Abstract
San Francisco has long been a city of immigrants; by 1860, at least half of its residents were foreign-born. Today, 35% of San Franciscans were born in a country other than the United States. In this exhibition, artist Eliza Gregory introduces us to more than a dozen immigrants to San Francisco — from China, Germany, Guatemala, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia and Vietnam — and asks, “What does it mean to belong?”
Gregory invited each individual to tell his or her own story through an interview touching on family history, the immigration process, and adapting to a new culture; a portrait photograph; and meaningful objects such as scrapbooks and family albums. Complex, multifaceted and sometimes unexpected, these stories hint at thousands of other untold tales, illuminating the lives of our neighbors, our families, ourselves.
“The project asks people to listen to each other,” says Gregory. “I am trying to find new ways to tell stories that promote equality, tenderness and compassion.”