Neon Was Never Brighter

Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative (CMAC) is proud to present its inaugural event, Neon Was Never Brighter: A Glimpse Into the Future, the first ever contemporary art festival in San Francisco’s Chinatown. To kick-off APA Heritage Month, this free, multi-sensorial outdoor experience will showcase art activations created from diverse media such as performance, sculpture, interactive sound, site-specific installation, film, music, fashion, virtual reality, scent and dance.

As a testament to the neighborhood’s longevity and posterity, Neon Was Never Brighter seeks to explore the lifeblood of Chinatown, harnessing the power of art and culture to advance the social and economic recovery of the neighborhood, as well as the shaping of a more inclusive and just society.

Neon Was Never Brighter is the inaugural event in CMAC’s multi-year slate of arts, media, and cultural programming in Chinatown, culminating in the Spring 2025 opening of Edge on the Square, the region’s first permanent Asian Pacific Islander contemporary art and media hub. CMAC envisions Edge on the Square as a transformative addition to the neighborhood, both complementing the area’s legacy restaurants and businesses, and spurring local economic development.