Untouchable Chinatown 脫俗不凡唐人街
As the 2022/2023 Chinatown Greetings Artist in Residency, I co-organized and curated a collective photography project called "Untouchable Chinatown 脫俗不凡唐人街”.
In November 2022, eleven community members of Edmonton’s Chinatown were selected to contribute to the next Chinatown Greetings project. After a few gatherings to meet and share ideas, participants explored the "untouchable" aspects of our comforting yet complicated Chinatown through the form of photographs, poetry, and short essays. These pieces were curated and designed into a limited edition book and exhibition in May 2023. Prints, postcards, and tote bags were produced to fundraise for future arts programming in Edmonton’s Chinatown.
An online PDF version of the first-edition book viewable here.
This project was financially supported by the 2021 Chinatown Greetings project, Edmonton Heritage Council, and Edmonton Arts Council.
Photo of the Untouchable Chinatown artists on Jan 7, 2023
at the Edmonton Chinatown Multicultural Centre
A second exhibition was hosted at the Edmonton Arts Council Shop in October 2023 with a re-imagined presentation of the project’s photographs and words. Photos were printed on cloth banners and hung above a vinyl printed floor map of Chinatown corresponding with the locations where the photos were taken. Two Chinatown tours were led by Wai-Ling Lennon with self-guided maps produced for shop goers as well.
