the boba show: history, diaspora, and a third space
An Experience L.A. Event 

the boba show runs through January 7, 2024, at the Chinese American Museum in El Pueblo de Los Angeles. To attend the exhibition on your own, visit camla.org.

ADMISSION: 
Admission is free and open to current USC students only, who must use the provided transportation to participate. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Check-in for the event will begin at 11:45 a.m. on campus. Buses will depart at 12:30  p.m. and return to campus at 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided at check-in, and the tour will end with boba drinks.

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DESCRIPTION: 
Through the Experience L.A. series of events, Visions and Voices takes USC students on trips throughout the city to experience Los Angeles’s dynamic cultural landscape firsthand.  

Certainly, boba provides a playful textural element that enhances teas and flavored drinks. But for several decades, it did more than just raise our beverage game: Boba created safe spaces that Asian American youths could truly call their own by bringing cultural familiarity, joy, and comfort to a table outside of their households.

the boba show at the Chinese American Museum follows the cassava root–based confection’s trajectory from its origins in South America to becoming a beloved delicacy in Taiwan and returning to the Americas, where the tiny tapioca pearls of joy have exploded into mainstream culture.

The exhibition features larger-than-life works including three-dimensional sculptures, digital media, floor-to-ceiling murals, and more, all created by multi-ethnic artists from across Southern California. 

Featured artists include:

Boone Nguyen
Crisselle
Dezcjon
Ellie Chen
JP / Jason Pereira
Nana
roldy aguero ablao
Samantha Tagaloa
Vivian Shih

Explore and celebrate boba, from its humble beginnings to its role in transforming American food culture, with us at the boba show!

Presented by USC Visions and Voices.