11/20/14 Ai Weiwei: @Large on Alcatraz

Download the audio by clicking here.

He’s one of the world’s most important creative and cultural figures. An artist, architect, curator, and urbanist, Ai Weiwei is also a vocal political activist whose recent installation @Large has come to Alcatraz Island.

Tonight we’ll learn more about Ai Weiwei’s life, influences, the impact he’s had on the art world and on Chinese politics. In studio we’ll be joined by:

• Nancy Hom: artist, writer, curator and arts consultant whose contributions to the Bay Area arts community span four decades. Born in Toisan, China, she grew up in New York City and moved to San Francisco in 1974.
• Truong Tran: visual artist and the author of The Book of Perceptions, placing the accents, dust and conscience, within the margin, four letter words, and a children’s book, Going Home Coming Home. Truong lives in San Francisco where he teaches poetry at San Francisco State University and Mills College.
• Christian L. Frock: independent writer and curator based in the Bay Area. Frock’s practice interrogates the intersection of art, daily life, and popular culture through a consideration of art in public spaces. Invisible Venue, the curatorial enterprise founded and directed by Frock since 2005, collaborates with artists to present art in unexpected settings.

For our listeners who haven’t had a chance to see the @Large exhibit first hand, our producer Salima Hamirani will give you a behind the scenes tour.

Community Calendar
11/22 Saturday @ 2 pm @ Bindlestiff Studio in the South of Market San Francisco: Pinay Playwrights Kat Evasco, Darah Macaraeg, Lorna Velasco, and Christina Ying in Conversation. More info at bindlestiffstudio.org

11/23 Sunday @ 2 pm @ SFPL’s Koret Auditorium 100 Larkin St.: Beyond Lumpia, Pancit, and Seven Manangs Wild, the new Filipino American National Historical Society anthology.

Through Saturday 11/22 @ The Punchline 444 Battery St: Comedian Hari Kondabalu. Get a small discount when you use the discount code “cocoabutter” when buying tickets online! More info at punchlinecomedyclub.com

December 1-8: “We All Live in Bhopal”, a series of events including film screenings, panel discussions, art exhibitions, and performances commemorating 30 years of the Union Carbide Gas Disaster in Bhopal, India. For more info visit walib.org

Saturday, December 13th: Elements of Rhythm: Drums of Asia at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in Oakland Chinatown. For more info visit oacc.cc

5/12/11 Nancy Hom, a leader in our community

Continuing with our Leaders in the Community Series for pledge drive, we feature Nancy Hom.

Nancy is an artist, writer, organizer, and arts administrator who has created numerous images for community events, political and social causes, and children’s books. After exploring silk screening and illustration, she is now a mixed-media artist and for the past two years has ventured into large-scale sculpture work.

The themes of her artwork – women, family, culture, protests, and celebrations – are universal. Her experience as an immigrant, mother, administrator, community activist, and spiritual seeker continues to provide the framework for her creative endeavors, which include writing as well as visual art.

For the pledge drive, Nancy has generously donated greeting cards made for the historic Asian American Dance Collective. These four-color silkscreen prints were hand-pulled by the artist and are the last remaining copies of this run. The card comes with an envelop and is wrapped in a plastic sleeve.

Her upcoming exhibitions include:
A Place of Her Own
May 5 – May 26
SOMArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street, SF
Closing Reception: May 26, 6-9 PM
Presented by AAWAA, Nancy exhibits a large-scale sculpture.

Asian Art Museum Free Day
Saturday, May 21, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
200 Larkin Street
The public is invited to co-create site specific artwork with Nancy Hom on the front steps.

ARTIST FROM THE HEART: Creativity, Celebration and Compassionate Action for Japan Disaster Relief
Saturday, May 21
5 p.m. Marketplace and food vendors open
7 p.m. Performances
Nihonmachi Terrace: 1615 Sutter Street, SSF
Donation sliding scale: $10- $100 (benefit for the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund)
Nancy will read along with Leon Sun, Bonnie Kwong and Tsering Wangmo for “Karma Intertwined: Words & Images of Aspiration by Tibetan and Chinese American Artists.”