Lenore Chinn, Chinatown Photo Series, 

Chronicling the everyday life of San Francisco’s unique neighborhood, these images of Chinatown capture a celebration of the joy, longevity and resilience of its residents. From its seniors playing cards through the community’s response to anti-Asian hate violence in a rally at Portsmouth Square, they convey a sense of a people and place that survives and thrives.

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About Lenore Chinn 

Lenore Chinn, a native San Franciscan who graduated from San Francisco State College with a B.A. in Sociology, is a painter, photographer, and cultural activist who works to create structures of personal and institutional support that will both sustain critical artistic production and advance movements for social justice. Portraiture is at the core of her visual art practice whether it is painting or photography – both are employed in her creative process. A moment in time spontaneously captured by her digital camera, transmitted to acrylic on canvas, conveyed in modern archival print or shared on social media, these images document everyday life. As a body of work they are visual narratives that constitute an art history largely hidden from the public’s perception of society and our particular collective experience. Her current street photography chronicles a rapidly changing socio-political landscape. She has been active in the Asian American Women Artists Association since the group was founded. From 1988 to 1992, she served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.