May Events
May 1 - August 5
100th Anniversary of the U.S. Immigration Station, Angel Island
An exhibit on the “Ellis Island of the West,” where, between 1910 and 1940, more than one million immigrants from 80 countries first stepped onto American soil. Presented by San Francisco Public Library and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
At San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin St., Larkin Street Bridge, San Francisco. Free. Visit www.sfpl.org or call 415-557-4596.
May 2 at 2:30 PM
Shanghai Film Series: The Jews of Shanghai
Shanghai emerged in the 1920s as China’s first film capital and today hosts one of Asia’s largest annual film festivals. Showing today at the Asian Art Museum, at 2:30 PM: The Port of Last Resort (1998), the little-known story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai, told by former refugees and through rare home movies, newsreels and propaganda films. Nancy Berliner, curator of Chinese art at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, introduces the 79-minute film. A program of Target First Free Sunday.
At the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. Visit www.asianart.org or call 415-581-3500.
May 5, at 4:30 - 8:30 PM
Mah Jongg!
Learn to and play mah jongg (either the Chinese or American versions) and watch Tiles That Bind, a short documentary featuring Chinese and Jewish women who reminisce about their mothers playing. Between the tile clacking and stacking, check out the on-site Jews in Modern China exhibit. Refreshments provided. Sponsored by the American Jewish Committee San Francisco Office.
At the Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., The Presidio, San Francisco. Free, but reservations required no later than April 27; rsvp to Lauren Bellings, 415-447-8888 or lauren@laurenlai.com, or Linda Frank, 415-263-8926 or linda@franknet.net, and please give names of any people coming with you, whether you are coming as part of a table group, and whether you can help teach.
May 6 – June 5
Sister Cities-Dreaming Alike Oceans Apart
Li Xiaofei of Shanghai and Lynn Marie Kirby of San Francisco present videos of adolescents in their two cities talking about their lives, social relations and expectations for the future, and a collaborative, comedic video based on their e-mail correspondence as translated by Google translate. Also on display are Li’s abstract, large-scale color photographs and Kirby’s Listening in Shanghai project, in which she has taken notes about sounds when she encounters people or sites, rather than recorded them. Presented by the Togonon Gallery.
At Togonon Gallery, 77 Geary St., 2nd Flr., San Francisco. Visit www.togonongallery.com or call 415-398-5572.
May 8, at 12 - 6:30 PM
Chinatown Music Festival
Presented by the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, this free outdoor concert highlights talent in Chinatown and marks Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Performers include pianist and composer Jon Jang, homegrown band Jest Jammin' and Melody of China, an ensemble that uses traditional Chinese instruments.
At Portsmouth Square, Kearny and Clay streets, San Francisco. Free. Visit www.c-c-c.org or call 415-986-1822.
May 9 at 10:30 AM - 4 PM
Spring Family Festival
Perfectly timed on Mother’s Day, the Asian Art Museum’s Spring Family Festival is a day of parent-child activities and entertainment. There will be music and dance performances and hands-on arts and crafts making. Museum storytellers will engage kids with classic tales from Chinese literature, such as Journey to the West. The China Dance School & Theatre will perform pieces from Shanghai and other areas of China. The troupe will also demonstrate two of the most popular traditional Chinese dances, the ribbon and the fan dances—and visitors will have the chance to try the moves themselves.
At the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. Free with museum admission. Visit www.asianart.org or call 415-581-3500.
May 12, at 7 - 8 PM
A Conversation with Contemporary Artist Zhang Huan
Join internationally-renowned, Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan and Asian Art Museum director Jay Xu as they talk about Zhang’s colossal Three Heads Six Arms (2008), which makes its official world premiere today at Civic Center. Standing between City Hall and the Museum, the 15-ton, 26-foot-tall copper sculpture was inspired by Zhang’s finding desecrated religious statues for sale in markets in China. The program will be conducted in Chinese, with English interpretation provided. Co-sponsored by San Francisco Arts Commission and the Asian Art Museum.
At the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. Free. Visit www.sfartscommission.org or www.asianart.org or call 415-581-3500.
May 19, at 6 PM
Shanghai and Beyond: Understanding the Power of Art and Visual Culture
The Asian Art Museum’s Shanghai exhibition is the cornerstone of a year-long celebration of the Shanghai-San Francisco 30-year Sister City relationship and Shanghai’s hosting of World Expo 2010. Museum director and Shanghai native Jay Xu discusses the artworks in the unprecedented exhibit and the city's transformation through the lens of art and visual culture. He also reflects upon the power of cultural diplomacy to bridge cultures and countries. Presented by the Commonwealth Club of California’s arts, Asia-Pacific and humanities forums.
At the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., San Francisco. Tickets : $12 Commonwealth Club and Asian Art Museum members (must call 415 597-6705 to purchase); $20 non-members; $7 students. Visit https://tickets.commonwealthclub.org.
May 22, at 2 - 4 PM
Shanghai Film Program
San Francisco Public Library screens the popular Shanghai classic Street Angel (馬路天使) (1937), which the 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards ranked 11th among the 100 best Chinese movies. Zhou Xuan (周璇) and Zhao Dan (趙丹) star in the drama/comedy; 90 minutes, in Mandarin with English subtitles. Q & A to follow screening. At San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. Free. Visit www.sfpl.org or call 415-557-4596.
May 22, at 6 - 9 PM
Sister City Video Art Screening
The work of a pair of video artists—Lynn Marie Kirby of San Francisco and Li Xiaofei of Shanghai—is screened in this program organized by SOMArts Cultural Center and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center.
At SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th), San Francisco. Free. Visit http://blog.somarts.org or call 415-863-1414 ext. 110.
May 23, at 1 – 4 PM
Shanghai Cultural Festival
San Francisco Public Library’s festival includes presentations of Shanghai opera, indigenous folk dancing, modern martial arts and a fashion show from 2-4 pm. From 1-4 pm, artists will demonstrate Shanghai’s unique twists on traditional Chinese crafts such as calligraphy, paper cutting, pastry-dough sculpture and poured-sugar sculpture.
At San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. Free. Visit www.sfpl.org or call 415-557-4277.
May 28 - June 13, Fridays through Sundays, at 12 - 4 PM
AsiaAlive: Through the Artist's Lens
In demonstrating their processes of making art, local art instructors Imin Yeh, Danny Thanh Nguyen and Adrienne Skye Roberts share how they led the teens in the museum's Art Speak program to create original works inspired by the Shanghai exhibit.
At the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. Free with museum admission. Visit www.asianart.org or call 415-581-3500.
May 29, at 2 - 4 PM
Elegant Embroidery and Kesi Demonstration
Cao Meiji, one of China's top embroidery artists, comes from the Chinese silk capital of Suzhou to demonstrate embroidery and kesi (cut silk). She will give an overview of techniques, showing a variety of stitches, designs, and styles. She will also screen a short DVD and will teach some simple embroidery methods. Attendees will have a chance to try their hands at it; materials and tools will be provided.
At the Chinese Center, San Francisco Public Library, 3/F, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. Free. Visit www.sfpl.org or call 415-557-4277.
