Chinatown Community Development Center engages in place-based activities that involve community residents, artists, and cultural workers to activate formal and informal arts spaces and utilize creative interventions for positive community outcomes. Chinatown CDC recognizes the importance of honoring the cultural lives of the Chinatown community and making sure the cultural history is protected and preserved. Our efforts involve community participants in collaborative processes to reflect on their neighborhood, consider ways to shape and support Chinatown’s ongoing evolution, and strengthen the connection between people and the places they share.
41 Ross
Situated in historic Ross Alley in San Francisco Chinatown, 41 Ross is an active community space for creative engagement that brings together local residents, neighbors, and visitors to participate in art/culture making activities. More than an art gallery, 41 Ross is a community resource space and interactive studio that promotes dialogue, appreciation, and creative engagement around the local culture as practiced by everyday people in Chinatown. Our cultural programming serves to activate Ross Alley and other public spaces in Chinatown. 41 Ross is a collaboration between Chinatown Community Development Center and the Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco.
41 Ross
Situated in historic Ross Alley in San Francisco Chinatown, 41 Ross is an active community space for creative engagement that brings together local residents, neighbors, and visitors to participate in art/culture making activities. More than an art gallery, 41 Ross is a community resource space and interactive studio that promotes dialogue, appreciation, and creative engagement around the local culture as practiced by everyday people in Chinatown. Our cultural programming serves to activate Ross Alley and other public spaces in Chinatown. 41 Ross is a collaboration between Chinatown Community Development Center and the Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco.
EAT CHINATOWN is a photo exhibit at 41 Ross that commemorates classic Chinatown restaurants, diners and bakeries that have been operating for at least 40 years.The exhibit focuses on four well-loved restaurants: New Lun Ting Cafe (better known as Pork Chop House), Capital Restaurant, Hon’s Wun-Tun House and Eastern Bakery.
Made in Chinatown celebrates the achievements and impact of the Chinatown Community Development Center’s youth programs in the neighborhood over the last twenty-five years. The exhibit features photographs, a short documentary film, a full-scale lego model of their neighborhood, and an interactive map. Visitors are invited to share their memories and vision of Chinatown, as all of us, in some way, are “Made in Chinatown.”
Produced by photographer Andria Lo and writer Valerie Luu, the exhibition Chinatown Pretty aims to celebrate the ingenuity, flair, and beauty of Chinatown and its longtime residents. Clothes tell a story of Chinatown. It’s about layers of hand-knit sweaters and puffy coats in the summer; as well as bold floral patterns and baseball caps – sometimes all in one outfit. It’s a story about a generation of men and women who emigrated from China to Chinatown, and their fashion philosophy (staying warm) and economic ideals (making their own clothes or preserving the ones they already have). On display through April 17 at 41 Ross Alley, the exhibit features large color photos paired with short biographies from interviews with the residents.