PRESENT TENSE: TASK OF REMEMBRANCE
APRIL 27, 2019 - DECEMBER 21, 2019 CCC VISUAL ART CENTER 750 KEARNY ST, 3RD FLOOR
GALLERY HOURS: TUE - SUN, 10AM - 4PM. FREE
Chinese Culture Center (CCC) presents the latest iteration of its Present Tense Biennial with a group art exhibition that reflects on the complexity, gravity, and responsibility of remembering. Marking the thirtieth year since the global, cultural, and political upheavals of 1989, including the student protests in Tiananmen Square, the Loma Prieta Earthquake, and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Present Tense 2019: Task of Remembrance looks broadly at struggles for freedom, the weight of history, and the ways artists and their communities build and engage with memory.
The exhibition’s artists are working together to explore the responsibility of remembering, especially in light of threats to democratic forms of government, rising global xenophobia, the impact of regressive policies on the lives of migrants and refugees, and the retrenchment of systematic violence and racism,
Working in a variety of media from sculptural installation to experimental film, participating artists and art collectives—seven of whom are local to the Bay Area—include Sofía Córdova, Yan Jun, Hung Liu, Ming Mur-ray, Lam Tung-pang, Related Tactics, Xu Tan, Tina Takemoto, Jenifer Wofford, Gao Xia, Li Xiaofei, Wu Yuren, and Stella Zhang.
The Present Tense series is a biennial group exhibition that fosters discussion and provides a survey on current issues and is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Present Tense promotes robust artistic dialogue around issues relevant to the community with Chinese, Chinese diasporic, and non-Chinese local artists. Previous Present Tense exhibits include: New Urban Legend: Resistance of Space (2017), Future Perfect (2015), and Chinese Character (2009).
Present Tense 2019: Task of Remembrance is supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Phyllis C Wattis Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, Mayor’s Office Community Challenge Grants, San Francisco Foundation, Grants for the Arts.
Present Tense 2019: Task of Remembrance opens with a free reception on Saturday, April 27, 2 – 4 p.m., with a program at 2pm and is on view April 27-December 21, 2019; Tuesdays – Saturdays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Chinese Culture Center, 750 Kearny St., 3rd Floor. Admission to the gallery is free. For more information, the public should visit www.cccsf.us or call 415-986-1822.