Leland Wong

Leland Wong was born and raised in San Francisco, above his family’s curio and art goods store on Grant Avenue in Chinatown. His interest in art grew as he was exposed to the visual culture of the 1960s, the age of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. His formal art education at the San Francisco State University (1970-75) also coincided with the height of the Asian American cultural movement. During this time, Wong contributed to programs run by the Kearny Street Workshop (KSW), a non-profit multidisciplinary arts organization in San Francisco’s Manilatown. Wong has since continued to produce work for and in relation to organizations in service of the community, namely: the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair posters (1974-2004), illustrations for Karen Tai’s novel I-Hotel (2010), and photography for events paying tribute to the Chinese who labored in constructing the first transcontinental railroad in America.

Authored by Anna Lee, curatorial assistant for Asian American art, 2025.