Vancouver Art Gallery: Artistic Perspective on Demography

By 2017, British Columbia will have the largest proportion of visible minorities in the country, with 45% of this group of Chinese origin, followed by South Asian.

The Vancouver Art Gallery “takes seriously its increasingly critical contribution to Vancouver's role as Canada's Gateway to and from the East.” Over the next four years, its exhibitions will include a focus on the cultural production of China, Japan, Korea and the Indian subcontinent.

Developed with the support of the Canada Council, programming for the Gallery's Asia Pacific Focus will include the first retrospective of the spectacular installations of Chinese artist Huang Yong Ping, a mural created on site by Taiwan artist Michael Lin, a look at the Japanese comic book and animation art forms 'manga' and 'anime' (as part of the exhibition KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art), and a solo exhibition of the photography and video art of Indonesian artist Fiona Tan. Other presentations will offer the art of Shanghai artist Zhang Huan, as well as the work of Ken Lum, the world-renowned Vancouver artist, curator, writer and teacher. This retrospective will present the best of Canadian contemporary art to world audiences flocking to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Gallery wants to attract Canadians of Asian origin as well as tourists from Asia, and it is taking a proactive approach. Tours of the main presentations will be given in Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese. Visitor guides and, when available, catalogues for touring exhibitions will also be made available in these languages.

To ensure programming reaches the target audiences, the Gallery consults with leaders from the local Asian community who specialize in strategic marketing and communications, and has augmented their advertising in popular Asian publications.

A key element of its 2007-2010 strategic plan, this programming should have a lasting effect. With a foot on either side of the Pacific, the goal is to establish a bridge between South-East Asia and North America.