750 Kearny St., 3rd floor
(inside Holiday Inn)
(415) 986-1822
www.c-c-c.org
The Chinese Culture Center is a treasure trove of art, music
and educational programs designed to highlight historical as
well as contemporary Chinese and Chinese American culture.
Housed in an unusual setting — the San Francisco
Redevelopment Commission agreed to let the Holiday Inn build on
the site if it provided facilities for cultural enrichment —
the center also hosts traditional arts classes, such as Chinese
painting, music and flower arranging.
The center's event schedule is varied and ever-changing: one
day it might feature a cook-book signing from a leading Chinese
chef, or a discussion of which Western wines go best with
Chinese food; a lecture from a visiting professor, or a dance
concert.
Major exhibitions of historical importance have included
Contemporary Chinese Paintings; Stories from China's Past: Han
Dynasty Pictorial Tomb Reliefs and Archaeological Objects from
Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China, which toured to
eight U.S. cities in 1987-88; Chinese of America: 1786-1980 (a
documentary exhibition on the history of Chinese Americans); Chinese Women of America - A Pictorial History; Symbol
and Adornment: Traditional Costumes and Jewelry from China's
Minorities (in collaboration with the Cultural Palace Museum of
Nationalities, Beijing, China); and Shiwan Ceramics: Beauty,
Color, and Passion, which received funding support locally and
from abroad.
The exhibits place the art in a cultural context in way
perhaps more evocative than a typical museum. A recent show by
photographer Chung Wah Nan, "The Art of Chinese
Gardens," focused on the elegant gardens of China's private
citizens. Many of the gardens were confiscated by a succession
of imperial governments from the 16th to the 20th
century and used as offices, even as dormitories for soldiers,
or ruined and reduced to rubble later by Mao's Red Guards. Some
gardens, however, have miraculously survived or been restored to
their former splendor.
Another recent show, Urban Yearnings: Portraits of
Contemporary China by Liu Qinghe, Su Xinping, and Zhang Yajie,
ran parallel to a major exhibition on modern Chinese art at the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA); this exhibition of
24 paintings, oils and ink, focused on the artists' visions of
cosmopolitan life in a rapidly changing society.
The activities of the Center focus on art exhibitions, which
are presented on a continuous, year-round basis — some
organized by the Center and others on loan from other museums or
cultural institutions. The center is a
major community-based, non-profit organization established in
1965 to foster the understanding and appreciation of Chinese and
Chinese American art, history, and culture in the United States.
The facilities of the Center, totaling 20,000 square feet,
include a 350-seat auditorium, two 2,935 square-foot galleries,
book shop, classroom, and offices. Centrally located between
Chinatown and the Financial District, the Center attracts a
broad spectrum of audiences from the Chinese community, the city
at large, and the greater Bay Area, as well as visitors from all
over the country.
It's also a great place to start a tour of Chinatown; walking
tours ($15) can be arranged on weekends at 2 p.m.
Hours:
Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Admission to the exhibits is free.
