CineVision, the Asian American Arts Centre, and Godzilla: Asian American Art Network.