Live Performance, SFMINT, Presented by Porchlight

June 17, 2021

What a thrill to be part of a *live* storytelling show again. Storytellers Jyairrah Martin, Christy Chan, Matthew Clark Davison, Karla Martin and Matt Gonzalez performing in Porchlight 6/17/21 in the courtyard of the historic SF Mint. Tickets available here.

Artist in Residence, Mills College Art Museum

January - July 2020 (Delayed until 2022)

I’m thrilled to be a visiting artist in the Arts + Process + Idea program at Mills College, alongside artist Craig Calderwood. The residency is a conduit for direct engagement with the campus community, students and professors at Mills and will culminate in a public exhibition in July 2022.

Filmmaker-in-Residence, SFFILM

January 2019 - December 2020

I am honored to be joining a cohort of Bay Area Filmmakers for a one-year-residency at SFFILM. During the fellowship, I will be developing a narrative feature film about modern white supremacy in the United States. The fellowship includes office space at SFFILM in North Beach, independent filmmaking resources, and more. I will host two workshops while in residency, including a live table read of a film project.

Public Art Commission, City of Richmond

January - August 2019

I am pleased to receive a public art commission to create “Inside Out,” a series of large-scale night time video projection on the outside walls of the Richmond Civic Center. Based on political and cultural statements from local residents and workers, the city’s walls will become an interactive, live platform starting August, 2019. Website and more info to come.

Everybody Eats Lunch, San Francisco Bay Area

March 2019 | Website

“Everybody Eats Lunch” is coming to the San Francisco Bay Area in partnership with Kala Art Institute. Featured on PBS and NPR as the “anti-echo chamber experience” the project pairs strangers together for one-on-one meals and conversation, with meals donated by local restaurants. Community partners include Standard Fare, Third Culture, Gaumenkitzel and Namaste. Locals who live or work in West Berkeley, Emeryville, and North Oakland can sign up to participate.

Print Public Residency, Kala Art Institute, SF Bay Area

2018-2019 | Link

I'm honored to be invited to do a Print Public residency at Kala Art Institute. "Print Public provides an opportunity for artists to create public art along the San Pablo Avenue corridor, connecting artists and the community. Through Print Public, Kala aims to provide a platform for artists to work on interdisciplinary projects with digital or print media while animating public space, reaching new communities, building local partnerships, and deepening neighborhood ties. Print Public is supported, in part, by California Arts Council’s Creative California Communities.. 2018 residents: Christy Chan, Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh, Grace Rosario Perkins, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari, t.w.five, and Lexa Walsh.

Recent Press

In December, I was interviewed by Kate Rhoades and Maysoun Wazwaz for their Bay Area arts and culture podcast Congratulations Pine Tree. Hear the episode. here.

In November and December, I was interviewed by Corbin Hirshhorn at Nebraska's KVNO Public Radio about the Everybody Eats Lunch Project. Link

It was also covered by The Reader in January. Link  Thanks to the many media outlets who have covered the project.

Everybody Eats Lunch, Omaha & Oakland

2018 |  Link

Everybody Eats Lunch is a storytelling and community project where strangers come together to have a one-on-one meal and conversation. The project launched in Omaha, Nebraska with the support of Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, and will be active through July 15. Participate in Omaha, Nebraska; or Oakland, California.. More info.

Fellow, YBCA Museum, San Francisco 

2017 - 2018 | Link

I am pleased to be part of the YBCA Fellows program for the 2017 - 2018 "Truth" cohort. "Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is the Bay Area’s creative home for civic action. We believe that culture precedes change, and it is the responsibility of arts organizations to spur societal movement. Each Fellowship cohort explores a question that emerged from our annual YBCA 100 Summit. Fellows' projects will be presented during our Public Square."

Civic Arts Grant, The City of Berkeley

2018 | Link

The Civic Arts program has awarded funds for a social justice project to be exhibited in the spring of 2018. We are thankful and excited. More info to come.

