Discover our active community collaborations and learn more about working with us.
The work the Garden does in collaboration with our community partners is a fundamental component of our daily operations, and helps us work toward our mandate of building cultural connections.
We work regularly with community groups, festivals, and partners based throughout Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside in various ways, whether simply as a venue, a collaborator, or a core partner.
Contact Us
For more information on the Garden and the work we do, or to contact us about a potential collaboration, reach out to us today.
OUR RECENT COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
SPELLS FOR CHINATOWN
For the third year we hosted Spells for Chinatown, an intergenerational celebration for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Dumb Instrument Dance and their roster of talented dance and sound artists in improvised installations that sent healing prayers and good vibrations into the world. Spells for Chinatown was a 30-minute multi-sensory event which animated the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden through incantations of movement, music, poetry, and magic!
CHINATOWN SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE
We were honoured to host the Chinatown Solidarity U.S.-Canada Preservation & Revitalization event which brought together over 50 leaders from 18 Chinatowns across two countries to collaborate on creating a more prosperous future. Our sincerest gratitude to all the participants, partners, and volunteers who have generously contributed their time, resources, and expertise to make this event such a big success.
A THOUSAND SCENES IN ONE WORD
We were thrilled to host the making and viewing of “A Thousand Scenes in One Word” during Asian Heritage Month (May 26 – 28). This community project connected the Chinese community with environmental values through calligraphy, drawing, and animation.
Artist Wen Wen (Cherry) Lu’s community inspired project brought participants calligraphy and drawings on rice paper with ink, to life through animation, sound and moving imagery.
For more information click here
WORLD MUSIC SERIES
This World Music Lecture Series is part of the project “Crossing Borders, Removing Barriers and Decolonising Our History,” funded by the 2022 “150 Time Immemorial Grant Program” and administered by the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation and Heritage BC. Co-organized by the Garden and the UBC School of Music its purpose is to introduce world music to high school students and their teachers in British Columbia.
36TH MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL
The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is a popular, happy time of year when families get together to share food, admire the full moon, light lanterns and eat mooncakes. The Mid Autumn celebrations along with our partners, Sungiven Foods, Dragonboat BC and Vancouver Chinatown Foundation attracted thousands of visitors to Chinatown during the 2-day weekend event, which included AR game integrations from Niantic Labs Inc. This event would not have been made possible without the support of the City of Vancouver and Province of British Columbia’s Creative BC and BC Arts Council.
HANFU CULTURE SOCIETY
The Hanfu Culture Association promotes traditional Chinese Hanfu culture. The majority are students from UBC and SFU.
We were honoured to host two very special community collaborations: Life in the Ming Dynasty and Scenes from a Traditional Chinese Wedding during 2022 and look forward to continue to expand our connection with them!
QUEER ASIAN MAKERS POP UP
Curated by Natasha Neale(she/her) of Little Mountain Shop, this mini pop-up featured pan-Asian LGBTQIA2S+ and allies makers + artists.
From fashionable apparel, hand-crafted jewelry and limited edition prints to pride pins and colourful stickers we we incredibly impressed by the amount of talent showcased!
BE LIKE SOUND
Be Like Sound (BLS) features a variety of curated sounds that evoke auditory familiarity for the soul – from sourced historical, sampled, remixed and new audio recordings.
Visitors will hear a 28-minute sound artwork composed of celebrations, ceremonies, music, games/play, spoken languages, labour, food preparation and the natural world. More information here
PORCELAIN RICE
Porcelain Rice was a performative installation and experience by STRANGEMMMAKER and House of Rice at the Garden.
Em, Mandy & The House of Rice created a breathtaking piece at the Garden July 17.
Porcelain imagery was stenciled on performers as a live exhibit, followed by an activated installation moving throughout the Garden.
NCH’Ú7MUT LAM [COMM] UNITY: AN EXHIBITION
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and High Hopes present a special one-day joint art exhibition showcasing contemporary expression of creativity by local DTES artists, Smokey D, Ken Foster, BOY, Edgar Rosetti curated by Gala Vega to highlight under-represented DTES street artists and empower them to tell their perspective, style and story based on their lived experiences. A sampling of the collection can be viewed online.
XIAO 孝
A cultural heritage and outreach program at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden for Chinese Seniors to enjoy food, social and educational activities in a multilingual, diverse and safe space.
To learn more about this program and volunteer with us please click here.
VANCOUVER CHINATOWN FOUNDATION & CHINATOWN STORYTELLING CENTRE
We share the same passion, commitment and vision for our neighbourhood and have recently partnered during Lunar New Year to create a unique and fun Scavenger Hunt connecting both organisations in a fun, family-friendly way.
PRIDE IN CHINATOWN
As a founding partner, the Garden team collaborates annually with Pride in Chinatown to bring this colourful and vibrant celebration to Chinatown. As the first ever out loud and proud queer event in Vancouver’s Chinatown, Pride in Chinatown creates visibility for new queer pan-Asian art and artists. We cannot wait to celebrate with you again during the Summer of 2022.
DRAGON BOAT BC
The Garden is thrilled to be involved as an educational and community partner in the upcoming Dragon Boat Legacy Exhibition celebrating the Community, Culture, and Competition of Dragon Boating in British Columbia.
We cannot wait for all the future collaborative endeavors being planned to come to light.
CITY OPERA VANCOUVER
The Garden was honoured to host 5 concerts (pop ups in April, during Mid-Autumn Festival and more recently during Lunar New Year) bringing poetry in motion and a roster of talented singers. Their new Opera CHINATOWN premieres September 2022 and we cannot wait to have them back for another preview.
DUMB INSTRUMENT DANCE (ZIYIAN KWAN)
We have partnered with Dumb Instrument Dance for enchanting Spells for Chinatown hosting 4 live performances throughout Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month which you can revisit here and again for the Dancing on the Edge Festival presenting Dreaming of Koi alongside FireHall Arts Centre here
CHINATOWN BIA
The Garden and the team at Chinatown BIA have been working closely to promote our neighborhood’s heritage and cultural significance vibrancy.
Last year, we collaborated by bringing over 40 businesses together for Shop, Dine & Unwind and are enthusiastic for what the future will bring!
HON HSING ATHLETIC CLUB OF VANCOUVER
Considered one of the lower mainland’s premiere Chinese Dragon and Lion Dance Troupes, this volunteer run organization brought electrifying energy and their incredibly talented members, including Danny Quon, to our 2022 Lunar New Year celebrations! Their generosity and kindness in providing an encore performance after the immensely successful opening ceremony is something we will never forget.
THE TRANSGENDER EXPRESSION HAVEN (THE HAVEN)
The Garden partnered with this virtual performance art venue for transgender, non-binary, Two-Spirit, intersex artists and other artists transcending gender for CYBORG TRANSCENSION, a unique celebration of diversity and inclusiveness! We hope to continue to expand our collaboration with this amazing collective of artists for the coming years. Find out more here
360 RIOTS
The Garden is proud to partner with Vancouver artist Henry Tsang on the development of the 360º Video Interpretive Walking Tour of 1907 Riots. An online platform that examines the 1907 riots through Vancouver’s Chinatown and Japantown neighbourhoods, the context behind them, and their impact.
VILLA CATHAY
In honour of one of the Garden’s architects, the late Joe Wai, the Garden is working in collaboration with our partners and community to raise $10.000 to support Villa Cathay’s recovery efforts.
