Client: San Francisco Opera

Partners: BeChinatown, Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco

In 2025, Art Builds Community was brought on to work with San Francisco Opera's Department of Engagement and Connectivity to propose community engagement efforts that would complement their series of community events, celebrating the world premiere of The Monkey King by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang.

To combat the perception of the opera as a high-brow and exclusive arts experience, ABC led intentional curation, engagement, and development of opportunities for emerging artists, creatives, and community organizations to collaborate with the Opera so that they can see themselves and their art coexisting in the space and art form.

ABC led the curation of creative demonstrations for the Monkey King Public Markets that included lion and dragon dancers, Chinese yo-yo performances and workshops, Vietnamese hat dance, and live Chinese Calligraphy brush painting. A Monkey King Art exhibition was also led by Art Builds Community where a co-curator position was developed for the Installation as an opportunity for emerging curators to gain hands-on experiences under ABC in producing and curating an art exhibition.