Installation Documentation

Envisioning Prompts

With our first project “Long Time No See” we asked folks to submit photos of themselves in places in Chinatown that meant something to them and to share why.  We received many heartfelt stories and were moved by how much Chinatown inhabits our minds and hearts.  For some of us, we need Chinatown for work, to find affordable food or for a sense of belonging, for some of us, Chinatown is a place we rarely visit but has deep meaning for us, in our family and collective memories.
‍
在我们的第一个项目“好久不见”中，我们要求人们提交自己在唐人街一些对他们有意义的地方照的照片并分享原因。我们收到了许多发自内心的故事，并为唐人街在我们的思想和心灵中所占据的地位而感动。对于我们中的一些人来说，我们需要唐人街来工作、寻找负担得起的食物或获得归属感。对于其他人来说，唐人街是一个我们很少去的地方，但对我们、我们的家人和集体记忆却有着深刻的意义。

For the project “Tong Yan Gai, Jeui Ho!” (Chinatown, the best), we have shifted our focus to seniors in the Chinatown area, asking:
‍
对于“唐人街，最好的！”这个项目, 我们转向唐人街地区的老年人, 来问:

Close your eyes ... What do you see? Who is there? What are they doing? What can you smell in your Chinatown?  What do you hear?
‍
闭上眼睛，……你看到了什么？谁在那儿？他们在做什么？你在唐人街能闻到什么味道？你听到什么？

Chinatowns across North America are struggling to survive.  In Montreal Chinatown, the loss of heritage buildings leaves gaping holes in the street fabric.  An article titled, “Investigation:  Is Vancouver’s Chinatown Dying?“ cites,
‍
整个北美的唐人街都在为生存而努力挣扎。在蒙特利尔的唐人街，历史性建筑物的消失在街道的结构上留下了大洞。一篇题为“调查：温哥华的唐人街正在消亡？”的文章引用了，
‍
“Vacancy rates in Chinatown increased 23.7 per cent since the pandemic, … you get to a point where vacant stores overshadow the active storefronts of retail…and then you get into a position where it’s hard to recover back into a lively street front, and bring people into Chinatown, bring the seniors back into Chinatown.”
‍
“自大流行以来，唐人街的空置率增加了 23.7%，......此况已到了一个空置的商店给活跃的零售店面蒙上了阴影......已回复不到以前人们进入唐人街的活力以及把老年人带回唐人街的地步。”
‍
How will we bring people back into Toronto Chinatown, keep the streets safe and inviting for seniors?
‍
我们将如何把人们带回多伦多唐人街，保持街道安全并吸引老年人？