Welcome to Edge on the Square, the innovative arts hub located at the heart of San Francisco Chinatown. We celebrate pioneering creative expressions at the intersection of community, art, and action.
At Edge, surprising programs emerge year-round. Joining a collective effort with the community to revitalize the neighborhood through the cultural arts, Edge welcomes everyone to explore and experiment with our interactive art experiences, family-friendly events, culinary series, stunning performances, critical panel talks and gatherings, multimedia exhibitions and contemporary art festivals.
Join us at Edge where we are bridging art, community and action to foster meaningful cultural exchanges and imagining a collective future together.​​
CMAC Acquires Empress of China Building!
San Francisco’s Historic Empress of China Building to Gain New Life as the anchor of Cultural Campus for Chinatown
On April 1, 2026, The Chinatown Media and Arts Collaborative (CMAC) announced the purchase of the historic Empress of China building, one of the most iconic landmarks in San Francisco and Chinatown. This major acquisition followed the organization’s purchase of its first site, 800 Grant Ave, which houses Edge on the Square.
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The landmark building will be the cornerstone of a community-led cultural campus in the heart of Chinatown, adding to the vibrancy and economic recovery of San Francisco. Chinatowns across America tell the story of immigrants building community, opportunity, and democracy in this country. The Empress of China building gives us a powerful place to continue telling those stories, uplift our narrative, build cultural power to shape how people understand history, and dream about our collective future.
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“At a time when immigrants are being targeted and separated from our families and communities, it’s more important than ever to build cultural infrastructure as our direct response to erasure, speculative real estate and neighborhood identity,” said Mabel Teng, CMAC’s co-executive director. “The purchase of the Empress of China Building powers an expanded vision of community ownership, bringing hope and fortitude to immigrant communities longing for a place to call home.”​
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“Since the 1850s, San Francisco’s Chinatown - the oldest and most vibrant in the nation - has served as an epicenter for community leadership building and belonging,” said Vincent Pan, Founding board member and Vice Chair of CMAC. “The community-owned purchase of the iconic Empress of China Building is an opportunity to thread our community’s past, present, and future to ensure Chinatown remains a place where all our stories are told and aspirations realized.
“The community purchase of the Empress of China Building is a dream that has been decades in the making,” said Stephen Gong, CMAC’s Board Chair and co-executive director. “Having a dynamic cultural campus in the center of Chinatown creates a unique space for elders, parents, youth, and children to learn about our community’s rich history of perseverance and innovation. It will also be a destination and a safe space to welcome visitors to explore arts and culture.”
The Empress of China will serve as a cornerstone for a broader Chinatown cultural campus of unique spaces, including a growing network of arts and media spaces along Grant Avenue that already includes Edge on the Square (800 Grant Ave), 41 Ross, the Chinese Culture Center Design shop and galleries (667 Grant), and the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum.
Each of these spaces will be unique in telling our stories and each will shine in a constellation of the Grant Ave campus. Chinatown’s night markets, street festivals, and now a future cultural campus will increase the revitalization of San Francisco’s downtown.
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We look forward to community conversations as we plan for the future!
Exhibition Open Now!
​Edge on the Square is proud to present our newest exhibition All Eyes On Us: Invention & Ingenuity During Artistic Diasporas. At a moment when immigration is at the forefront of our nation’s geopolitics, All Eyes on Us shines a timely spotlight on the unique and forceful moves that immigrant artists make to negotiate the fraught yet fertile spaces of diaspora.
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Our Theory of Change
Edge shifts the dominant narrative of the immigrant experience by:
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Expanding knowledge and awareness of a “critical” immigrant story
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Being a strong voice for immigrants with an uplifting narrative
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Being the touchstone that holds the brand and a welcoming space to spark dialogues
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Edge will become a sustainable socio-economic engine for Chinatown by:
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Providing stellar programs that motivate the public to visit, explore, and experience Chinatown
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Engaging with communities to build relationships and networks that amplify our collective voice and power
Edge widens the aperture of the human experience through:
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Empowerment, creativity, and optimism
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Sharpening tools to initiate and engage in meaningful discourse, build self-awareness, exercise agency, and activate social transformation
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Promoting attitudes of inclusivity, cultural curiosity, constructive exchange
Land Acknowledgement
Edge on the Square, situated in the vibrant heart of San Francisco's Chinatown, stands at the crossroads of history and culture. We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we stand is the ancestral and unceded lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone People who have stewarded this land throughout the generations. We recognize the historic discrimination and violence inflicted upon Indigenous peoples in California and the Americas. We also recognize the historical significance of this land to the diverse Chinese immigrant communities who have contributed to the rich cultural tapestry of San Francisco. We offer our deepest respect to the Ramaytush Ohlone as first peoples and express gratitude to the generations of Chinese Americans who have made this community thrive.
