In honor of the Lunar New Year, the historic El Presidio will be transformed for the art installation, Chinatown Remembered: A Celebration of Santa Barbara’s Chinatown. On Friday, January 31 and Saturday, February 1, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. both nights, visitors will have the opportunity to partake in Lunar New Year celebrations as well as get a peek into the rich history of Santa Barbara’s Chinatown. The event is being produced by the Santa Barbara Asian American/Pacific Islander Solidarity Network (SBAAPISN) in partnership with the Santa Barbara Trust for History Preservation and The Environment Makers, an art company specializing in transforming spaces with experiential installations.
“We want to tell the story of the dismantling of Chinatown,” said Karena Jew, organizer and member of SBAAPISN. “To have some commemoration of the people that were there and give them the dignity that they deserve.”
The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, which destroyed a large part of Santa Barbara’s old Chinatown.
The installation features a series of short films produced by The Environment Makers that will be projected onto El Presidio. In doing so, Jew hopes it will give people a sense of those who occupied Chinatown at the time, including clips of people and businesses. It works in conversation with some historical information about Asian American history in the U.S.
“It’s going to be a large projection. It’s the opposite of being invisible and projecting them in a positive way and making them into art,” Jew explained. She worked with community members to gather funding and put together a comprehensive event of celebration and remembrance. “I hope that people will feel pride in seeing the visibility of that.”
In addition to the installation, the event will have activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year and feature a special lion dance performance by the Camarillo Lion Dance Association at the start of both evenings.
The event is family-friendly and free for all attendees. For more information, visit sbthp.org/chinatownremembered.
