Chinese Culture Center facts for kids
 |
|
| Abbreviation | CCC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1965 |
| Founder | J.K. Choy |
| Type | 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization |
| Purpose | CCC's mission is to elevate the underserved and be a voice for equality through contemporary arts and education |
| Headquarters | San Francisco Chinatown |
| Location |
|
|
Executive Director
|
Jenny Leung |
|
Staff
|
Hoi Leung, Curator |
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco (or CCC) is a special place in San Francisco Chinatown. It's a non-profit group that started in 1965. The CCC helps people learn about Chinese culture and art. It also works to support equality and give a voice to those who are often overlooked.
The center is located inside the Hilton San Francisco Financial District hotel. You can find it at 750 Kearny Street, on the 3rd Floor. Over the years, the CCC has changed what it focuses on. In recent times, it has become known for showing modern art and for its programs that teach about social justice.
Contents
About the Chinese Culture Center
The Chinese Culture Center has a lot of space, about 20,000 square feet. This includes a large auditorium with 299 seats. There's also a big art gallery and a shop where you can buy things. The center has classrooms for learning and offices for its staff.
It's located right between San Francisco's famous Chinatown and the busy Financial District. Since 2020, Jenny Leung has been the main leader, called the Executive Director. Before her, Mabel Teng, who used to be a city leader in San Francisco, led the center from 2009 to 2019.
How the Center Started
Building the Center
The idea for the Chinese Culture Center came from a man named J.K. Choy. The city of San Francisco was selling some land where an old building used to be. J.K. Choy worked out a deal with the builders. He made sure that 20,000 square feet of space would be set aside for community and cultural activities.
The Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco officially started on October 15, 1965. There was also a plan for a walking bridge over Portsmouth Square. This bridge was changed to make it easier for people to reach the future center. The hotel was finished in 1971, and the bridge was ready later that year. After some discussions within the Chinatown community, work on the Chinese Culture Center facilities began on January 27, 1973.
Early Activities
When the center first opened, it tried to avoid any big disagreements. This was because different groups in Chinatown had strong opinions.
The center started offering many fun classes and workshops. You could learn Mandarin Chinese, hear old stories, practice martial arts, or learn music. They also taught painting, calligraphy, crafts, drama, dance, and shadow puppet shows. The CCC also held big celebrations for the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. In 1974, they began offering guided tours of Chinatown.
The CCC also worked with other museums, like the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, for some of its early art programs.
The 1980s and 1990s
In 1989, the CCC started a yearly program called In Search of Roots. Each year, ten young Chinese Americans born in the U.S. could join. With help from the CCC, they researched their family histories. They even visited their family villages in China. Their findings were then shared in a special exhibit at the CCC each year.
As relations between the U.S. and China became friendlier, the CCC began inviting experts to give talks on Chinese art and culture. In the 1990s, older groups in Chinatown also started working more closely with the Chinese Culture Center.
The Center Today
In 2008, Abby Chen joined the CCC as Program Director. This led the center to focus mainly on modern art. This part of the center is now called the CCC Visual Arts Center. They also started printing books about their art shows for people to buy and for libraries to keep.
In 2013, the CCC's education programs were named the Him Mark Lai Learning Center.
The CCC also works on art projects that involve the community. In 2013, they opened 41 Ross. This is a special art space in historic Ross Alley. It helps artists and local people talk and share ideas. The Chinatown Community Development Center helps run 41 Ross.
The CCC's public art project, Sky Bridge, was named the "Best Public Art" of 2015 by KQED, a local media group.
In 2016, the walking bridge near the center was named the Rolland Lowe Bridge. This was to honor the Lowe family for their strong support of the CCC.
Art Programs
Art Shows
The CCC Visual Arts Center has put on over 100 art shows. These shows change every few months and feature many different styles and types of art.
Many of these shows are part of the XianRui 鮮銳 Artist Excellence Series. This series gives awards to talented, modern Chinese and Chinese-American artists.
Some past XianRui鮮銳 shows include:
- Beili Liu's "Lure" (2008): This show had thousands of red threads hanging from the ceiling. It was inspired by an old Chinese story about a red thread connecting people.
- Stella Zhang's "0 Viewpoint" (2010): This show featured sculptures and art in one color. It explored ideas about being a woman and nationality.
- Zheng Chongbin's "White Ink" (2011): This artist created large, abstract ink paintings and video art. He used new ways to work with traditional Chinese ink painting.
- Summer Mei Ling Lee's "Into the Nearness of Distance" (2014): This was an experimental art show that explored complex relationships.
The "WOMEN我們" show traveled to different cities. It looked at art and activism by women and other groups in modern China. It opened in Shanghai in 2011, came to the CCC in 2012, and was shown in Miami in 2013.
The CCC also has other art show series. "Episode" invites guest artists to share their ideas. "Present Tense" gives a chance for new, young artists to show their work.
Public Art Projects
The CCC also creates art projects in public spaces. Many of these projects happen at 41 Ross, the special art space in Ross Alley that opened in 2013.
Some important public art projects include:
- "Central Subway Public Art Project" (2013): This project included murals by Justin Hoover in Wentworth Alley.
- "Sky Bridge" (2015): This was a temporary art piece by Beili Liu. It used 50,000 shiny pieces on the Lowe Pedestrian Bridge to reflect the sky.
- "Liminal Space/Crossings" (2016): This art piece showed an ocean projected in Ross Alley by Summer Mei-Ling Lee.
The CCC also does art projects that involve the community:
- "San Francisco Chinatown Keywords School" (2013): Artist Xu Tan turned a public space into a workshop. Young people collected and created "key words" through art.
- "Sunrise" (2016): This project changed the Rolland Lowe Pedestrian Bridge into a park. It had special landscaping and a mosaic by Mik Gaspay.
Education and Community Programs
The CCC's education programs are part of the Him Mark Lai Learning Center, which started in 2013. This center is where you can find their tours. They offer Chinatown Walking Tours and California Roots Excursions. They also have talks called Thought Leader Seminars. Famous speakers like Timmy Yip and Gordon H. Chang have given talks here.
The CCC also continues to host big festivals for everyone in the city and for people living in Chinatown. These events bring art and community spirit to Chinatown. Local artists are invited to create art in different places. Some of these festivals include the Chinatown Music Festival in late summer, the Spring Festival, and Dancing on Waverly in early fall.
See also
- Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
- Museum of the African Diaspora
- Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
- Chinese Historical Society of America (also based in San Francisco)
- Museum of Chinese in America (based in New York City)
- Artivism
- History of the Chinese Americans in San Francisco
