Whose Chinatown?

Examining Chinatown Gazes in Art, Archives, and Collections

January 29 - May 1, 2021

“Whose Chinatown? Examining Chinatown Gazes in Art, Archives, and Collections,” brings together an art history of Chinatowns and their communities by historical and contemporary Canadian artists such Emily Carr, Unity Bainbridge, Yucho Chow, Fred Herzog, Paul Wong, Mary Sui Yee Wong, Morris Lum, and aiya哎呀, among others. Drawing from private collections in Vancouver and across Canada, such as the Beatrice and Raymond Jai Collection, and the Chung Collection which holds more than 25 000 rare items related to Chinese Canadian history assembled over 60 years and is now housed at UBC, the show will also be augmented with public archives and collections. Complementing the artworks, artefacts, and archival materials is a robust public programming. This exhibition aims to question how narratives are constructed around the idea of Chinatown and the colonial notions that underwrite some of these relations.

Image: Morris Lum, Xam Yu Seafood Restaurant, Toronto, 2016, photograph, 20 x 24 inches, Courtesy of the artist