Chinese Canadian Museum transitions operation of Victoria exhibition space

The Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia (CCMSBC) and the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society (VCMS) are pleased to announce that, effective October 1, 2024, the Fan Tan Alley temporary exhibition space in Victoria (operated by CCMSBC since February 2022) will become a permanent museum named Victoria Chinatown Museum and will be operated by the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society.

“The Chinese Canadian Museum is delighted to have collaborated for the past two years with the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society in establishing the Fan Tan Alley temporary gallery in Victoria with funding and in-kind resources," said Grace Wong, Chair of CCMSBC. "We are proud to fully transition operations of the Fan Tan Alley gallery to Victoria Chinatown Museum Society which will focus exhibitions on Victoria, the home of Canada's oldest Chinatown, and its unique Chinese Canadian stories.”

VCMS was established in 2020 with the explicit goal to establish a museum in Victoria Chinatown to recognize the Chinese diaspora in Canada, many of the earliest of whom arrived to and through Victoria.

Grace Wong Sneddon, Chair of VCMS, states: “Through the Victoria Chinatown Museum, we will continue to share their stories and artifacts as a living museum in the distinctive Fan Tan Alley space in Victoria Chinatown. We believe that learning together helps to build stronger and more inclusive communities. We are excited Victoria Chinatown will have a permanent home to share stories for years and generations to come. VCMS, which received charitable status in 2023, looks forward to sustained collaborations to share Chinese Canadian stories with British Columbians and other visitors”.

The Chinese Canadian Museum works across the province in advancing the understanding of Chinese Canadian history, culture and heritage. In addition to the collaboration with VCMS, there are travelling exhibitions, such as A Seat at the Table that was shown in Cumberland, and showing in Nanaimo Museum. Odysseys and Migration will be travelling to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, and then to Barkerville.

For more information contact:

Grace Wong Sneddon, Board Chair, Victoria Chinatown Museum Society

Hosea Cheung, Director of Marketing and Visitor Experience, Chinese Canadian Museum

Background

In 2017, the BC provincial government made a commitment to establish the first Chinese Canadian Museum in the province and the country. This work began with the establishment of a Working Group of 22 community members chaired by then Secretary of State George Chow to consider how best to establish the Museum. There were trilingual consultations around the province in Vancouver, Richmond, Victoria, Nanaimo, and Kamloops.

Chinese Canadians have settled in communities across the province and the vision for the newly formed Chinese Canadian Museum was to reflect this history, and connections to these historically significant locations.

Victoria is one of those historically significant sites as the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America. It was clear from the early Working Group discussions and public feedback that a museum site in Victoria would be part of the vision for sharing these important stories and culture. Victoria Chinatown Museum Society (VCMS) was formed in early 2020 to advance this work.

The Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia (CCMSBC) was formed in March 2020, comprised of many of the Working Group members, with a mandate to establish the provincial Chinese Canadian Museum.

In August 2020, the Chinese Canadian Museum opened a temporary gallery in the Hon Hsing building in Vancouver Chinatown with the exhibition A Seat at the Table.

In February 2022, CCMSBC announced that the permanent home of the Chinese Canadian Museum would be in the historic Wing Sang building in Vancouver Chinatown.

Also in February 2022, VCMS identified an ideal location in Fan Tan Alley in Victoria that CCMSBC leased to establish a temporary gallery. CCMSBC, with support of VCMS, installed two exhibitions: Gold Mountain Dream! along with First Steps: Chinese Canadian Journeys in Victoria.

CCMSBC, working with the VCMS, operated the Fan Tan Alley gallery since then and there have been over 100,000 visitors to this space. More recent collaborative exhibitions with VCMS have been The Magic of Tony Eng and Victoria in the Time of Exclusion.

On July 1, 2023, CCMSBC opened the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver on the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 (Chinese Exclusion Act). CCMSBC continued to operate, with support of VCMS, the Fan Tan Alley gallery.

VCMS received charitable status in 2023 and, beginning October 1, 2024, VCMS will take over operations of the Fan Tan Alley gallery space for the Victoria Chinatown Museum with focus on Victoria and its Chinese Canadian stories.