Artist Yu-wen Wu sought public input for her light installation at the Chinatown Gate on Feb. 6 at the Pao Arts Center. (Image courtesy of Mandy Sun. )

Artist Yu-Wen Wu hosted a community listening session Feb. 6 at the Pao Arts Center on her upcoming light installation at Chin Park. Wu is a local artist who emigrated from Taiwan. Her artwork examines displacement, immigration and identity. Wu was selected by a jury of Chinatown community members to create a temporary light-based artwork at Chin Park on the Greenway. 

Wu will incorporate responses into artwork representative of Chinatown’s history, future and present community. She wants it to be engaging and relevant to its residents. Wu said she loves one-on-one sessions, in which she can hear the individual stories of each person. 

The interactive event featured a line of boards in English and Chinese, allowing participants to respond with sticky notes. Questions ranged from abstract ones about light to immigration. A map of Chinatown allowed attendees to mark their favorite or most comfortable spots.

Sheila Novak, Greenway project manager, said canvassing will be an “interesting process because we don’t know what people will say.” 

Lucas Cowen, Greenway curator, said Wu was brilliant. “She is really, really good at understanding needs — understanding ways to interpret the ideas of a collective. She has lots of trust in the community.” 

This is the first community-based Greenway project, the second being “The Year of the Dog” commissioned in February for the 2021 zodiac animal. Wu’s artwork will be installed early August 2020 and on display for three to six months. 

To share your Chinatown stories, visit https://forms.gle/vDFMHEATJ8SMuMwu9 or email ywustudios@gmail.com.