Free Event

 Multimedia Art Installation
at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Reflections on the forgotten history of Chinese shrimp fishing around San Francisco Bay

An exciting multimedia art installation by CW Director Rene Yung opens at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park on November 14. Come experience this immersive installation!

A poetic reflection on the Chinese Whispers: Bay Chronicles voyages last year aboard a replica 19th c. Bay junk to former Chinese shrimping sites around San Francisco Bay, the site-specific art installation transforms the Park's visitor center theater into a powerfully evocative environment.

Sounds and video transport visitors to the voyages. An ethereal "sail" emerges from between the theater's heavy blue velvet curtains, shimmering with flowing video imagery. Voices speak softly from behind the curtains .

It is only when visitors step beneath the "sail", bending slightly awkwardly, that they hear the words from historical texts and oral histories telling of the cultural attitudes, discriminatory laws, and environmental degradation, that led to the demise of the Chinese shrimp fishery.

Second in a series of iterative reflections by Yung on this overlooked chapter of Bay Area history, this art installation is part of Chinese Whispers' ongoing collaboration with the SF Maritime NHP to bring to light the maritime heritage of the early Chinese community around San Francisco Bay.

Free and accessible.