Our Chinese Heritage
The Esplanade Museum and Esplanade Archives are proud to present Our Chinese Heritage in the Heritage Gallery, three exhibits which honor Chinese Canadian contributions to the development of Western Canada. The exhibits will be open during regular operating hours from January 29 to April 22, 2012. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, January 29 beginning at 2:00 PM and everyone is welcome.
The three exhibits include “Upstairs at Wah Lee’s” which is a collection of historic photographs from the C.S.Wing Studio in Quesnel, British Columbia. Mr. Wing was the first professional photographer in that community. The exhibit illustrates his interaction with other residents of the town as well as chronicling its early days. Another exhibit is “Chop Suey on the Prairies” which was produced by the Royal Alberta Museum and is a salute to the small town Chinese Restaurant; an icon in many communities across the Canadian Plains. The third exhibit is “A Century of Chinese Restaurants in Medicine Hat” and features photographs from the Esplanade Archives collection which document the long standing presence, and contributions, of these establishments in our community.
We are entering “The Year of the Dragon” in the traditional Chinese calendar and the Esplanade Museum along with the Esplanade Archives are celebrating our Chinese heritage. In addition to the three exhibits, Mr. Siew Mak will be demonstrating traditional Chinese brush painting during the reception.