Lantern Artist-in-Residence 2025 Ling Tang

On the first day of the New Year, Think!Chinatown will join the festivities, check out the lions and celebrate LNY in Chinatown and you’ll see us on Mott St where we’ll reveal our annual Lantern Artist-in-Residency project. Free!

This year, our lantern artist is Sarula Bao!

Here’s her Artist Statement: Bu Zha (布扎) are a Chinese traditional folk art, an embroidered cloth animal meant for personal adornment or wall hanging, meant to repel evil and bring forth peace. I've chosen to make a large scale Bu Zha in puppet form, named Xiao Baoma (小宝马), meaning Little Precious Horse. The horse is decorated with a variety of traditional auspicious symbols associated with Chinese New Year, including gold coins, fish and more, as well as playful symbols that represent the emotional impact of Lunar New Year to me, such as music notes, stars and hearts.