大大膽 Da Da Daam
Presented by Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco & Edge on the Square
A Special Presentation by the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco and Edge on the Square, 2026 San Francisco Art Fair powered by Chinatown’s audacity and courage.
大大膽 (Da Da Daam) means bold, audacious, courage in Cantonese. It celebrates risk-taking, playful experimentation, and fearless imagination. This spirit animates both Chinatown and the artists in this exhibition.
America has often been disappointing to immigrants and diasporic communities. Still, we imagine otherwise. As the country continues to wrestle with who belongs, we turn to Asian diasporic artists whose work moves between remembrance and play. In moments of rupture, they build meaning from loss, humor, absurdity, and uncertainty.
We are proud to feature Bijun Liang, Leland Wong, and Yumei Hou, long rooted in San Francisco Chinatown, alongside Alice Wu, Connie Zheng, Dixon Ngai, Justin Wong, and Tung Pang Lam, who have developed key parts of their practice in the neighborhood through exhibitions, residencies, public programs, and sustained relationships. Chinatown has long been a lab where artists test ideas, challenge constraints, and return to refine their work in dialogue with community and place.
To us, Chinatown is alive with beauty, where resistance and freedom are inseparable. It is a place that continues to imagine, to take risks, and to create possibilities. Perhaps Chinatown, or places like it in your own community, can offer a way forward during these unsettling times.
About Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
For 60 years, the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco (CCC) has uplifted Chinatown through the arts as both a vibrant neighborhood and a powerful metaphor for the immigrant experience. Founded in 1965 amid the civil rights movement, CCC emerged as a bold response to racism, displacement, and gentrification. From a hard-won cultural space, it has evolved into a dynamic hub that shifts narratives, supports innovative art, and advances social justice.
CCC amplifies marginalized voices, reclaims public space, and strengthens community through exhibitions, festivals, and educational programs. Signature initiatives include C.H.A.T. Chinatown History Art Tours, the XianRui Artist Series, and the 41 Ross Artist-in-Residence program. With locations on Kearny Street, Ross Alley, and the newly acquired 667 Grant Ave, CCC continues to champion immigrant and LGBTQIA2S+ rights.
Learn more about Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco: cccsf.us | @CCCSanFrancisco
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.
Learn more about Edge on the Square: edgeonthesquare.org | @edgeonthesquare
Image: Connie Zheng, As It Is: Nothing Lasts Forever, 2025, Ink, pencil and collage of intaglio and cyanotype prints on gampi, mulberry, hemp and cotton papers, 92 x 184 inches. Co-produced by Ilham Gallery and KADIST. With production support from The Space Program in San Francisco, CA. Photography by Kenta Chai.
