The Paper Trail: To the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act
Date: May 29
7:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
Where: Theatre
This talk will introduce the Chinese Canadian Museum (Vancouver), the first cultural institution in Canada devoted to Chinese Canadian culture and lived histories, and The Paper Trail, a feature exhibition on the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Exhibition Curator, Catherine Clement will be in conversation with Chinese Canadian Museum CEO, Dr. Melissa Lee in introducing the feature museum exhibition on the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the generational trauma that resulted in the separation of Chinese Canadian families in the 20th century.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms Members. Get your tickets online or by calling (709)757-8090.
About the Presenters:
Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee is an arts and culture leader with research interests in public art and social practice. She currently holds the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Chinese Canadian Museum, in British Columbia, Vancouver which was successfully opened on July 1st, 2023, showcasing 3 inaugural exhibitions in a 27,000 square foot space in the heart of Vancouver Chinatown. From 2019-2022, she was the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery. From 2016-2019 she was on the founding team to open Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Art, Hong Kong serving as the Education and Public Programs Curator. From 2008-2015, she was on faculty as Senior Lecturer at the English Department of Chinese University of Hong Kong. She holds degrees from McGill, Canterbury and Lancaster Universities.
Catherine Clement is an award-winning community historian, curator, and author based in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Her practice focuses on finding and telling the lesser-known or forgotten stories of the Chinese Canadian experience.
Catherine’s projects have been acclaimed for the extensive crowdsourcing she undertakes to discover lost photographs, documents and stories. She uses these unearthed materials to create a major exhibition and leave a legacy: the establishment of new community archives in public institutions.
Before developing The Paper Trail project, Catherine spent 10 years uncovering the hidden works of Vancouver's first and most prolific Chinese photographer. The project “Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow” resulted in an exhibition, an award-winning book and a digital archive of over 600 photos that is now housed at the City of Vancouver.
Events & Programs
How do place, identity, and art intersect, and what do their points of intersection tell us about this place we call home?
In this talk, Rhea Rollmann will explore the significance of queer and trans art in Atlantic Canada with particular emphasis on the work of Erica Rutherford as well as iterations of queer and trans art in NL. There will be an opportunity for questions after the talk.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling 709-757-8090.
About the Presenter:
Rhea Rollmann (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, writer and audio producer based in St. John's, NL, and is the author of A Queer History of Newfoundland (Engen Books, 2023). She is a founding editor of The Independent NL and her journalism has appeared in Briarpatch Magazine, CBC, Xtra Magazine, Chatelaine, PopMatters, Riddle Fence, Macleans and more. Her academic work has been published in the Journal of Gender Studies, Labor Studies Journal, Canadian Woman Studies, Journal of Work and Society, Canadian Theatre Review, Canadian Review of Sociology, Screen Bodies and elsewhere. She also has an extensive background in labour organizing and queer/trans activism, and she is Station Manager at CHMR-FM, a community radio station in St. John's.