“If you dream it, we dream it too.”

Why Zhencool?
The name Zhencool is rooted in the Shijing, a 3,000-year-old Chinese poem describing the vibrant shine of new peach leaves catching the spring breeze. It represents vitality and brilliance, yet impermanent abundance. Cool is the kinetic breeze that activates those leaves and acknowledges that these moments are fleeting. Zhen (蓁) is also the name of its founder. 

Funding the Arts
Making art in rural places operates on a similar rhythm. Artists in the Eastern Sierra and other rural networks often work outside of traditional art centers, navigating significant gaps in funding and support. While a local exhibition or community project might only last a short time, its ability to build local culture and strengthen community resilience is enduring.

Our Mission
Zhencool is a catalyst for rural artists and cultural creators. We distribute responsive, targeted grants designed to capture and accelerate creative momentum. By providing critical financial support precisely when a project is ready to take off, we empower our local arts ecosystem to produce ambitious, meaningful work that enriches our region.

Catch the moment! - Jane (Zhen) Valentine Hsu, Founder
j

Jane (Zhen) Valentine Hsu (b. 1977, Taipei) is a cultural advocate, curator, and arts leader dedicated to elevating decentralized and rural voices. Early in her career, she risked house arrest in rural China as a juror of the Beijing Independent Film Festival, relocating a vital archive of censored independent documentary films to Columbia University. After serving in leadership roles at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Rubin Museum of Art, and led strategic initiatives for organizations like the New York Botanical Garden, Creative Capital, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, the Center for Creative Photography.

Jane relocated to California’s Eastern Sierra in 2023. Across her practice, Jane leverages her extensive institutional expertise to ensure that rural and marginalized communities have the resources needed to build vibrant, resilient cultures. She is the founder of Zhencool, which provides essential grants to rural artists and curator of the “This is Temporary” exhibition series in Bishop. Jane is also the co-founder of SIGHT, an arts and culture initiative challenging the silence around modern deathcare. Jane holds a BFA from The Cooper Union, an MBA from Metropolitan College, and an MA in film studies from Columbia University.