Cynthia Tom is a visual artist, curator, and a community artist activist based in San Rafael, California. As an arts administrator she is founder and director of Place of Her Own, an arts-based healing and transformation program for women. She also was board president and director of development and programs for the San Francisco-based Asian American Women’s Association whose mission is to advance the visibility and recognition of Asian American women in the arts through exhibitions, publications, and public programs.
A third generation Chinese American and native of San Francisco, She is an award-winning cultural activist who advocates for social justice for women. As a painter she works with mixed media and installation art work, her widely exhibited artwork often being described as cultural and social surrealism. She has curated individual and group exhibitions, and also is a lecturer on such topics as feminism in the arts and Asian American women in the arts.
The Cynthia Tom Papers, presently consisting of photographs of her artwork, exhibition files, correspondence, interviews, and ephemera, were established in CEMA in 2017.
Awakening the Feminine - Intuition of Home
48in x 36in acrylic on canvas - Cynthia Tom
