Dear Community,

In light of the rapidly changing circumstances regarding COVID-19 prevention, APICC’s staff and board have been in earnest discussion about the orders and advice coming from local, state, and federal authorities on how best to protect those who could have the worst outcomes from the virus. As of last Friday, March 13, the City & County of San Francisco issued a Public Health Order prohibiting non-essential gatherings of 100 people or more and recommending to cancel meetings of 10 or more people with vulnerable populations until April 30. As of today, an article has also just been released notifying the public of a shelter-in-place order to be in effect in 6 Bay Area counties until April 7.

Over the course of the past few weeks, many other businesses, places of entertainment, worship, and educational institutions have already made the decision to halt non-essential activities, to limit the risk of close contact with potential carriers of the virus. Our community's health is very important to us, so we are postponing any upcoming major events until further notice. Seeing our friends at performances and art openings while presenting our amazing artists are the highlights of our year.  We will miss seeing all of you during the spring, but we know we’ll be back together again.

In regards to the upcoming United States of Asian America Festival: FINDING KINSHIP, we are working with this year’s producing artists to find creative alternatives and opportunities to bring API stories to the public.

Amidst racist and xenophobic profiling in relation to the virus, we recognize that presenting art and culture by API artists is most important during moments like this. We encourage our community to stay up to date using accurate information from reliable resources such as those linked below. 

During this time of reflection we will be working with our funders to find ways to help mitigate the economic and professional losses our artists will be facing.  We thank our major funders such as SF Grants for the Arts, SF Arts Commission, California Arts Council, Cal Humanities, and Zellerbach Family Foundation for taking leadership in trying to understand the impact this is going to have on small cultural nonprofits and community artists.  We also thank our civic leaders who have been tireless in gathering information, making historically difficult decisions and keeping us informed.

RESOURCES & FACTS

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s info on the virus
• Official Guidelines from the State of California
• Coronavirus Facts from the San Francisco Department of Public Health
• Friday, March 13 Public Health Order, prohibiting gatherings of 100 or more persons issued by the City & County of San Francisco until April 30, 2020
• Monday, March 16 San Francisco Chronicle article on the shelter-in-place announcement

Every member of our community deserves to be safe and although these are difficult decisions, they are the right ones to take. Please remain vigilant in social distancing and look out for your loved ones.  

Please feel free to contact us via email at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns. 

Thank you,
Vinay, Melanie and Diana

Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center Staff