Hotam Press @ 41 Ross Closing Talk
好淡印刷
Co-Presented by Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco & Asia Art Archive in America in New York
Lead Artist: Ho Tam
Moderator: Winnie Wong
Date : Saturday, November 30, 2024
Hours: 2 - 3:00 pm PST / 5 - 6:00 pm EST
This hybrid event is available in person and virtually.
In-person location: 41 Ross, 41 Ross Alley, San Francisco, CA 94108
For virtual attendees, the livestream link will be sent 3 days prior, via email.
Join us for a compelling conversation as we conclude the Chinese Culture Center’s residency Hotam Press @ 41 Ross!
Our Artist-in-Residence, Ho Tam, will sit down with Winnie Wong, Professor at UC Berkeley, to reflect on his transformative time in SF Chinatown—including the unexpected discovery of his family’s roots in California. This discussion will dive into key themes driving Ho’s work—identity politics, media representation, social stereotypes, and the tension between alienation and belonging—brought to life through the powerful lens of print media.
Ho will also share a behind-the-scenes look at how he reimagined 41 Ross, turning it into a vibrant cultural hub and a living extension of Hotam Press, his Vancouver-based multifaceted platform. This is a unique chance to hear firsthand about his creative process, his connection with local artists, and the vital role print media plays in preserving the rich cultural fabric of the oldest Chinatown in the U.S., where print shops continue to thrive.
As part of a bicoastal collaboration between the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco and Asia Art Archive in America (AAAinA) in New York, a popup installation of Ho’s work will also be on display at AAAinA’s reading room. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear about his time immersed in the heart of SF Chinatown and the new works inspired by his interactions with the local community!
You don't want to miss this exciting discussion!
About Ho Tam
Ho Tam is a Hong Kong-born Canadian artist whose diverse practice spans video, photography, painting, drawing, graphic design, and print media. His work frequently explores themes of mass media representation, race, and identity politics. Tam has exhibited his art in galleries and film festivals across Canada and internationally. Over the past decade, he has focused on independent publishing under his imprint, Hotam Press.
Tam received a BA from McMaster University and an MFA from Bard College (NY). From 1996 to 1997, he was a participant at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. His video work has earned several accolades, including Best Documentary at the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival and the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award at OutFest in Los Angeles, both for his 2006 film Books of James. From 2004 to 2010, he taught full time at the University of Victoria, BC. Since the 2010s, Tam has been focusing on independent publishing of artist books and zines, and currently he manages a bookshop/gallery in Vancouver, BC.
About Winnie Wong
Winnie Wong is a Professor in the Department of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley. As a Hong Kong-born Chinese Canadien, her research focuses on the history and present of artistic authorship, particularly the interactions between China and the West. She explores critical distinctions between high and low, true and fake, art and commodity, originality and imitation, and conceptual and manual labor, examining objects and practices at the boundaries of these categories. Her forthcoming book, The Many Names of Anonymity (University of Chicago Press, Fall 2025), studies the nameless and "nameful" portraitists of Guangzhou (Canton) in the 18th and early 19th centuries, when the city was the sole port of trade between China and Europe.
Wong earned her Master’s in the History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture and Art from MIT, served as a research assistant in the Art of Europe at the MFA Boston, and directed a non-profit new media exhibition space in Cambridge, MA. She later obtained her PhD from MIT and was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows before joining UC Berkeley in 2013.
About CCC
Established in 1965, CCC (the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco) is a non-profit arts organization with a rich legacy spanning over 50 years. Throughout its history, CCC has played a pivotal role in elevating Chinatown through the arts, as both a vibrant neighborhood and a poignant metaphor for the immigrant experience. In recent years, CCC has undergone transformative growth, presenting thought-provoking international exhibitions and engaging educational programs. The organization’s commitment to spotlighting pressing and nuanced issues of our time sparks essential dialogues, uniting diverse perspectives and inspiring meaningful actions toward a more inclusive and equitable society. Some of its iconic programming includes “Chinatown History and Art Walking Tour,” “XianRui: Artist in Excellence Series,” “41 Ross: Artist-in-Residence,” and the new “Hungry Ghost Festival.”
About AAAinA
Asia Art Archive in America (AAAinA), founded in 2009, is an independently established and operated U.S. 501(c)3 and the first overseas hub of Asia Art Archive (AAA) in Hong Kong. AAAinA’s mission is to collect, preserve, and make accessible information on contemporary art from and of Asia, in order to facilitate public understanding and specialized research, to instigate dialogue and critical thinking, and to raise awareness of and support for the activities of AAA globally.
To achieve this goal, AAAinA maintains a reading room in Brooklyn, New York which is open to the public free of charge, and comprises over 5,000 monographs, exhibition catalogues, reference books, periodicals, and audio-visual materials about contemporary art related to Asia. AAAinA also organizes a regular program of talks, screenings, exhibitions, residencies, workshops, participatory projects, and panels with artists, curators, critics, and scholars in the field.
Presented by:
Acknowledgments
41 Ross AIR Supported by:
Chinatown Arts Promotion Support:
Additional Artist Support by:
