Beginning in May, USAAF will be showcasing Aesthetic Blitz (Asian American Women Artists Association) and Waves of the Past (College of Ethnic Studies at SF State).  As products of a few of San Francisco’s long-standing arts and culture programs, they encapture how we see ourselves as people and as artists.

AAWAA’s Aesthetic Blitz

Curator Kelsay Meyers sees artwork and writing, “coming together in an organic way because the fact is that we all use both methods of communication to express ourselves on a daily basis, and that expression amounts to who we are.”  Aesthetic Blitz features artwork by female artists and poets of mostly Asian American ethnicities, showcasing their centralities of both their artist and human identities.  

The program, a project of the Asian American Women Artists Association, is inspired by the concept of “aesthetic blitzkrieg” or the way our minds process identity.  Artwork will be presented in a collage-like structure, with overlap and layering that, although a part of a bigger structure, techniques continue to preserve the integrity of each individual piece, thus being fragmented yet connected in fresh ways.  Aesthetic Blitz celebrates how we identify ourselves as women, as artists and as people.

Exhibition: May 4th - June 25th

Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 4th, 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Sequoias Rotunda Gallery

1400 Geary Blvd.

San Francisco, CA 94109

Asian American Photographic Explorations

Waves of the Past

San Francisco State University’s College of Ethnic Studies is the country’s first and only such freestanding college and has influenced other programs nationwide since its inception in 1969.  Through organized protests speaking out against misrepresentation, lack of resources, and the general oversight of indigenous people and people of color within the university’s curriculum, the Black Student Union, Third World Liberation Front, select staff and faculty and numerous Bay Area community organizers, were able to successfully voice the need for and therefore establish the College of Ethnic Studies.

Mirroring the 1969 testimonies, the college continues to suffer from increasingly rapid budget cuts and in March, students and faculty protested to keep the already small program afloat.  

Waves of the Past, a photographic exploration, features work by SFSU students of Asian American Studies 516: Asian American Photographic Explorations.  Taught by Professor and Artist Valerie Soe, each student chooses one Asian American figure of importance, honoring them with a photographic tribute.

Exhibition: May 10th - May 16th

Opening Reception: Tuesday, May 10th @ 7 - 9 PM

Free Event

518 Valencia: Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics, San Francisco, CA 94110