Housing is not just a place; it is a foundation for life, dignity, and community. The “Changing the Conversation” series explores the multifaceted challenges surrounding housing—from inflation and the job market to the rising costs of living, the scarcity of supportive housing, shelter beds, and public rehab facilities in the face of a growing overdose crisis. These issues are not just statistics; they are lived realities for many, including those who have worked their entire lives, only to find themselves reliant on food banks or services like the Union Gospel Mission, and for youth aging out of foster care, who face a harsh world that often leaves them neglected and forgotten.
This exhibit unfolds in two parts. The first offers a platform for the voices and visions of the youth from the Purpose Youth Hub. Here, they share their stories, dreams, and perspectives—because every young person deserves to be heard. The second part features a powerful collection of paintings, poetry, and photographs from public art installations by resident artist PJ Murashige Patten. Through his own lived experience and deep engagement with the community, Patten’s work captures the raw, unfiltered realities of housing insecurity, shedding light on the humanity often overlooked in the broader discourse.
“Changing the Conversation” is not just an exhibit; it’s an urgent call to listen, to empathize, and to act. It challenges us to see housing as a universal right, and to recognize the diverse faces and stories behind the statistics.

My work is mixed media collage combining found images and/or painted backgrounds, with pencil drawing and watercolour. The drawn elements are always the key focus of the work whereas the found imagery creates background and context. I emphasize the drawings by utilizing watercolour or acrylic washes but the pencil marks are always clear which, for me, echo the rudimentary creative form I used throughout my childhood. Using this technique, the central images seem somehow ghostlike and ethereal and create a separation of the object from its’ environment.

This show reflects and is inspired by my mental health journey, tracing trauma trailheads from my early youth through my exploration of the Internal Family Systems therapy paradigm. The work speaks to the loneliness and isolation as a queer child in a challenging family environment. I recast memories, emotions, and internal personalities as ghostly visions and dark fables. Familiar figures, like the chilling visage of a scarecrow or a mangy rat, stand as concrete examples of emotions and responses.

Over the years Jay has had the pleasure of exhibiting his work both solo and with his siblings in group shows that often included collaborative creativity. The latter has been an inspiration that has reinvigorated his joy in making art.

Jay lives in an ancient house in New Westminster that overlooks a cemetery. He shares his life with his husband, along with a painfully adorable rescue pup, and ghosts too numerous to mention (including a fat old tabby cat).