The city is investing more than $2 million for the initiatives in Portsmouth Square, the Chinatown Public Health Center, and the Chinatown Him Mark Lai Branch Library.
The goal of the newly launched Chinatown Artist Registry is to search nationwide for professional artists with “direct and meaningful connections” to San Francisco’s Chinatown, and the purpose is “to celebrate and enrich the cultural heritage of Chinatown and the Greater San Francisco community,” according to the statement.
“The Chinatown Artist Registry will allow us to tap into the creative minds of artists who will spotlight and uplift this amazing neighborhood while creating beautiful and welcoming environments for future generations,” Ms. Breed said in the statement.
Artists in the United States who live or have lived in San Francisco’s Chinatown, or who have another meaningful connection to the area, will have the opportunity to be selected to create and display works of art at the designated locations.
The application deadline for artists is Sept. 11.
Potential artists will be vetted and reviewed and finalists are expected to submit proposals that will be posted online for public comment, the SFAC website states.
After the SFAC makes the final selection, the artists will enter into contract in early 2025 to create the art, the mayor’s office stated.
Part of the funding for the projects is from the city’s Art Enrichment Ordinance, which mandates that 2 percent of eligible public construction costs be used for public art; additional funding will come from other state and city sources, according to the statement.
“Project-specific funding often only covers preserving existing art and monuments,” District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin said in the statement. “Particularly for a community with a rich cultural history like Chinatown, it’s critical that our artists, residents, storytellers, and workers have a strong role in shaping these projects today. I’m thrilled to see this finally happening.”
Sherry Zhang, co-founder and head of the San Francisco High School of the Arts, praised Ms. Breed’s effort to support art.
“As an arts-focused secondary school, we understand the crucial role that the arts play in children’s development,” Ms. Zhang told The Epoch Times. “We hope this initiative is just the beginning, and that more funding for the arts will continue to flow into our community.”
The investment into arts in Chinatown is part of a series of actions by Ms. Breed “to create a more vibrant and economically resilient San Francisco,” the mayor’s office told The Epoch Times.
