One of the (few) positives to come out of 2020, is that it’s allowed us the opportunity to pause. Being sheltered in place en masse, we have more mental real estate to reflect on things and consider what makes up our identity. After visiting The Museum of Vancouver’s latest exhibition, A Seat at the Table, I was struck by how long it stayed with me after returning home. A cleared schedule is really the perfect time to visit a show like this, as it would seem that our focus has been a little more honed on the moment. Running now until January 2022, A Seat at the Table chronicles the Chinese immigrant experience in BC, from the first settling of Chinese working crews in the late 1700s to the boom of migrants in the mid-1800s and how the influx of Chinese culture shapes the province even today.
I was left contemplating how Vancouver’s identity (and BC’s at large) would absolutely not be the same without the people and sacrifices described in the show. Seeing the hopeful families travel, meeting with stories of discrimination and hardship, you can’t help but empathize with the feeling of wanting to give something more to those you care about. It’s a feeling that easily bridges the gap of time and creates a personal connection with each of the people described. We’ve all seen the black and white pictures of immigrants coming into cities in large groups, the countless faces that seem to blur into the next as the pages of history turn. With A Seat at the Table, you’re given the shades of colour and focused insights to know who these people were. With one particular story, we meet Anna Fong Dickman, BC’s first Chinese Canadian nurse. We learn who she was, and get a sense of her frustration about the roadblocks in the way of her dream. Not only that, but her uniform is on display, looking as clean and pristine as I would assume it was on the day she first put it on. It’s these personal touches that give you a sense of place and people throughout this exhibit.
As you wander through the show, you’ll no doubt be struck by the impressive scope. To stage A Seat at the Table, it required pooling resources and efforts from The Museum of Vancouver, The BC government, The City of Vancouver, UBC, and a network of BC museums and archives. Speaking to MOV curator Viviane Gosselin, she tells of how the cross-organizational labour has also solicited a lot of enthusiasm from the families of the show’s subjects. “Individuals and groups have been intrigued, enthused and keen to contribute stories, images, objects, perspectives. They saw this as a unique opportunity to highlight the contributions of Chinese Canadians and reclaim their place in not only BC’s history but also present and future.”
It’s a glimpse into the past that offers perspective on how BC looks today. The Chinese influence across the food world specifically will always be a part of who we are.
As the stories show, many Chinese immigrants were shunned from pursuing various professions, but working in the restaurant industry and offering laundry services were deemed acceptable.
Despite those restrictions, we can see and taste the fruits of pride the Chinese community took in these positions, as Vancouver has grown to an incredibly diverse culinary city, deeply rooted in Chinese and Asian food.
It’s hard to imagine what our food landscape would look like without this bedrock of influence. From stories of bustling Chinatown restaurants to the raiding of a Chinese mother’s pantry (an astounding layout of jars filled with tinctures, oils, and remedies), A Seat at the Table will give visitors a new appreciation for one of Vancouver’s most prominent communities, and the struggles it has endured in getting here. While the future might seem tumultuous and uncertain, it’s reassuring to know that learning from the past and the people that came before us, can steady our journey forward. It’s a philosophy that Gosselin hopes to carry forward with future MOV shows, “We have a lot to gain in considering the depth of contributions from Indigenous communities and non-White immigrant communities in building the province.”
A Seat at the Table runs until January 2022
Museum of Vancouver: 1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver
@museumofvan
