"Cantadora “The Dream Builder”
2021 Tempranillo
Shake Ridge Ranch, Amador County AVA
Dedicated to the story and legacy of Nancy Hom.
“Nancy Hom's art articulates a cultural sensibility reminiscent of renowned contemporary artist Rupert Garcia. Rooted in her culture and socio-political consciousness, Hom's iconography is evocative and poignant. ”
– Lenore Chinn, Artist
Asian American Arts Centre: “Nancy Hom is an artist, writer, curator, and arts consultant. Born in Toisan, China and raised in New York City, Hom has been an influential leader in the SF Bay Area art scene since 1974. Nancy has used the arts to affirm the histories, struggles, and contributions of communities of color. She has created many iconic images in her posters, poetry, illustrations, installations, and curatorial work for community cultural, political and social events. Since 2012, her large floor mandalas have evolved from personal expressions to spiritual contemplations and offer educational stories that involve direct community input. They offer reflections on change, interdependence, and a vehicle for healing.”
“The San Francisco Foundation 2013 Community Leadership Awards presents Nancy Hom with the Helen Crocker Russell Award, made to an under-recognized, mature artist who has made a significant and ongoing contribution in the Bay Area. Nancy Hom, has used the arts as a means to reclaim and affirm the histories, struggles, and contributions of multicultural and underserved communities. Through her silkscreen posters, illustrations, 3-D installations, and curatorial work, Nancy has addressed a range of social issues and causes. In addition to being an artist, curator, and writer who continues to push the boundaries of her art after forty years, she has also nurtured the artistic and organizational growth of over a dozen Bay Area arts organizations. Her projects have had a profound influence, from healing historical trauma to mentoring the next generation of artists to build community through art.”
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution: Nancy Hom, Pandemic Oral History Project, Archives of American Art, 2020 “An interview conducted by Melissa Ho at Hom's home in San Francisco, California.”
East Wind eZine: “Nancy shows how growing up in a working class, immigrant Chinese family in New York is woven into her art, and describes the origins of three art pieces in her retrospective show "Passionate Engagment" at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco.”
Today’s Revolutionary Women of Color: “This is an ongoing project that features everyday women who are nonetheless role models such as: artists, activists, editors, writers, poets, painters, social workers, teachers, professors, therapists, and mentors. These women share their stories of resilience through short-filmed interviews, creative photography shots of them, and exceptional artistic pieces. Through their various talents, as well as their example of courage and love, these revolutionary women of color help us all celebrate and influence our communities. Their stories of resilience will be included in the photography book. I want young women in my community to know about these revolutionary women of color RIGHT NOW while they are still alive, so that they do not have to rely solely on retroactive history books, long after they've passed.”
“Nancy Hom is an artist, writer, organizer, and arts administrator with over 30 years of experience in the non-profit arts field. She was born in Toisan, China in 1949. She came to the United States at age five, grew up in New York City, and graduated from Pratt Institute. She moved to San Francisco in 1974. Nancy became interested in community events and Asian American history after participating in anti-Vietnam war demonstrations in the early 1970s. As an artist, curator, and organizer, she has worked in many communities in San Francisco. Her involvement with Kearny Street Workshop, an Asian American arts organization, spans three decades. She served as its Executive Director for nine years. Widely known for her silkscreen artwork, she has created numerous images for community events, political and social causes. She is also a published writer, graphic designer and children's book illustrator. Her award-winning book, Nine-in-One Grr! Grr!, is one of five books published by Children's Book Press that contain her illustrations. Nancy received a San Francisco Art Commission's Cultural Equity Individual Artist grant in 1995 and was awarded a Gerbode Fellowship for outstanding leaders in 1998. She received the KQED Local Hero Award in 2003. In addition to being on the Advisory Board of Kearny Street Workshop, she is currently on the Board of the Asian American Women Artists Association, the Arts Advisory Committee of Manilatown Heritage Foundation, and the Board of Heyday Institute (publishers of books on California culture). She also serves on the Community Arts Distribution Committee of the Zellerbach Family Foundation.” -Claudia D. Hernández
