We Are Immortal! demonstrates how images can serve as tools for visibility, dignity, and collective memory.
Partners: Chinese Cultural Center and Edge on the Square
Date & Place: May 24, 2025; Chinatown, San Francisco
Event: First Chinatown Pride Procession and Festival, under the theme We Are Immortal
Focus Area: Cultural equity, LGBTQ+ visibility, intergenerational storytelling
Methods: photo documentation, participatory presence
Background: Chinatown holds deep legacies of activism and art but, as in many places globally, queer histories here have often been under-told or erased. Our partner organizations wanted to document the event in ways that honor community voices, intergenerational connections, and embodied joy for both the present and for the future.
Approach: Drawing from visual ethnography as embodied, sensory, and relational, the photography process emphasized minimal staging, attention to joy, dignity, and co-creation.
Impacts and results:
•Cultural Visibility: Images made queer Chinatown histories visible—contributing to resisting erasure.
•Organizational Assets: Photos now serve partners (SF Chinese Cultural Center & Edge on the Square) as festival marketing, web galleries, advocacy material.
•Community Engagement: Participants saw themselves reflected, affirming identity and legacy.
•Documentation for the Future: A visual record that becomes archive—proof of presence, proof of hope.
The procession on The Friendship Bridge
Free Mom Hugs + Rice Rockettes
city dignitaries, politicians, artists, activists, and community members catch joy of the day
First Annual Chinatown Pride Procession
“Chinatown is profoundly queer—not just in identity, but in existence. Its queerness stands as an act of defiance against racism, displacement, and corporate encroachment. This history runs deep through San Francisco’s cultural fabric, inspiring an ‘immortality’ that lives on in those who continue our fight against erasure.”
procession participants point out Chinatown landmarks
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory hand out samples of their famous cookies
elders entertain with traditional drumming
silent disco fundraiser at SF Chinese Cultural Center
DIY: WAYS YOUR ORGANIZATION CAN DO THIS WORK
Begin with immersion—walk the spaces, feel the atmosphere.
Let participants co-create what is documented.
Seek details that evoke sensory and emotional registers, not just events.
Share images back to community for reflection.
Build dual outputs: public storytelling + internal archive for memory-keeping.
WANT TO WORK TOGETHER?
Let’s design processes that honor your community’s presence and ensure its stories endure.