San Francisco issues call for applications for Chinatown Artist Registry

San Francisco is calling on artists with ties to Chinatown to apply for several upcoming publicly funded projects in the historic neighborhood .

Why it matters: The city is investing more than $2 million in three public art initiatives in Chinatown as part of a broader effort to celebrate and enrich its cultural heritage while enhancing the urban environment.

Driving the news: The newly announced Chinatown Artist Registry is aimed at establishing a selection of artists who will be charged with creating and displaying artwork for Portsmouth Square, Chinatown Public Health Center, and Chinatown Him Mark Lai Branch Library.

• The three serve as "iconic locations where Chinatown residents, including immigrant families, access essential services and socialize," Mayor London Breed said in a news release .
• The commissions will focus on sculptures, wall work and more.
• The registry is led by the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) and the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco (CCC), which will hold in-person and virtual workshops with language support to help artists navigate the process.

What they're saying: Calling it "unprecedented" to have a centralized Chinatown artists pool, CCC executive director Jenny Leung told Axios that the community has often felt disconnected from the decision-making process for public art projects in the past.

• "Chinatown and Asian Americans are underrepresented in the public art spaces" in San Francisco, Leung added.
• The projects are a "once-in-a-generation opportunity," and part of the goal is to remove barriers for immigrant monolingual artists and make the process more equitable, Leung said.

State of play: All artists with " direct and meaningful connections " to Chinatown are encouraged to apply , regardless of where they live.

• A panel composed of a SFAC staff member and two arts professionals will review and score applications.

The big picture: The call for artists is modeled after the Bayview Artist Registry established in 2018, which led to public art projects at sites like the India Basin Shoreline Park and Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plan.

What's next: Interested parties can apply through the SFAC website before the deadline at 11:59pm on Sept. 11.