Reshaping Collections: Where History Meets Art

Morris Lum, Karen Tam, Howie Tsui, Chih-Chien Wang, Janet Wang, and Stella Zheng

The Chinese Canadian Museum is pleased to present Reshaping Collections a new exhibition on the intersection between history and art, featuring visual art commissions from Chinese Canadian artists across Canada. The commissioned artists were invited to reinterpret historical and cultural objects and materials that explore the Canadian identity from the renowned Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection at the University of British Columbia (UBC). 

In Reshaping Collections, the museum commissioned six artists, Morris Lum, Karen Tam, Howie Tsui, Chih-Chien Wang, Janet Wang, and Stella Zheng, to create various forms of art and visual media, equipping them with the latest portable 3D technology printing to research, reprint select objects and create art from the more than 25,000 rare and unique historical items from the Chung Collection at UBC Rare Books and Special Collections. 

“We were inspired to leverage the latest 3D technology to reshape and modernize the way we do museum exhibitions,” explains Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum. We invited these six Chinese Canadian artists to support new artist commissions, while connecting with Canadian history and identity.”

This Chinese Canadian Museum exhibition includes a broad range of objects and materials: from photography to art installation, illustration to Penjing rock sculpture. Located on the first floor gallery space, the exhibition also features animation, film, and child-friendly wall text along with illustrated activities made exclusively for the exhibition. 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the UBC Chung Collection. The Chinese Canadian Museum pays homage to the historically significant collection through this new exhibition. The Chinese Canadian Museum’s Reshaping Collections exhibition also coincides with the opening of the new Chung | Lind Gallery at UBC earlier this year. This exhibition is made possible with research support from the UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections. 

This exhibition is curated by Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, Sarah Ling, and Bofei Zhang. 

For more event details and background on the museum’s exhibitions, visit chinesecanadianmuseum.ca.

About the Chinese Canadian Museum
The Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia is an independent, non-profit organization established in March 2020 to create a museum honouring and sharing Chinese Canadian history, contributions, and living heritage. Guided by its mission statement “Connecting to the Chinese Canadian story—addressing inclusion for all”, the Chinese Canadian Museum aspires to provide an invigorating and transformative experience for present and future generations through its exhibitions and educational programming throughout B.C. and Canada. 

The first of its kind in Canada, the Chinese Canadian Museum is located in the historic Wing Sang Building in Vancouver Chinatown, with a second temporary location at Fan Tan Alley in Victoria, BC. 

Media contact:  Yvonne Chiang, T 604 880 5090, yvonne [​at​] chiangpr.ca