Chicago Qing Ming Special: Paper Offering in Asia (Tiandi Universal Market 天地通用银行 presents)

About the event:

What does it mean to craft a gift for the afterlife — one that is meant to disappear?

In many Asian cultures, paper offerings — folded into gleaming ingots or crafted into intricate replicas of houses, cars, and even smartphones — are far from ephemeral. Burned during observances such as the Qingming Festival, they are acts of love and remembrance: tangible prayers that bridge the boundary between the living and the dead. Through fire, these delicate creations are believed to transform into usable goods for ancestors, ensuring they lack for nothing and remain connected to the families who honor them.

This Qingming Festival, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art and Tiandi Universal Market invite you to explore this profound tradition across Asia and its diasporas, alongside its contemporary reinterpretations. Join us to reflect on the artistry and meaning behind one of Asia’s most enduring spiritual practices — and to create your own paper offering.

About the Artist Collective:

Tiandi Universal Market 天地通用市场 is an artist collective co-led by Siyang Dai and Yejia Sun for a re-imagination of the death culture of Asia and Asian Diaspora. As a recipient of A4 (Asian American Arts Alliance) 2026 “What Can We Do?” Funding, Tiandi Universal Market is collaborating with museums, art spaces, and community centers to host events on paper-crafting offerings and art therapy storytelling sessions across Chicago and New York City. The team includes Siyang Dai, Yejia Sun, Nany Chen, Avery Liu, Hao Jie Sim, and Rui Lin.