It is often said that in order to properly start planning the future, one must acknowledge and embrace the past.
2020 was a year of reinvention, a year that forced us all to be adaptable and versatile in every element of our daily lives. As we look back at this abnormal year, we feel that in spite of all the challenges, it was truly a year where the ongoing support of our outstanding and encouraging community empowered us to great achievements!
Initially intended to be offered in person at the Garden, the March lock-down forced us to pivot our Wellness programming and switch to online virtual classes. This series of weekly yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation classes has been a tremendous success, and it would not have been possible without the dedicated and knowledgeable work of our partners, Lucas Trottier, Nathalie Keiller and Cassandra Lee. Thank you!
This year the Garden was proud to launch a series of virtual Art Talks that ran from March until October and included a range of truly amazing artists from across Vancouver. This stimulating series of talks is now available to enjoy through the Garden’s YouTube Channel and may be accessed directly through our website.
Hidden Figures – Asian Heritage Month
Throughout Asian Heritage Month the Garden was proud to share stories of leaders and heroes from the Chinese Canadian community through out social media channels and website. This Hidden Figures Series, aimed to bring awareness to the ground-breaking legacies of various members of our community whose resilience toward a stronger and better society continues to empower us today.
New Garden Self-Guided Booklet
This year the Garden team was thrilled to launch our new self-guided booklet in conjunction with our reopening over the summer. Available for free, this booklet was initially developed as a beautiful memento for visitors and compliment to our Garden tour. As a result of the health and safety guidelines, and the Garden being forced to temporarily postpone our regular tours, this locally-made booklet allowed visitors to continue to learn about the history and architecture of the Garden, as well as about the Chinatown community, and the Garden Society’s work.
Designed by local graphic design company Kevin Louis Design Inc., we are so thrilled with the result, and want to say a big thank you to their team for all their hard work in making these beautiful booklets possible!
New Online Store
In 2020 we also celebrated the launch of the Garden’s first online store, offering some of our signature products for purchase online! With over sixty unique products in our catalogue, ranging from children’s books, to handmade ceramics, to locally produced textiles and candles, that Garden’s online store is thriving and growing every day!
In addition to the online store, the Garden team is very excited to have launched a new website! As we continue to focus our efforts into providing more online content, including educational learning resources, various online events, and more, we wanted to update our website to ensure it was the best resource it could be! We hope you love it as much as we do!
Community Partnerships
In spite of the various challenges of the pandemic the Garden continued to partner with our community through a wide range of activities and events, both in person and virtually. From the Cross-Cultural Walking Tours held entirely online, to the PopUpOpera event hosted at the Garden in collaboration with City Opera Vancouver, to the upcoming Dragon Boat BC exhibition, or Villa Cathay’s Rejuvenation Project Fundraiser, the Garden has continued to work closely with our partners throughout the pandemic to fulfill our mission of building community connections, and promoting cultural sharing and learning.
In spite of the various challenges of the pandemic the Garden continued to partner with our community through a wide range of activities and events, both in person and virtually. From the Cross-Cultural Walking Tours held entirely online, to the PopUpOpera event hosted at the Garden in collaboration with City Opera Vancouver, to the upcoming Dragon Boat BC exhibition, or Villa Cathay’s Rejuvenation Project Fundraiser, the Garden has continued to work closely with our partners throughout the pandemic to fulfill our mission of building community connections, and promoting cultural sharing and learning.
Our work this year wasn’t all online. During the summer months the Garden underwent a major conservation project to restore the beautiful paint-work on the wooden panelling in our Main Courtyard, and Scholar’s Study Courtyard. We couldn’t be happier with the results, and want to thank our partners at the Vancouver Park Board, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, and Heritage BC for making it possible.
Luminous Garden Exhibit
And of course, we cannot look back on 2020 without celebrating the wonderful Luminous Garden exhibit by Artist in Residence Lam Wong, that was not only open to the public for three months in-spite of the pandemic, but was also the first of our exhibits to have a virtual component, with a dedicated website and online collection that is available for everyone to enjoy from the comfort of their home.
As we step into the future with hope and optimism, we remain committed to promoting cultural sharing and education, as we listen and learn from the vibrant and diverse communities who continue to inspire us every single day.
In particular we wish to thank our Annual Pass Holders and Donors for their continued support throughout this challenging year. We couldn’t do this without you.
Thank you for standing with us and making 2020 a delightful year. We can’t wait to see what 2021 will bring!
If you would like to join the Garden’s community and support our work, consider becoming an Annual Pass holder, or making a Donation to the Garden today.