Skip to main content

Virtual Parade and New Central Subway Art Ring in Lunar New Year

Virtual Parade and New Central Subway Art Ring in Lunar New Year
By Sophia Scherr

We are entering the year of the Ox, typically symbolizing hard work, positivity, and honesty. This year the SFMTA will continue the tradition of celebration with the virtual San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade  on February 20th at 6 pm on KTVU.

Celebrating Lunar New Year and the San Francisco Chinese community has been a long-standing tradition for many of us. In 1849, San Francisco’s population swelled to 50,000 and many of the new residents were Chinese immigrants, coming to work in gold mines or on railroad lines. By the 1860’s, the Chinese were eager to share their culture with others and the annual tradition of parade and pageantry was born. A variety of other cultural groups throughout the city were invited to participate, and they marched down what today are Grant Avenue and Kearny Street with colorful flags, banners, lanterns, and drums and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. The city’s Chinese New Year Parade is one of the largest celebrations of its kind in the world, attracting over three million spectators and television viewers throughout the U.S., Canada and Asia.

In line with what the year of the Ox signifies, we also look forward to seeing our work come to fruition when the Central Subway Project's Chinatown - Rose Pak station opens in 2022. As part of this milestone, the SFMTA in partnership with SFAC’s Public Art Program, the Chinese Culture Center, Chinatown Community Development Center, and the Chinese Historical Society have envisioned a vibrant art program for Chinatown’s station. Three significant prominent artworks by artists Tomie Arai, Yumie Hou and Clare Rojas are being installed, infusing the quintessential Chinatown spirit into their works, connecting the past, present and future. These artworks also serve as wayfinding – from marking the entrance to the station, to signaling to riders their arrival at Chinatown with placement of prominent works on the platform walls.

image of Chinese "paper cut" art

Traditional Chinese paper cut artist Yumei Hou developed large murals that will adorn the station

Ongoing community involvement is an essential to ensuring that Chinatown residents had a role in the artwork design process. The Chinese Cultural Center helped convene community meetings so that the artists would be able to meet residents and receive feedback on their proposed designs. Through this support, artists and community members were able to collaborate on the design of the installations. Artist Tomie Arai was able to work with local photographer Bob Hsiang to photograph students from Gordon J. Lau Elementary School who were then featured in her work.

Central Subway Project outreach staff and their partners at the Chinatown Community Development Center wanted to ensure that all aspects of Chinese culture and art were represented in the art program that will adorn the entryway of the stations roof-top plaza. The center conducted a couplet contest that garnered 120 couplet entries from local, national and international poets. San Francisco poet, Carin Mui was selected, her couplet, a form of Chinese poetry with two lines of verse that have a joined meaning and follow a list of exacting rules reads “In the past, we traveled across the Pacific to mine for gold; Now, we break through earth to form a silver dragon.”

Artist Terry Luk paints the winning couplet for the Chinatown Central Subway Station, as composer Carin Mui, former Chinatown Community Development Center staffer Jerri Diep and former Central Subway Program Manager John Funghi look on.

Artist Terry Luk paints the winning couplet for the Chinatown Central Subway Station, as composer Carin Mui, former Chinatown Community Development Center staffer Jerri Diep and former Central Subway Program Manager John Funghi look on.

The winning couplet was recently installed in the public plaza above the Chinatown – Rose Pak Station

The winning couplet was recently installed in the public plaza above the Chinatown – Rose Pak Station

Public art in our stations is important not only for its aesthetic or beauty, but helps draw out the identity of a space, aids in the understanding of the historic or cultural significance of a neighborhood and builds a connection between visitor and the surrounding community. It’s an important reminder of the power of art to address the complexity and diversity of neighborhoods and to maintain cultural identity in the face of rapid urban transformation.

 

 



Published February 19, 2021 at 05:24AM
https://ift.tt/37pAePq
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

150 Years Ago Today – The Cable Car is Born

150 Years Ago Today – The Cable Car is Born By Kelley Trahan August 2, 2023, marks the 150th anniversary of the world’s first successful cable railway, born right here in San Francisco. To celebrate the occasion, we bring you the story of Andrew Hallidie and the very first cable car company, the Clay Street Hill Railroad.  Andrew Hallidie (1834-1900) was a pioneering inventor and entrepreneur who changed urban transportation. In 1852, at the age of 18, Hallidie emigrated with his father from the United Kingdom to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. His father, an engineer and inventor, had a wire rope patent that played a crucial role in his son's future success.   Portrait of Andrew Smith Hallidie in 1890. Inspired by his father's wire rope business, Hallidie developed a steel cable mineral mine hauling system in 1857. About a decade later, he designed a wire rope aerial tramway for transporting materials over mountainous terrain. Then, after a stint in bridg...
Post a Comment
NEXT

Shared Spaces are Here to Stay. Permit Renewals are Due January 15, 2023.

Shared Spaces are Here to Stay. Permit Renewals are Due January 15, 2023. By Anne Yalon Shared Spaces, amongst many other benefits, allows our residents and families to enjoy safe and social outdoor dining. Seen here are the the owners of Tio Chilo’s Grill and their children in the restaurant’s parklet on 24th Street in the Mission.  San Francisco’s popular Shared Spaces program allows merchants, restaurants and arts and culture organizations to use the curbside, sidewalk and other public spaces to conduct local business activities and stay afloat. What emerged as an economic lifeline during the pandemic is making San Francisco’s streets more energized, engaged and activated. Many of the Shared Spaces parklets have become central gathering places for the local community. “ Our parklet makes me feel like when I go to Mexico, where outdoor seating is everywhere. People end up joining their friends in our parklet. It is a space for our customers and our community," said Liz V...
Post a Comment
NEXT

Tenderloin Streets Transform During COVID-19

Tenderloin Streets Transform During COVID-19 By Kimberly Leung COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted people who live and work in the Tenderloin. As a result, the SFMTA has been working closely with District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney’s office, other city departments, the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force and community members to address the public health issues and unique challenges in the neighborhood through innovative interventions.    The Tenderloin is home to many of our most vulnerable communities including historically marginalized groups such as people with disabilities, residents of SROs and supportive housing and limited-English proficient communities. With every single street in the Tenderloin on the city’s High Injury Network -- the 13 percent of San Francisco streets that account for 75 percent of severe traffic injury collision and fatalities -- thi...
Post a Comment
NEXT