Client: Robert J. Louie Memorial Fund

Overview

The first West Coast iteration of “Lantern Stories”, this public art installation comprises 29 lanterns that illuminate San Francisco Chinatown’s history, culture, and community. The images on the lanterns relate the long and fraught history and legacy of Chinese immigration in the United States. Many of the lanterns highlight the arts, calligraphy, music and performance, as well as the community’s strong commitment to education, entrepreneurship, and social justice. 12 There are twelve SF-specific lanterns, including Angel Island Detention Center, Entrepreneurship, Earthquake of 1906, Cameron House, and SF Notables featuring Bruce Lee, Amy Tan, journalist Helen Zia, pioneer restaurateur Cecilia Chang, and many others.

Goals

Highlighting history, culture, the arts, education, entrepreneurship, and social justice, Wu’s lanterns relate the past, present, and future stories of the San Francisco Chinatown community . Lantern Stories was created with the hope that each lantern initiates the desire to learn more about the history of Asian immigration to the United States and the social justice issues faced by AAPI communities on multiple levels. The project involved a process of community engagements, intensive historical research, drawings, the design of lantern forms, and the creation of images on the lanterns specific to Chinatown.