San Francisco Bay Area (2018-2019)
Project Statement
For five months in 2018-2019, I had the opportunity to build upon and expand the belonging project in the San Francisco Bay Area, as the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Othering and Belonging Institute at U.C. Berkeley.
I invited the public to share their stories of belonging and to nominate places of belonging to be commemorated. With more resources and time, I made the project more language-accessible by getting outreach materials and story forms translated into Spanish and Chinese. I was also able to partner with a wide range of local organizations, such as Soccer Without Borders (a global youth program with after school programs in Oakland), NIAD (an art studio in Richmond), The Beat Within (a writing program in juvenile halls), and the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco (who connected me with Chinese political dissidents in Union City and Fremont). I also incorporated stories from students in elementary school through college.
I selected 25 places to commemorate based on these stories of belonging. I created certificates using letterpress-printing and calligraphy. I contacted locations and personally delivered the framed certificates to them, installing them on site whenever possible.
I was inspired by Brené Brown, a social researcher, who wrote that true belonging is the courage to stand alone. In addition to asking contributors about places of belonging, I asked them if they carried their sense of belonging with them wherever they went. I interpreted six of these responses into designs which I screen printed onto bandannas.
Finally, I compiled 100 stories of belonging and designed a full-color, 116-page book. I included nine thematic maps. In collaboration with Evan Bissell, Arts & Strategy Coordinator at the Othering & Belonging Institute, I developed an index of 15 qualities of belonging, drawn from and defined by the stories of belonging. This experience deepened my understanding of belonging, and how it is not just a feeling of comfort or home, but a dimension of wellbeing and indicator related to public health.
*Developed as inaugural artist in residence at the Othering and Belonging Institute (formerly the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society) at UC Berkeley.
Flow chart of process and participation
Outreach flyers
Story-gathering workshop
Completed story forms
Process: Printing certificates
Process: Certificate calligraphy
Process: Bandanna screen printing
Process: Certificate distribution
100 Stories of Belonging in the S.F. Bay Area
Diagram of 15 qualities of belonging
Certificate (MedShare, nominated by Eric Talbert)
Certificate (The Stud, nominated by Torreya Cummings and John Cartwright)
Certificate (Unity Queer Skate day, nominated by Alex Rodriguez)
Bandanna (Niko)
Bandanna (NYYLY)
San Francisco Bay Area (2018-2019)
Christine Wong Yap, untitled illustrated flow chart developed to explain the process and invite participation, 2019, illustration and design, 11 x 8.5 inches.
Christine Wong Yap, untitled outreach flyers soliciting participation in Spanish, and Chinese, 2019, illustration and design, 11 x 8.5 inches.
Process photo of story-gathering workshop organized by the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco at the Union City Library. Photo courtesy of the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco.
Documentation of completed story forms by participant Tianshi Chen.
Process photos of printing certificates: mixing rubber-based inks, setting up the polymer plates on the press bed, the Vandercook letterpress, the print.
Process photos of certificate calligraphy: computer/hand-drawn sketch, lightbox view for dip pen calligraphy, finished certificate.
Process photos of bandanna screen printing: laser prints of a quick computer mock-up, refined hand-drawn design and transparency film positive in progress, washout of photo-emulsion after exposure, screen printing vacuum table.
Process photos of certificate distribution: 25 framed certificates, NIAD artists celebrate a birthday, signage by the Public Service Center to learn about the project, installing the certificate on location.
Christine Wong Yap and contributors, 100 Stories of Belonging in the S.F. Bay Area, 2019, digitally printed book, 116 pages, 8.5 x 5.5 inches.
Christine Wong Yap, untitled interpretive Venn diagram of 15 qualities of belonging, lettering/digital, dimensions variable.
Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Certificate (MedShare, nominated by Eric Talbert), 2019, letterpress print with calligraphy, 11 x 8.5 inches unframed, installed on location in the breakroom for MedShare’s volunteer corps in San Leandro. Photo: Shana Heede Hassol.
Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Certificate (The Stud, nominated by Torreya Cummings and John Cartwright), 2019, letterpress print with calligraphy, 11 x 8.5 inches unframed, installed on location at The Stud, San Francisco’s longest running gay bar, which survived a massive rent hike by forming as a worker-owned co-op.
Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Certificate (Unity Queer Skate day, nominated by Alex Rodriguez), 2019, letterpress print with calligraphy, 11 x 8.5 inches unframed, seen on location at Unity’s space.
Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Bandanna (Niko), 2019, screen printed by the artist, 22 x 22 inches, edition of 15 each. Photos: Lia Sutton.
Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Bandanna (NYYLY), 2019, screen printed by the artist, 22 x 22 inches, edition of 15 each. Photos: Lia Sutton.-