Remembering KSW Co-founder, Lora Jo Foo
photo of Lora prepping for her Pattern Making Class in 1971 by Jim Dong
We are saddened to share the passing of Lora Jo Foo, co-founder of Kearny Street Workshop. Although we remember her as a skilled photographer and cornerstone of this now 54-year-old arts organization, Lora built a lifelong legacy as an attorney. She not only advocated for the rights of workers and labor organizers but was also a dedicated environmental activist. Throughout her years, she never stopped fighting for a more just world.
Among her accomplishments, Lora also published a children’s book called Earth Passages: Journey’s Through Childhood, based on her own life growing up in SF’s Chinatown with a mother who worked in the garment sweatshops. A history which undoubtedly led her to spearhead reforms in the industry in her later years.
During our 50th anniversary, Lora sent us this reflection:
“Greetings Kearny Street Workshop,
Fifty years ago Jim Dong, Michael Chin and I founded the Kearny Street Workshop. In our early 20’s, we three were students at San Francisco State College. We were visual artists – photographers, silk screeners and painters, ceramicists and myself, a fashion designer.
KSW had a collective spirit. Together we created artwork reflecting the Chinese American experience. We painted the KSW mural that hung above the storefront, the Commodore Stockton mural, and the Jackson Street mural. Together we silkscreened posters. I will always remember with fondness the times Jim, Michael and I worked late into the night, often past midnight silk screening posters for community events at the Kearny Street storefront.
KSW was located within the Chinatown/Manilatown community. Most of us lived in this community or within walking distance. Because we were in our early 20’s still with strong ties to youth, they came and hung out with us. I don’t think a day passed when I wasn’t at the workshop in the early years.
As time passed, we moved beyond our Chinese American sensibilities to a broader Asian American identity.
I salute the new generation of artists who have kept the Kearny Street Workshop alive and evolving all these years.”
Thank you, Lora — for this space you helped build for us, for the artists whose lives you shaped, and for your fierce advocacy on behalf of workers. It is our privilege to shepherd this space, and our commitment to carry that collective spirit that brought KSW into being towards the future.
in community,
Jason Bayani and Mihee Kim, KSW Co-Executive Directors
We wanted to share some other tributes to Lora as well. You can read them in the links below