WELCOME

The Grief Gallery

GRIEF AND LOSS EXPLORED THROUGH ART AND DESIGN

CURATOR, CHARLENE LAM

Young Asian woman pictured with the 1964 World's Fair Unisphere in Queens, NY

THE GRIEF GALLERY PRESENTS

Curating Grief: She Was Asian-American (2025)

An Immigration Grief Story in Ten Objects

Curating Grief: She Was Asian-American is a creative storytelling project exploring the intersections of immigration, identity, and grief through the lens of ten meaningful objects.

THE MINI BOOK

Published as a mini book, with 100 copies distributed in Los Angeles at Grieftastic Book Fair in November 2025.

Small square book titled Curating Grief: She Was Asian-American with picture of scattered passport photos of an Asian woman at different ages. A hand with red nail polish is resting on the book.

Small square book opened to show photo of a young Asian woman on the right, dressed up in the 1960s in an airport lounge, looking nervous. On the left, a description formatted to look like a museum or art gallery label: Vintage photos of my mother as a recent immigrant.

Documentation in Progress. See all the pages at curatinggrief.com/immigrationbook

THE 10 OBJECTS

Documentation in Progress

The-Grief-Gallery-Curating-Grief-Immigration-Grief-She-Was-Asian-American-minibook-passport photos

The-Grief-Gallery-hello-kitty-dear-daniel-hand-2500px

JOIN US LIVE

The Grief Gallery monthly gathering

Last Wednesday of every month at 2pm ET (NYC) / 7pm UK time

Register to Attend

Part of the Reimagine End of Life Event Calendar

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RELATED EXHIBITIONS

Red Ribbon Dance

A classic Chinese dance form, the red ribbon dance has layers of meaning for me and my mom. Here’s why I dance in her memory.

See Exhibition

vintage photo of three dancers performing Chinese red ribbon dance

Young woman in suit jacket and dress, 1960s, seated in airport, nervously holding her purse and looking at the camera

She Was Asian American (2022)

Featuring photographs, belongings and stories of Asian American women, including the curator’s Chinese-American mother and other family members. Part of NYCxDESIGN, May 2022

See Exhibition

CURATOR’S NOTE

Why a Grief Gallery?

When my mom died in 2013, I was working as an independent curator in London. My pop-up exhibitions showcased the work of designers, makers and artists, under the names Creative Clerkenwell and The Creative Edit.

When it came time to pick out an urn for my mom’s ashes, I commissioned a custom porcelain urn from an East London ceramicist whose work I loved.

That was the start of The Grief Gallery. Over the years, I’ve commissioned illustrations, paper art and photoshoots in memory of my mom and others’ loved ones. I’ve presented exhibitions in London, Los Angeles and Lusbon about grief and loss.

Channeling my grief into creativity has been an incredibly rewarding and healing experience.

After an extended period of grief and loss on many levels, I invite visitors to explore the universal themes of grief and loss through this creative lens. Out of darkness and pain, we can craft beauty and create meaning.

– Charlene Lam, Curator and Founder, The Grief Gallery
hello@charlenelam.com