ABOUT
The Museum
The Museum of Asian Texans (MAT), founded and operated by the Dallas Asian American Historical Society (DAAHS), is the first cultural institution of its kind in Dallas dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and amplifying the histories and lived experiences of Asian Texans.
Located in the historic South Side on Lamar building, the MAT functions as a community archive, storytelling lab, resource center, and exhibition gallery. It will serve as a transformative thirdspace for history, healing, and cultural connection.
MISSION
To shift public narratives by centering the voices, lived experiences, and creativity of Asians in Texas through inclusive storytelling and community-rooted preservation.
We envision a Texas where Asian American histories are not marginalized footnotes but foundational chapters in our shared story. The Museum of Asian Texans will serve as a vibrant, community-powered space for remembrance, creativity, and coalition-building. It will become a statewide anchor for Asian American historical preservation and public engagement, ensuring a future in which our identities are honored, stories are protected, and legacies shape public memory for generations to come.
our stories, our voices
Community Archiving
The MAT builds on a legacy of community-based archiving that centers the voices, memories, and lived experiences of people too often left out of institutional records.
Through participatory methods, the MAT helps shift who is seen as worthy of historical recognition. These practices not only safeguard personal and collective memory, but actively challenge dominant narratives that erase or flatten Asian American identity in Texas.
“I’ve come to believe that you cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.”
– Grace Lee Boggs
community resources
The Library
The MAT houses DAAHS’ extensive community library that serves as a vital resource hub for the deep and diverse history of Asian Americans.
The collection includes rare and out-of-print Asian American and Dallas history books, including personal memoirs, scholarly journals, and more.
Among its holdings are several issues of the Amerasia Journal, the flagship interdisciplinary academic journal in Asian American Studies. In addition, the library highlights rare and locally focused titles written by or featuring Asian American leaders in Dallas.
solidarity-building
A Place to Belong
The MAT operates with a model of shared stewardship. It supports smaller groups and individuals who lack their own physical home by offering flexible workshop and meeting space, film screenings, equipment rental, and more. It is both a literal and symbolic platform for cross-ethnic, intergenerational, and intersectional community power.
As a collaborative hub for local partners like the Dallas Asian American Art Collective, Did You Read Yet Bookclub, and the Dallas South Asian Film Club, the space invites community members to co-create programming, exhibitions, and dialogue that reflect the full spectrum of Asian American experiences in Texas.
support our legacy
We cannot do this work alone
The Museum of Asian Texans exists because our communities deserve to be remembered, honored, and heard. In a time when archives are being destroyed, immigrants are under attack, and entire histories are being erased, your support is essential.
Every donation helps us safeguard family artifacts, record untold stories, support artists and archivists, and offer a space for collective healing and resistance.
Our Location
Museum of Asian Texans
(Dallas Asian American Historical Society)
1409 Botham Jean Blvd #110
Dallas, TX 75215
Hours vary. Contact us to schedule a viewing appointment.