“Composing Us”: a conversation between the artists of “A Seat at the Table”

com·pose/kəmˈpōz/

verb

1. write or create (a work of art, especially music or poetry).

2. (of elements) constitute or make up (a whole).

Join us for a “hot pot style” conversation with three of the artists featured in our : Judy Jheung “Composing_You Chinatowns”, Paul Wong “Grandmother’s Cupboard”, and Stella Zheng “Thank You, Come Again”. Each artist will talk to us about their pieces in the exhibit and then simmer together on what it means to have a “seat at the table” as Chinese Canadian artists across genres, mediums, and diasporas. A q&a portion with the audience will follow. The panel will be moderated by Winnie Kwan.

Prior to this 8pm panel, attendees are invited to join special tours of the exhibit with a focus on the artists’ work. There will be an English language tour at 6:30pm, a Cantonese language tour at 6:45pm, and a Mandarin language tour at 7:15pm.

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

Admission: $25 General Admission, $20 MOV Members, $15 for students and seniors*

*An extra $25 add-on to be applied for a 40% off discount rate on the exhibition catalogue.

ARTIST PANEL

Paul Wong is a media-maestro making art for site-specific spaces and screens of all sizes. He is an award winning artist and curator who is known for pioneering early visual and media art in Canada, founding several artist-run groups, leading public arts policy, and organizing events, festivals, conferences and public interventions since the 1970s. . With a career spanning four decades he has been instrumental proponent to contemporary art.

Judy Jheung is a Vancouver-based interdisciplinary artist. In 1980, she immigrated with her family from Hong Kong to Canada where she completed her high school diploma. She holds a BFA degree from University of Calgary and an MFA from Pratt Institute, New York. Between 2012-14, Jheung conducted PhD studies on interactive art games at Simon Fraser University. A recipient of numerous grant awards for her experimental projects, her work focuses on the experiential, manifesting as immersive, participatory installations. She explores global issues in the context of social urban movements, often collaborating with communities and groups. Jheung has exhibited across Canada and abroad, including the 9th Havana Biennial, Para/Site Art space (Hong Kong), ISEA Durban2018, South Africa, Muzej grada Rijeke, Croatia and Hefei Cultural Center Art Museum, China.

Stella Zheng is a Vancouver based illustrator who recently graduated with a BFA (2020) from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Since graduating, she has been working as a freelance illustrator and her work includes package design, editorial work, and paintings for exhibitions in Vancouver. Stella’s practice utilizes a mix of traditional mediums and digital tools to create illustrations to explore the complexities and multifaceted stories of Chinese culture and identity. Her interests lie in portraying narratives that are often ignored in Western media.

MODERATOR

Winnie Kwan is a second generation Chinese Canadian settler born to immigrant parents hailing from the Cantonese speaking regions of Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and raised on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil Waututh) and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) peoples. Winnie holds a BSc in Global Resource Systems with a Minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies from the University of British Columbia, and currently works in programming and community engagement in the local museum sector. She served as a member of the community advisory for the A Seat at the Table exhibition during her tenure at the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden, and currently holds the role of Visitor Services and Community Engagement Coordinator at the newly established Chinese Canadian Museum. Through her role, she’s been able to see the up-close impact of the A Seat at the Table artwork on the community. In her free time, Winnie enjoys “nerding out” over plants, maps, food, and sociolinguistics.

Host or Publisher Museum of Vancouver