-
Title
-
Nancy Hom
-
Description
-
Nancy Hom is a Chinese-American artist, writer, organizer, curator, and art consultant with over 35 years of experience in the non-profit art field (Nancy Hom Arts, n.d). She was born in 1949 in Taishan, China, but later moved to New York City in 1954. She had taken an interest in art ever since she was young. She attended Pratt Institute and earned a Bachelor's degree in illustration and visual communication in 1971. When Nancy resettled in San Francisco in 1974, she continued her art endeavors: she contributed to the development of various art organizations, including the well-known Kearny Street Workshop, where she served as the executive director for 8 years (Online Archive of California, n.d.). She has created a significant body of work across a variety of media, including poster art, graphic designs, printmaking, art installations, as well as curatorial projects. Her creative works and projects communicate her multifaceted identity as a woman, an immigrant, a mother, and an activist (KPFA 2010). Her involvement in activism and artistic movements is extensive: not only was she an active member of the Asian American Women Artists Association and the Asian American movement, but she also drew attention to social matters like political, racial, and gender-related issues through multiple mediums of art.
-
Alternative Title
-
One of her prominent artworks featured here is Mandala (2012). Using found objects, photos, texts, and cultural symbols, she created an artwork that embodies her life story: her Chinese roots, her immigrant story, as well as her contribution to the art community (Hom 2010). The center of the mandala is a baby photo of herself, which represents her birth and origin. The outward radiation depicts her life development: her migration from her homeland, China, to the United States and the cultural shift from a Chinese upbringing to her adult life in New York City and San Francisco. Her growth further manifested through the multi layers on the Mandala: the lotus blooms in murky waters to become a beautiful flower, symbolizing strength and resilience; the colorful butterflies represent her growth out of her old self, improving as an individual and as an art creator. The ring of images reflect the corpus of silkscreens for which she is most well-known. The Buddhist prayer flags, on the most outward layer, symbolize her journey into the art community as an artist whose aim is to bring light and healing into the world (Hom 2022).
-
Source
-
“About Nancy Hom.” Nancy Hom Arts.
University of California, Santa Barbara Library. "CEMA: Nancy Hom" May 6, 2025.
“Apex Express – Nancy Hom and The Mandala Project.” KPFA, December 30, 2010.
Online Archive of California. n.d. "Nancy Hom Papers."
Hom, Nancy. Oral History Interview with Nancy Hom, by Mija Riedel. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, April 20–22, 2010.
Hom, Nancy. “Who Is a Real American?” The Brooklyn Rail, July 2022.
-
Name
-
Nhi Trieu
