The Paper Trail: To the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act
Date: May 29
7:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
Where: Theatre
This talk will introduce the Chinese Canadian Museum (Vancouver), the first cultural institution in Canada devoted to Chinese Canadian culture and lived histories, and The Paper Trail, a feature exhibition on the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Exhibition Curator, Catherine Clement will be in conversation with Chinese Canadian Museum CEO, Dr. Melissa Lee in introducing the feature museum exhibition on the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the generational trauma that resulted in the separation of Chinese Canadian families in the 20th century.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms Members. Get your tickets online or by calling (709)757-8090.
About the Presenters:
Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee is an arts and culture leader with research interests in public art and social practice. She currently holds the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Chinese Canadian Museum, in British Columbia, Vancouver which was successfully opened on July 1st, 2023, showcasing 3 inaugural exhibitions in a 27,000 square foot space in the heart of Vancouver Chinatown. From 2019-2022, she was the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery. From 2016-2019 she was on the founding team to open Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Art, Hong Kong serving as the Education and Public Programs Curator. From 2008-2015, she was on faculty as Senior Lecturer at the English Department of Chinese University of Hong Kong. She holds degrees from McGill, Canterbury and Lancaster Universities.
Catherine Clement is an award-winning community historian, curator, and author based in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Her practice focuses on finding and telling the lesser-known or forgotten stories of the Chinese Canadian experience.
Catherine’s projects have been acclaimed for the extensive crowdsourcing she undertakes to discover lost photographs, documents and stories. She uses these unearthed materials to create a major exhibition and leave a legacy: the establishment of new community archives in public institutions.
Before developing The Paper Trail project, Catherine spent 10 years uncovering the hidden works of Vancouver's first and most prolific Chinese photographer. The project “Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow” resulted in an exhibition, an award-winning book and a digital archive of over 600 photos that is now housed at the City of Vancouver.
Today's Events & Programs
Winter may be here, but there’s no need to stay home!
Join us at The Rooms to exercise and socialize during this colder and drearier time of year. While strolling throughout the building and enjoying both the exhibitions and the views, participants will focus on a different spotlight item from our collection each week. After our stroll, staff will lead a brief discussion on the weekly spotlight, and then everyone is encouraged to stay and socialize with friends new and old.
No registration is needed. Included with the cost of admission ($7.80 plus HST for seniors), free for members.
For further information, please contact catherineoneill@therooms.ca
Each year, the Henrietta Harvey Distinguished Lecture Series welcomes a leading scholar to enrich discussions on urgent public questions.
This year, join Dr. Benjamin L. Berger for a lecture on “What Secularism Hides.”
We often describe our laws, institutions, and even our era as secular—as if the term neatly explains how religion fits (or doesn’t) in modern public life.
But what is secularism? Where did it come from, and what does it actually do? Drawing on global examples and contemporary Canadian debates, Dr. Berger argues that secularism often obscures more than it reveals—about history, power, democracy, and the relationship between religion and the state.
This is a free program but a ticket is required. Please reserve your free ticket online or by calling 709-757-8090.
Benjamin L. Berger is a Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. An award-winning teacher and researcher, and one of Canada’s foremost experts on the interaction of law and religion, he is a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada and held the York Research Chair in Pluralism and Public Law. Professor Berger has published over 80 academic articles and book chapters on law and religion, criminal and constitutional law and theory, the law of evidence, and legal history. He is the author or editor of eight books, including Law’s Religion: Religious Difference and the Claims of Constitutionalism and, most recently, Making Promises: Oaths, Treaties, and Covenants in Multi-jurisdictional and Multi-religious Societies.
In collaboration with Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (Departments of Religion and Culture and Political Science)