SF/Arts meets five newcomers on the Bay Area museums and arts scene
Our world is changing, for better or for worse, and museums of necessity are responding. The coronavirus pandemic led to costly and lengthy shutdowns, but it gave administrators a chance to confront some of the persistent social issues facing all of our institutions: the insistent demands for justice and equality coming from Black Lives Matter (BLM) and LGBTQIA+ communities; and equity demands from the Me Too Movement and others. “The responsibility of the curator has never been more urgent,” said Christina Yang, who begins full time as Chief Curator at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in January. “It’s time for change.”
Yang is one of five recently appointed curators we spoke to for this roundup of new faces. Four of the five are women. Only two were born in the United States. One of the five is South African and one is African American. Two are ethnic Chinese and one is Italian. All are passionate about their work.
