New SF art registry seeks artists with ‘real connection’ to Chinatown

Chinatown leaders say they want to showcase more public artwork by those with actual ties to the historic neighborhood.

They gathered Thursday alongside San Francisco officials and artists in front of the Chinese Culture Center’s Grant Avenue headquarters to announce the launch of the first ever Chinatown Artist Registry .

Maylor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin — who represents Chinatown and is currently running against Breed in The City’s mayoral race — were among those who spoke at a press conference outlining the goals of the new project.

Officials said they hope the registry solicits art from people with a “meaningful connection” to Chinatown.

“We have a lot of commitment to arts and culture, and we make investments of millions of dollars and public art displays, especially when we remodel buildings or reconstruct buildings or build buildings,” Breed said. “Oftentimes, when we put out a request for proposals, we tend to get artists that aren’t necessarily connected to the community, and maybe aren’t necessarily from San Francisco.”

“Part of what we have done here is a very unique opportunity, a partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission, and the Chinese Culture Center to identify, for some of our most significant capital projects, artists who have a real connection to Chinatown,” she said.

Entrants into the registry will be considered for three future Chinatown public-art projects that will cost nearly $2 million in city funds — art walls at the Chinatown Public Health Center, wall-mounted two-dimensional artwork at the Chinatown Him Mark Lai Branch Library, and a sculpture in Portsmouth Square.

Officials said Portsmouth Square , which Breed and Peskin both described as the “living room” of Chinatown, currently does not have any public monuments created by Asian American artists or commemorating Asian American history.

That lack of representation drove community advocates towards creating the registry, which they hope streamlines the process for more artists with links to Chinatown to be involved in future art commissions.

“It is very, very important to see the page turning to see that our arts commission is embracing a new way that is going to actually stop that history of exclusion,” Peskin said.

Eligibility for the registry is open to all professional and practicing artists in the country. Applications can be submitted online through the San Francisco Arts Commission website . The deadline to apply is Sept. 11 at 11:59 p.m. Selected artists approved by the arts commission will begin working with The City early next year.

“Chinatown is such an important neighborhood for San Francisco and for the country. And yet, our community has been deeply underrepresented in public spaces and public art,” said Jenny Leung, executive director of the Chinese Culture Center. “This is the first time that we’re seeing deep and meaningful collaborations with the city, public arts and the community. It’s such a groundbreaking process to have the community involved at the very beginning,”