Postage Stamp Artist To Help Students Celebrate Lunar New Year

F.I.T. Professor Honors Chinese Community with Year of the Rat Stamp Design

New York, NY — Chinese-American artist Kam Mak, who designed the U.S> Postal Service’s colorful new 41-cent Year of the Rat postage stamp, is joining Yung Wing Elementary School PS-124 students and community leaders at a special Lunar New Year celebration. The gala event begins at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 13 at PS-124 at 40 Division Street. Ceremony highlights will include: ethnic dance performances, songs, story telling, music, presentations by community leaders, and a special unveiling at approximately 10:00 a.m. of an enlargement of the Year of the Rat 41-cent Lunar New Year stamp.

In observance of the Chinese New Year, the U.S. Postal Service recently debuted a new stamp series for the 12 different animals in the Chinese calendar. The series will continue through 2019. The first 41-cent stamp in the series is for the Year of the Rat, which runs from February 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009. It was issued at a recent ceremony in the Chinatown section of San Francisco, California.

The rat is the first of 12 animals associated with the Chinese calendar. According to legend, the animals raced across a river to determine their order in the cycle. The rat crossed by riding on the back of the ox, jumping ahead at the last minute to win the race.

In 1971 Kam Mak emigrated with his family from Hong Kong to the United States. The former resident of New York City’s Chinatown currently lives in Brooklyn and is a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Mak’s interest in art and painting was awakened through involvement with city Art Workshop, an organization which enabled inner-city youths to explore the arts. His paintings have appeared in numerous publications. Mr. Mak’s latest book, entitled My Chinatown One Year in Poems, is about a little boy growing up in Chinatown.

The Year of the Rat Lunar New Year stamp is available in Post Offices, on usps.com, and by calling 1-800-STAMP-24.

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