Across two San Francisco neighborhoods, the Mission District and Chinatown, 15 lanterns flicker with a warm glow that escapes through delicate cutouts in the style of papel picado.
One lantern, displayed at Galería de la Raza, depicts a young woman reaching toward three others. The imagery represents the emotional challenges that can accompany immigration, including family separation and sudden life changes.
“[It] is me during moments when my emotions feel clouded, when I feel alone, incapable, or afraid of not achieving anything in life,” said Nadia Rodriguez, 22. “The other figure, holding her hand and carrying a star in her heart, is also me: my true self, guided by hope, inner light and resilience.”
The figures behind her, Rodriguez said, represent Latino and immigrant communities as a whole, including family and friends who offer support and remind her she is not alone.
Rodriguez is one of 15 Asian and Latino immigrant women participating in Bay Windows, a public art exhibition featuring sculptural lanterns designed to bridge San Francisco’s Chinese and Latino communities.
Christine Wong Yap, the project’s lead artist, worked with immigrant women from both communities to translate their stories into lanterns made of paper, cloth and metal. The resulting exhibition explores themes including immigration, workers’ rights, cost of living, affordable housing, public safety and mental health.
“The seed of this idea began a few years ago, when the ‘doom loop’ narratives of San Francisco were starting,” Yap said. “I didn’t like how those narratives focused on billionaires and the tech sector, completely ignoring the working class, especially immigrant communities who live here and keep this city running.”
Yap worked with bilingual interpreters to ensure the workshops were fully trilingual, conducted in Spanish, English and Cantonese. Participants developed their designs through guided prompts, brainstorming sessions, reflective writing and visual sketching, both in small groups and one-on-one meetings. Yap later translated those ideas into sketches and paper templates that participants used to cut their lantern designs.
As the daughter of immigrant parents, Yap said the project was deeply personal.
“Working with Chinese- and Spanish-speaking communities made sense to me,” she said. “They are the two largest groups of San Franciscans with limited English proficiency, but they also have a lot in common. It felt meaningful to bring them together.”
Rodriguez, who is originally from El Salvador, has lived in the United States for two years. She participated in the project alongside her grandmother, Lupita Iraheta, 62, another contributor to the exhibition.
Rodriguez said the most challenging part of the project was transforming her experience as a young migrant into art. “It became a space for healing and connection, where our stories were heard and represented as part of the same community,” she said.
Iraheta, who has lived in the United States for 12 years, learned about Bay Windows through the Mission Cultural Center, a previous host of the project. She said language barriers initially posed challenges, as some participants spoke only Spanish while others spoke Cantonese or English. Once those obstacles were overcome, she said she found the experience deeply rewarding.
“What surprised me about Asian culture is its hospitality, solidarity and dynamism, just like us Latinos,” Iraheta said.
Her lantern reflects the impact of unemployment on her life. “As you can see, a person is falling, and below, an alternative support group awaits,” she said. “The images of clothing reflect my reinvention in the world of sewing and making alterations.”
Iraheta’s lantern is displayed in the window of Acción Latina on 24th Street, the headquarters of El Tecolote. She hopes people who see it “learn that, despite the adversities that arise in our path, we always have alternatives to survive, make life more bearable and be reborn.”
The lanterns will be on view through March 11. Bay Windows will host a scavenger hunt on Jan. 24, 2026. Community members can RSVP to receive updates and event information.
