Chinatown Pride 2025: We are Immortal!
華埠驕傲2025: 我們不朽！

CCC and Chinatown’s Queer Legacy

 

Chinatown's queer legacy stretches from the 1930s sanctuaries of Forbidden City and Li-Po Lounge to the revolutionary resistance at The Rickshaw. Today, CCC honors this heritage through exhibitions like “WOMEN: From Her to Here," celebrating trailblazers like Dr. Margaret Chung and Bernice Bing, while creating new space for queer expression with the world's first Chinese queer museum (OUT Museum).

 

In 2021, during pandemic isolation, CCC established the first-ever Chinatown Pride on the Dr. Rolland and Kathryn Lowe Community Bridge (Pedestrian Bridge), transforming a physical connector into a symbol of solidarity between communities. What began as a virtual lifeline has evolved into an embodied celebration—reclaiming public space and continuing Chinatown's long tradition of queer resistance and joy.

 

Our second Pride celebration erupts during CCC's 60th Anniversary! For six decades, CCC has transformed Chinatown through radical arts activism. Born from the civil rights movement, we've amplified marginalized voices and created space for resistance. As we mark this milestone, Chinatown Pride stands as a testament to our enduring mission of liberation. From our three locations in Chinatown, we continue to defy oppression, challenge dominant narratives, and forge new possibilities for LGBTQIA2S+ and immigrant communities. 

 

 

Featured Pride Artists

 

Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA)  runway artists

Founded in 1988, GAPA (now GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance) has been a cornerstone of the queer and transgender API community in the Bay Area for over three decades. This grassroots, all-volunteer organization helped establish the SF Community Health Center and created the GAPA Runway pageant—which evolved from underground house parties to one of the longest-running QTAPI pageants worldwide. Through advocacy, cultural events, and political engagement, GAPA continues to provide a safe space for celebrating diversity and pushing for equality, crowning Mx GAPA, Miss GAPA, and Mister GAPA as representatives of the vibrant QTAPI community.

 

Rice Rockettes

The Rice Rockettes is San Francisco’s premier Asian & Pacific Islander Drag Queen Troupe and House. Officially formed in the summer of 2009, the group came together to champion a fun and safe space for individuals in the A&PI communities to empower and express themselves through the art of drag and performance, at a time when drag was not quite as mainstream nor as prevalent in said communities as it is today. Since their inception, they have performed in numerous events and dance clubs around the Bay Area and beyond and even found themselves on a very short stint on America’s Got Talent. The troupe has recently found a home at the Lookout bar in the Castro, where they host one of the longest running drag shows in the neighborhood every 2nd Thursday of the month. Follow Rice Rockettes on social media @ricerockettes.

 

Bijun Liang

Bijun Liang is a Chinese-American artist based in San Francisco, CA. Her practice encompasses interactive installations and public art. Using a unique blend of playfulness, humor, and crowdsourcing, Liang puts the voices of the community at the forefront of the art she creates. In recent years, Liang exhibited her works at The Headlands Center for the Arts, Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative, the Chinese Culture Center, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Her recent accomplishments include creating murals like "Fufufufufu" and "Welcome to Chilltown," as well as community-based installations such as "Facepalm" and "Omens in Chinatown.". Liang has been recognized in art collections on SuperRare and LACMA.

 

Valerie Win Liu

Valerie Win Liu (they/she/he) is an Illustrator, Designer, and Artist from & based in the Bay Area. Graduated with a BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts. Liu enjoys making artwork focused on expression and joy through playful art, comics, and illustration and creating pieces that bring out people's fun, curious side. Follow Valerie on instagram @Valerie.Liu.

 

Wendy Liu

Wendy Liu is an artist based in the Bay Area, where her art practice focuses on the intersection of memory, culture, and landscape. Drawing inspiration from personal narratives and historical imagery, she explores how our relationships with the places we inhabit shape our identities. Her work centers on the immigrant experience, especially how diasporic communities find belonging through physical and cultural connections to land. Liu’s practice reflects on how environments shape both individual and collective histories.

 

Inky Fingers Print Collective

Inky Fingers is a passion project founded by Bay Area-based artists, educators, and community activists. Its mission is to celebrate the power of art, storytelling, and creativity while providing resources that empower individuals and strengthen communities. Through this platform, Inky Fingers Printshop aims to support both emerging and established artists, offering a space for collaboration, expression, and growth. Whether at local vending events, community workshops, or artistic training sessions, Inky Fingers is dedicated to fostering creativity and helping people thrive through the transformative power of the arts. Follow Inky Fingers on Instagram @inky.fingers.printshop

 

DJ Microtone

Menghsin Horng / DJ Microtone honed their musical chops by listening to radio in the Midwest, dancing to Chinese folk tunes, trading mix tapes and CD-Rs through postal mail, and interweaving hundreds of playlists on freeform radio stations. She embraces an experimental and exploratory approach to mixmaking, emplacing nostalgic Asian oldies within contemporary global soundscapes. You can catch her live on KALX Berkeley at 90.7 FM on the radio dial or streaming online at kalx.berkeley.edu.

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About CCC

 

Established in 1965, CCC (the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco) stands as a non-profit arts organization with a rich legacy spanning over 50 years. Throughout its history, CCC has played a pivotal role in elevating Chinatown through the arts, as both a vibrant neighborhood and a poignant metaphor for the immigrant experience. In recent years, CCC has undergone transformative growth, presenting thought-provoking international exhibitions and engaging educational programs. The organization’s commitment to spotlighting pressing and nuanced issues of our time sparks essential dialogues, uniting diverse perspectives and inspiring meaningful actions toward a more inclusive and equitable society. Some of its iconic programming includes “Chinatown History and Art Walking Tour,” “XianRui: Artist in Excellence Series,” “41 Ross: Artist-in-Residence,” and the new “Hungry Ghost Festival.” 

 

關於CCC

1965年成立的中華文化中心（CCC），是一個擁有超過50年歷史的非營利藝術組織。多年來，它一直致力於用藝術帶動華埠，以將其打造成移民經歴的象徵。近年，CCC不斷成長。通過發人深思的跨國藝術展和教育項目，CCC挑戰當下最迫切的複雜議題，用對話連結不同視角，觸發讓社會更平等、更公正的行動。最受矚目的項目包括「華埠歷史和藝術導遊」、「鮮銳 ：藝術家個展系列」、「41 Ross舊呂宋巷藝術家駐地項目」和「華埠鬼節」。

 

About Edge on the Square

 

Located at the heart of San Francisco Chinatown and the first project envisioned by Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative (CMAC), Edge on the Square is a year-round contemporary art hub for activists, artists, designers, educators, entrepreneurs, scholars, and technologists. Cultivating an inventive and collaborative model for contemporary art experimentation and visitor experience, our programs will harness the energy and excitement of art and media to expand the neighborhood’s dynamic artistic and cultural diversity, as well as our understanding of our collective history and the full spectrum of American pluralism. We believe that the transformative power of art is critical to strengthening communities and catalyzing positive social change.