Montalvo Art Center:  The Long Distance Call  

January 27, 2017

Lucas Artists Program Fellow Christy Chan and actors Gail Jones and Catherine Lerza present a live performance of Chan’s The Long Distance Call. A Q&A with Chan will follow the performance. In addition, visiting artist Simón Adinia Hanukai will discuss his new work informed by questions and concerns about data mining and Lucas Artist Program Visual Arts Fellow Kim Beck will present her past work and projects she intends to explore while in residence.  Tickets

100 Days of Action:  Phone It In

February 12, 2017

Community day at studio.  Provided with call lists and various provided scripts for causes, guests are invited to call their congresspeople and let them know how they feel on the new administration's proposals. Participants each receive a hand-made button that says "I phoned it in."  Or, use a button machine to create their own wearable mantras. Snacks, music and children welcome. 

SOMArts:  Magic Word Mother Tongue

March 9 - April 30

A poly-lingual exhibitions, public workshop and performance series features artists, linguists and performers investigating the ways in which language forms our culture, society and sense of self. Participating artists include Michael Arcega, Christy Chan, Jamil Hellu, Desiree Holman, Sasha Petrenko, Christina Victor, and the Bureau of Linguistical Reality. Curated by Sasha Petrenko. as part of Somarts Curatorial Residency. The opening reception on March 9 will feature an interactive performance by The Bureau of Linguistic Reality, as well as performances by Tommy Becker and Christy Chan.  Photos

Kala Art Center:  Just Breathe

March 23  

Kala hosts a night of music and live storytelling; where you can sit, relax and “Just Breathe.”  Bay Area storytellers and comedians will have the floor to share humor, compassion and connection in their experiences dealing with the changes in our country right now. Emceed by artists Christy Chan and Maria Finn. Storytellers include comedian Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, comedian and Second City veteran Rachel Hamilton, Moth performer Daniel Ari, NPR storyteller Scott Sanders, and author Emily Meg Weinstein. Video world premiere of "EKGT" Jenifer Wofford and music by artist Lexa Walsh.  Photos

The Wassaic Project, New York - Artist in Residence

May - June 2017

Open Studios:  Saturday, May 27th

I'll be joining the good people at The Wassaic Project this summer for a six week residency, along with artists in residents Beverly Acha, Meghan Moe Beitiks, Pamela Council, Kristine Eudey, Carrie Fonder, Christopher Kardambikis, Calvin Rocchio, Eric Simmons, Jasphy Zheng,  Info

Root Division, "Wild" Exhibition                                

July 7 - August 12, 2017  

Curated by Marisa Aragona, WILD will feature artworks, performances and installations that attempt to express the vast infinity of the wild. Exhibiting artists include Marisa Aragona, Sarah Barsness, Jackie Baxton, William Bland, Claire Brandt, Jessica Cadkin, Christy Chan, Holly Coley, Seamus Conley, Diane Dallas Kidd, Ruth Eckland, Alicia Escott and more.

Opening reception: Saturday July 8, 7 - 10 pm    Info

Artist Talk - The Living Room Light Exchange

September 19th, 7 pm    RSVP:  Eventbrite

September's Exchange features artist Christy Chan and artist collective The Black Aesthetic. The Living Room Light Exchange is held once a month in rotating locations across the Bay Area. Doors open at 7pm, talks begin at 7:30pm, and open discussion at 8:30pm. Location of gatherings is provided after guests RSVP.  The Exchange is organized by Liat Berdugo and Elia Vargas. Support is provided by Southern Exposure's Alternative Exposure Grant Program. It is fiscally sponsored by the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts.

Artist in Residence, The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

September - November 2017

I'm thrilled to be headed to Omaha, Nebraska for a residency at Bemis. My fellow artists are: Bailey Arend (Boone, NC) Jessica Bardsley (Cambridge, MA) Jayoung Chung (South Korea) Anthony Green (Providence, RI)  Tanya Hartman (Lawrence, KS) Brendan Hoffman (Albany, NY) Helina Metaferia (Oakland, CA) Tug Collective (Gaelyn + Gustavo Aguilar) (Sharon, ME) Jody Wood (New York, NY)

Code Switching, Ortega y Gassett, New York

Nov. 2 - Dec. 10 |  Opening Reception: Nov. 2  |  Link

Code Switching is a linguistic term, defined by one who can go back and forth between two languages. In popular culture it has expanded to include social and identity based behaviors which may alter based on situational necessity, or proprietary cues. Code Switch will be an exhibition of artists who use this multiplicity in their own visual language. This invented language comes from working through and within a variety of combinations, which come together to form a new whole. The ability to shift between language and culture is imperative to artworks which dig into complex subjects ranging from identity to intimacy, navigating our contemporary existence, power and politics.