Riding the waves of American history, THE WORLDS OF BERNICE BING explores the art, activism, and life of Abstract Expressionist painter, Beat-era Existentialist, Buddhist, feminist, and Chinese American lesbian.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Madeleine Lim, the film is a key piece of scholarship about Bernice Bing. It illuminates the significance of her work as an artist, arts educator, and arts administrator. Lush and poignant, the documentary tracks the orbit of this little-known foremother of Asian American avant-garde art and previously overlooked San Francisco icon. It features one of the last interviews with painter Carlos Villa and art historian Moira Roth. Firmly fixing Bing’s impact on American art, the film launches her legacy into the future.

10 years after the film’s premiere, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco acquired 20 of Bing’s paintings that are currently featured in the exhibition, Into View: Bernice Bing. This has renewed interest in her art and The Worlds of Bernice Bing. The documentary will screen at the museum in February 2023.