Exhibition 'Give Face 给面子 (Gěimiànzi)' in The Gibson House and Property
GIVE FACE 给面子 (Gěimiànzi) is an interdisciplinary exhibition unearthing and regrounding past, present, and future narratives of Chinese diaspora in the Sacramento Valley in the sweeping and ever-expanding story of what we currently call California. Historical objects trace the impact of Chinese Americans on Yolo County through the things they left behind, while contemporary artworks woven throughout the exhibit call our attention to their lived experiences, intimacies, and complexities. Using both documentation and speculation, artist Bz Zhang’s work creates dialog between Western ideas and a Chinese-diasporic cultural inheritance and offers ways to “give face” to (that is, to honor or show due respect for) Chinese ancestors in the US West. The stories of Chinese diaspora in Yolo County and the US West span oceans and continents, and their contributions transcend our infrastructures (from railways to agriculture) into the social and cultural fabric of our nation. Their stories are ours to carry into the shared futures we must build.
https://yolocountylibrary.org/yolo-county-historical-collection/exhibitions/
Artwork pictured: Bz Zhang, Bǎijiā 百家 / 百加 (Hundred Families / Hundred Californias), Cotton, silk, brocade, aluminized fiberglass, 88 x 88 inches, 2025. Constructed in collaboration with David Treuer (Minnesota Ojibwe).
