People soon will be able to learn about, and celebrate, the history of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia as the Province takes another step toward establishing a Chinese Canadian museum.
The B.C. government is providing a $1-million grant to the City of Vancouver to support continued planning and programming design. The funding will establish a project office at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver to work with the community and further develop plans for the museum. The project office will feature a pocket gallery.
“The contributions of British Columbians of Chinese descent are an essential part of our Province’s success, and our government believes in protecting and preserving this collective history,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Today’s funding supports our commitment to establish a new Chinese Canadian museum in partnership with the City of Vancouver. I’m excited to see how the vision takes shape.”
The grant builds on the government’s commitment to establish a Chinese Canadian museum to honour the contributions of B.C.’s Chinese community, past and present. In a recent public engagement on the project, people provided positive feedback on a proposal to establish the museum as a hub-and-spoke model, with a provincial hub located in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
“During our engagement, people told me that the stories of Chinese Canadians need to be told throughout our province, so people can experience history in the places it happened,” said George Chow, Minister of State for Trade. “This is why we are pursuing a hub-and-spoke model. I know this funding will help our partner, the City of Vancouver, plan for activities here in Vancouver's Chinatown.”
Establishing a Chinese Canadian museum is part of the government’s partnership with the City of Vancouver to work together to pursue a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site designation for Vancouver Chinatown.
