Vancouver 
Events Description
Pride in Chinatown MMXX launches with artist street projects happening throughout Chinatown, viewable 24/7 from August 8th — September 7th, 2020. Rather than pivoting online, we are hitting the streets running with new site-inspired artworks from the queer pan-Asian diaspora, who will be covering hoardings, windows, doorways, storefronts, laneways, utility poles and boxes, and monuments.
David Ng retrieves and alludes to a queer history with “Comrade(ry),” sourced from a 1906 Province newspaper article reporting on a bathhouse at the Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Association building — where Ng’s new work will also be installed. Two artists, in different ways, use magazine collage and quotes from famous and influential people to reaffirm their powerful words. Ho Tam’s “A Quotation by Susan Sontag” spans an entire storefront window on Georgia Street. Jay Cabalu’s “Fortune Diptych” includes a quote by Toni Morrison alongside “Yellow Peril Supports Black Power.” These arresting visual bites will be splashed across the exterior of Fortune Sound Club on Pender St. “Quarantine” is a series of 41 self-portraits created by intersectional non-binary feminist drag performance artist Maiden China during the COVID-19 stay-at-home phase. The artist created daily Instagram posts as a form of catharsis, ranging from dazzling glamour to dark despair. This series is an extraordinary portrayal of the sense of fear and loss that so many of us experienced during the early days of the pandemic. Diyan Achjadi’s “Never As It Seems” is a series of 4 large-scale banners created for the temporary security fences surrounding the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden walls. Candie Tanaka’s “Love is Love” is a playful work created for our favourite indie coffee shop. Further up the street, “The Petal (Cánh Hoa)” is a collaborative video installation by filmmaker Christian Jones and Kara Juku, a drag performer who is currently the reigning Vancouver Drag Superstar.
Pride in Chinatown MMXX is not only a bold gesture claiming Chinatown as a safe space for LGBTQ2+ people and allies, but is a rebuttal against the recent acts of racist aggression and discrimination that included the wave of anti-Asian graffiti amplified by COVID-19. We are launching these month-long art interventions with an action organized by Youth Collaborative for Chinatown. In June, a guerilla floral tribute was created as a random act of kindness in direct retaliation against the racist graffiti on the lions of the Chinatown Gate. On Saturday August 8th, there will be a grand floral installation by an anonymous artist at the Chinatown Millennium Gate as an act of love.
Pride began as a liberation movement for equality and justice for all. Pride in Chinatown is an event to create visibility for new queer pan-Asian art and artists. Please join us in Chinatown and support our community.
Artwork Locations:
“Anonymous Floral Installation” presented by Youth Collaborative for Chinatown
Chinatown Millennium Gate
West Pender and Taylor Streets
“Quarantine” by Maiden China
Various locations throughout Chinatown
“Comrade(ry)” by David Ng
Valu Coop/Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Association building
525 Carrall St.
“Never As It Seems” by Diyan Achjadi
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
578 Carrall St.
“Fortune Diptych” by Jay Cabalu
Fortune Sound Club
147 East Pender St.
“Love is Love” by Candie Tanaka
Propaganda Coffee
209 East Pender St.
“The Petal (Cánh Hoa)” by Kara Juku and Christian Jones
Or Gallery
236 East Pender St.
“A Quotation by Susan Sontag” by Ho Tam
Access Gallery
222 East Georgia St.
Pride in Chinatown is presented by On Main Gallery, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Vancouver Art & Leisure, and features a host of community partners including Queer Arts Festival, Fortune Sound Club, Access Gallery, Or Gallery, Propaganda Coffee and more! We received generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Vancouver.
Pride in Chinatown takes place on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ/selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations. We recognize our responsibility as uninvited guests on this land to work actively in support of Indigenous sovereignty.
WHEN & WHERE
Date & Time: August 8 — September 7, 2020
Venue: Chinatown, Vancouver50 Pender St E, Vancouver
