Public Events In Celebration of the World Premiere of the Monkey King
Opera House Events
Seeing one of the final two performances? There's time to experience it all!
Arrive two and a half hours before showtime to shop art, accessories, and more from local vendors, grab a snack or a boba tea from Chinatown businesses, and enjoy arts demonstrations from LionDanceME, Draco the Juggler, and the Southeast Asian Community Center.
Head into the auditorium 55 minutes before the performance (6:25pm Friday, 1:05pm Sunday) to hear Sidney Chen's 20-minute pre-opera talk. You'll have time to grab a drink before the show! (7:30 Friday, 2pm Sunday)
At intermission, check out the Monkey King art installation, The Monkey King: 12 Artists, One Legend.
The Monkey King
Digital Art Exhibit
Meet Our Partners
Art Builds Community (ABC) is a nationally operating, women-led firm based in San José, CA, specializing in public art planning, policy development, curation, placemaking, and community engagement. Established in 2020 by Barbara Goldstein, Amanda Rawson, and Quỳnh-Mai Nguyễn, ABC brings a multidisciplinary and inclusive approach to shaping culturally resonant public spaces across the United States.
Their partnership with San Francisco Opera's Diversity, Equity, and Community division celebrates community through intentional curation, engagement, and development of opportunities for emerging artists, creatives, and community organizations to collaborate with the Opera.
For the production of the Monkey King, Art Builds Community led the curation of creative demonstrations for the Monkey King Public Markets as well as the Monkey King Art Installation. A co-curator position was developed for the Monkey King Art Installation as an opportunity for emerging curators of all experiences to gain hands-on experiences under Art Builds Community in producing and curating an art exhibition.
About the Curators
Amanda Rawson is an accomplished arts leader, curator, and strategist with a multi-faceted background in public art, consulting, and museum management. As Co-owner at Art Builds Community (ABC), she develops public art plans, creative placemaking, and co-manages curation for cities and institutions. Her work—including projects at Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC), the Creekside Art Corridor, and for San Jose Jazz—is driven by a core commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and reflecting local community identity. This expertise is reinforced by her foundation in arts administration, which includes roles at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and program development for CreaTV San Jose.
Quỳnh-Mai Nguyễn is a multidisciplinary social practice artist, curator, community organizer, creative producer, and co-owner of Art Builds Community (ABC). She has over 13 years of experience in curating arts and cultural programs for small and intimate events to large festivals. In 2018, KQED Arts Bay Brilliant named her one of 10 recognized movement builders for arts and culture in the Bay Area. She believes in encouraging artists to create art as a way to share and determine their own narratives rather than be subject to others. Creating art is a way to create new artifacts to replace those that have been outdated, appropriated, and/or erased. Some of her current curations include the Lunar New Year Art Exhibition, which she has curated for the past eight years to promote local and emerging AANHPI artists and the further development of art experiences for cultural plazas, neighborhoods, and non-traditional spaces.
Caitlin Pambid is a young professional interested in museum work, specifically curation or collections management. She currently interns at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park in exhibits, collections, and preservation departments. She has also curated for Chopsticks Alley Art, focusing on Southeast Asian artists. Representation is at the forefront when she curates. With her anthropological background, Caitlin operates as a cultural detective to curate exhibitions that bring attention to ideas and issues that are otherwise difficult to articulate without the structure an exhibit provides. Her published research, “Death to the Museum (As We Know It),” further articulates that goal and how cultural exhibitions can become active sites for meaningful change.