Chinese in the Sunset is a 2017 exhibit by CHSA about the lives of Chinese Americans in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset District. Chinese in the Sunset illuminates the history of racial restrictions preventing Chinese and other people of color from living in the Sunset neighborhood, how the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement and subsequent legislation removed the restrictions, how social attitudes changed, and how different perspectives within the community has led the Outer Sunset to become a vibrant community today. 

CHSA staff conducted extensive interviews with members of the Sunset community to ensure that the exhibit accurately reflected the neighborhood’s own perspective. CHSA also collaborated with SF Supervisor Katy Tang’s office, Western Neighborhoods Project, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and the San Francisco Public Library for its research. The exhibit premiered at the Sunset Recreation Center in 2017 and has since traveled to the San Francisco Public Library branches and Houston, Texas.

The logo and 12 exhibit panels were designed by me, with the look inspired by the ambiance of the neighborhood. The panels use retractable banners to make the exhibit easy to travel to other venues. The exhibit text is bilingual in English and Chinese to make it accessible to the broader public.

More info: chsa.org/chinese-in-the-sunset