{"id":452801,"date":"2026-09-04T01:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T01:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/452801\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T01:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T01:54:12","slug":"a-celebration-of-the-all-the-art-coming-to-sfs-chinatown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/452801\/","title":{"rendered":"A Celebration of the All the Art Coming to SF\u2019s Chinatown"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Empress of China building reopens for the first time since 2016 in a daylong, neighborhood art walk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sep 3, 2026<\/p>\n

Updated 5:31 pm PT<\/p>\n

\"1960s<\/p>\n

A concept rendering by Gensler of the Empress of China building as the future home of the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative.\u00a0(Courtesy of Gensler and Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative)<\/p>\n

Portsmouth Square<\/a>, the park known as Chinatown\u2019s living room, isn\u2019t looking very welcoming these days. The iconic pedestrian bridge<\/a> that once stretched across Kearny Street from the Hilton is gone. So is the park\u2019s playground, its trees and benches. Fenced in and under construction, the square won\u2019t reopen until 2028.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the only site in the neighborhood where work crews now outnumber residents. The Chinatown public library, a 1921 Carnegie building, will soon close for a planned 30-month renovation<\/a>. And seismic upgrades<\/a> to the Chinatown Public Health Center are already underway. What tempers all this disruption is the knowledge that when each of these sites reopens (better, safer), it will be graced by new public art from a lineup of talented local artists.<\/p>\n

In Portsmouth Square, that includes an entryway sculpture by Cathy Lu<\/a> and a tile wall from Jenifer K. Wofford<\/a>. At the public health center, a mural by Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong (aka Twin Walls Mural Company<\/a>) will wrap around an exterior corner; another mural by Vida Kuang<\/a> will enliven a waiting room. And Christine Wong Yap<\/a> is creating images for a series of archways in the library\u2019s grand reading room.<\/p>\n

\"squareA rendering of the renovated Chinatown Community Health Center with a mural by Twin Walls Mural Company on its corner.\u00a0(San Francisco Arts Commission)<\/p>\n

Good news all around, but that would usually be that. We\u2019d have to wait for years to mark the reopenings, glimpse the public artworks, and hear from the artists involved. Instead, on Saturday, Sept. 12, these artists will be present for a meet-and-greet event at the Grant Avenue storefront of the Chinese Culture Center<\/a> (CCC).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one stop on what the San Francisco Arts Commission, CCC and Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative<\/a> (CMAC) are calling \u201cA Day of Public Art in Chinatown<\/a>,\u201d a mini-tour of artists and artworks across three neighborhood venues.<\/p>\n

The day starts at 11 a.m. at Chinatown-Rose Pak Station, where New York-based artist Tomie Arai will lead visitors on a tour of her monumental glass exterior and downstairs platform installation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"handA commemorative patch for the \u2018Threaded Histories\u2019 project, to be given away at Chinatown-Rose Pak Station on Sept. 12.<\/p>\n

\"womanAriana Martinez-Cruz works in her studio on the temporary monument \u2018Threaded Histories.\u2019<\/p>\n

Then, at the station\u2019s entrance at noon, Ariana Martinez-Cruz<\/a> will unveil a large-scale temporary monument to the city\u2019s Latino and Chinese garment workers. As one of the SFAC\u2019s Shaping Legacy<\/a> artists, Martinez-Cruz has been conducting workshops and gathering stories for months, all while fabricating an impressive sculpture out of metal, cloth and thread. (A commemorative patch and tote bag giveaway will take place 1\u20134 p.m.)<\/p>\n

The third stop may be the most exciting: The historic Empress of China building, recently purchased by CMAC<\/a> as a future cultural campus, will open its doors to the public for the first time since it shuttered in 2016. A community open house curated by Summer Mei Ling Lee<\/a> returns to the idea of \u201cChinatown\u2019s living room.\u201d With Portsmouth Square closed, Lee has organized the building\u2019s first floor into a series of intimate spaces where artists, historians, performers and other nonprofits can hold court. While the building will be open 11 a.m.\u20134 p.m., a ceremony and performances begin at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"photographStill from Center for Asian American Media\u2019s Memories to Light program.\u00a0(Courtesy of the David Leong Family Collection)<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s program includes plenty of hands-on and celebratory elements, including crowd-sourced images from decades of family celebrations at the Empress of China banquet hall, a shadow puppet show from ShadowLight Productions<\/a> and a human embodiment of \u201cThe Empress\u201d by Maggie Wong. Also, the Grant Avenue Follies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Permanent, full access to all of Chinatown\u2019s public and community spaces may be months (or years) away, but events like this prove there are still plenty of ways to fill the streets with art.<\/p>\n

A Day of Public Art in Chinatown<\/a> takes place Sept. 12, 2026, 11 a.m.\u20134 p.m. at the Chinatown-Rose Pak Station (934 Stockton St.), CCC Art Center & Design Store (667 Grant Ave.) and Empress of China (838 Grant Ave.).<\/p>\n