"Radical Work: The Artivism of CETA" “A roundtable discussion featuring four San Francisco CETA artists moderated by San Francisco-native artist, curator, and educator Makeda Best, the Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Oakland Museum of California. The panelists are San Francisco painter, muralist and educator Dewey Crumpler; printmaker and curator Nancy Hom; photographer Bob Hsiang; and San Francisco Poet Laureate Devorah Major. As San Francisco CETA elders, they shared their experience of receiving federally-funded jobs early on in their careers, what they learned from the work, and how it impacted their practice and the San Francisco arts community.Their conversation presents vivid examples of how CETA benefited young artists and includes valuable insights and perspectives about San Francisco creatives, their activism and community from the 1970s to now. This roundtable was recorded on March 8, 2025. Event Description: The "Forgotten Federal Art Legacies: PWAP to CETA in San Francisco" (FFAL) convening is the first meeting of artists, arts administrators, art historians, students, other allied professionals and the public that focuses on the interconnected history of federally-funded public art in San Francisco spanning from the New Deal to CETA. It featured lectures, roundtable discussions and bus tours of New Deal (1930s) and CETA (1970s) public art sites: Rincon Annex, the Maritime Museum, George Washington High School, Precita Eyes Muralists, and murals throughout the Mission district.”
East Wind eZine: “If you’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and been involved with community activities, chances are that Nancy Hom’s artwork has touched your life. Her silkscreen posters, children’s books, and art installations have addressed a diverse array of social issues that affect all of us. Additionally, many people know of Nancy through her curatorial work and arts leadership as the Executive Director of Kearny Street Workshop from 1995 to 2003. She is also a poet whose work has appeared in several anthologies. In March 2019, a retrospective of Nancy Hom’s 45-year legacy of art and activism was presented by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. APICC’s Artistic Director Melanie Elvena highlighted the significance of Hom’s works: “Each piece has a thoughtful story or message that represents a community, a movement, an idea, or a place, and redefines the role that art plays in activism.’
I had a chance to talk with Nancy about the origins of her artistic practice which is rooted in her education and training as well as her involvement with the Asian American movement. Nancy also talks about how various artists influenced her work.” - Eddie Wong
Passionate Engagement: The Art of Nancy Hom | Short Documentary commissioned by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC). In March 2019, a retrospective of Nancy Hom’s 45-year legacy of art and activism was presented by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. APICC’s Artistic Director Melanie Elvena highlighted the significance of Hom’s works: “Each piece has a thoughtful story or message that represents a community, a movement, an idea, or a place, and redefines the role that art plays in activism.” Film by Alexander Lim and Jeffrey Yip. Funded By : Asian Pacific Islander Center, Grants for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, and California Arts Council
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA): Interview: “Nancy Hom is one of the artists featured in the upcoming exhibition, Rituals + Remembrance, the Oakland Museum of California’s 21st annual Días de los Muertos exhibition.
“Celebrating the theme of memorial across cultures, Rituals + Remembrance explores how Latin American, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, African American, and other communities view death, memory, and healing. The exhibition includes new and existing work by artists Nancy Hom, Lilli Lanier, Yvonne Escalante, Charles Valeroso, Bryan Keith Thomas, Daniel King (aka Safety First), Paco Garcia, Melanie Cervantes, and Jesus Barraza, as well as installations created by MetWest High School, Sankofa Academy, and the Alameda County Public Health Department.”
East Wind eZine: “The “Evolving San Francisco” mandala, which changed during the course of the one-month run. She added new items each week, including work by students from from Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School in the Mission District and seniors at TODCO Development Company housing in the South of Market. In this video, Nancy explains how the mandala came to life and what it signifies for her and all of us.” - Eddie Wong
For our writing ensemble, Unbound Feet, Nancy’s monologues were perfect in tone, voice, and language. I am in awe of her talent and abilities. She provides a model of what a community based, social activist artist could be.
- Canyon Sam, award winning author, Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History