Crystal Wong

How Lee Mingwei’s Art is Mending the Social Fabric

Role: Editor & Colorist

Project type: Artist Film

Exhibited: de Young Museum

Length: 12 mins

Production Period: Oct 2023 - Feb 2024

Premiere Year: 2024

Inspired by personal and world events, Lee Mingwei’s art aims to bring people together in difficult times, promoting healing through connection. This short documentary traces the artist’s journey from his formative years in Taipei to his artistic beginnings in the Bay Area to becoming the globally renowned contemporary artist he is today. Featuring interviews with the artist, his close friend and M+ Museum Director Suhanya Raffel, and exhibition curator Claudia Schmuckli, the film invites viewers into Lee Mingwei’s life and work to answer the question, “How can art mend the social fabric?”

The film, directed by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Megan Bates, is part of our original documentary series FAMSF Presents. It supports the exhibition Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care, on view at the de Young museum February 17 through July 7, 2024.

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