The Heritage Museum of Asian Art is the only museum in the Midwest exclusively dedicated to exhibiting Asian art, and one of only three Asian art museums in the United States. Its collection spans diverse regions and historical periods, including jade carvings, pottery, bronzes, imperial porcelains, textiles, furniture, architectural components, and more.

The museum’s founder grew up in a working-class immigrant family in Chicago’s Chinatown in the 1940s–50s. His parents held labor-intensive jobs, and he began working at age 13 to help support the family. Though he had a deep love for Asian art, he had little access to it. That early gap inspired a lifelong commitment: to create a space where Asian art could be preserved, studied, and shared with people of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Founded in 2014 in a small storefront on 23rd Street, the museum first displayed archaic Chinese jades, export silver, Han and Tang pottery, and classical furniture. In 2018, it expanded into an 18,000 sq ft building on 26th Street, adding galleries, a library, a theatre, and event spaces. Sustained primarily by collector donations, it operated as a display-focused institution.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a two-year closure and halted fundraising, resulting in the loss of the 26th Street building. In late 2022, the museum reopened in a rented space in Bridgeport with three galleries and a new vision. This marked a generational shift—from exhibition-only to a community-centered, engagement-driven institution.

In 2023, the museum launched its Educational and Community Engagement Initiative, offering field trips, free neighborhood nights, hands-on workshops, and special events. We’ve since hosted 120+ programs, welcoming over 5,000 visitors. Today, we are committed to becoming a vibrant platform for cultural exchange—not only within the Asian community, but across Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities through art, dialogue, and shared experiences.