The first-of-its-kind national call for artists seeks to establish a dedicated pool of artists with direct and meaningful connections to San Francisco’s Chinatown community- a game-changing model to engage historically excluded artists
CCC of San Francisco (Chinese Culture Center), in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission, is excited to announce the inaugural launch of the Chinatown Artist Registry Request for Qualifications (RFQ)–a historic call for artists that will establish a pool of qualified artists with meaningful connections to San Francisco’s Chinatown community.
Artists in the qualified pool will be eligible for consideration for public art projects for three major publicly funded capital improvement projects in Chinatown: Portsmouth Square, Chinatown Public Health Center, and Chinatown/Him Mark Lai Branch Library.
The Chinatown Artist Registry will be used in the selection of artists who, upon approval by the Arts Commission, will enter into a contract for the Chinatown public art opportunities in early 2025.
The deadline to submit is October 7, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. PDT
“Chinatown is at the forefront of key initiatives on cultural equity. This is a bold move, the first of its kind call that will have a robust community engagement and outreach, to ensure that under-represented artists have an opportunity to be a part of the public art and community’s future. There is a great opportunity for Asian American artists to shine in creating works for Chinatown. We are grateful for the Mayor’s Office and Supervisor Peskin’s Office's leadership and support of diverse artists, and look forward to our continued partnership and advocacy to make change.” - CCC of SF’s Executive Director Jenny Leung.
“Currently there are no Asian American artists in public art or Asian American history reflected in the public monuments in Portsmouth Square. For a City that is a third Asian American, this is a huge opportunity to have the new public art in these upcoming projects reflect that,” says Hoi Leung, CCC Curator and Deputy Director. “We are being intentional about ensuring outreach is equitable, that will give opportunity for all to push the boundaries of the neighborhood in exciting ways.”
For more information visit the SFAC's RFQ Page.