A picture worth a thousand comments: Sacramento’s artists speak out against new Wide Open Walls project

By Hannah Ross | Solving Sacramento Wide Open Walls is finally having its day of reckoning, according to many in Sacramento’s arts community.& The nonprofit organization responsible for the annual 10-day-long summer arts festival and over 600 public art installations across the region is facing pushback from community members after announcing the unveiling of its newest murals on the WellSpace Health building in Little Saigon.& In anticipation of a public unveiling originally scheduled for Feb. 10, Wide Open Walls shared photos of the 500-foot public art installation “celebrating both Tết and Lunar New Year” as five “unique interpretations of the Year of the Dragon,” on its Instagram, inviting the community to celebrate with them. But it didn’t take long for a glaring omission to be noticed. And the comments came flooding in. “Is there a reason why there are no Asian artists or anyone from cultures that actually celebrate Tết or Lunar New Year?” Jamie Pesquiza Cardenas, a Filipinx film and fiber artist wrote on Instagram. “This was made in the middle of Little Saigon. Not even Viet artists were asked?” Of the five artists selected by Wide Open Walls, none identify as Asian, Asian American or Pacific Islander (AAPI)...