Dr. Tzu-I Chung

Royal BC Museum

Dr. Chung’s critically-informed practice and diverse experience with community-engaged research is trailblazing new pathways for culturally democratic spaces in the museum and cultural heritage sector. Dr. Chung’s work is focused on innovative museum practice to co-explore the heritages of the diverse peoples in the province. Dr. Chung works to convene, support and preserve the complex histories of diverse cultural groups. Her goal is the transition of interpretive authority from museums to communities, and by doing so, “refocusing the museum as a space and facilitator for intercultural dialogues, cultural transmission, diverse forms of learning and social cohesion.”

“For over a decade, Tzu-I has led the development of new community-based intercultural and multicultural initiatives that have guided the work of major departments across the Royal BC Museum. She has consistently facilitated critical interventions and led multi-initiative legacy projects based on cross-sectoral partnerships. As a community builder she has co-fundraised and co-developed with community partners the Chinese Canadian Legacy Projects, Punjabi Canadian Legacy Projects and South Asian Canadian Legacy Projects – cultivating people’s strengths, articulating needs and leveraging resources.” -Janet MacDonald, Emeritus Educator, Royal BC Museum

“Dr. Tzu-I Chung contributed enormously as co-lead in development and implementation of the South Asian Canadian Legacy Project in partnership with the Royal BC Museum. The South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser valley is indebted to Dr. Chung for her vision, steadfast support, guidance and leadership for innovation required to build heritage legacy with BC’s South Asian Canadian communities. Over the last six years Dr. Chung traversed seven BC regions helping build a strong sense of South Asian Canadian settlement history and in building a remarkable legacy of heritage work that will support future work.” -Dr. Satwinder Bains, South Asian Studies Institute, University of the Fraser Valley

Photo credit: Mel Grisak/Royal BC Museum

Honorable Mention:

Carolyn Butler-Palmer, “See-Jane-the-Artist Project”

Department of Art History and Visual Studies, University of Victoria

Carolyn Butler Palmer’s “See-Jane-the-Artist Project” warrants recognition for contributions to the training of museum professionals and opening up opportunities for women artists. Gender equity is at the heart of the “See-Jane-the-Artist” project, which links issues of gender equity to those of representation and takes its name from the Geena Davis Institute’s “See Jane Campaign”. As historian Anne Dymond has argued, Canadian art galleries manifest gender bias in their programming, noting that “less than 25 percent of the contemporary exhibitions at…major galleries” focused on women.

In 2014, before the initiation of “See-Jane the Artist,” programming about women artists at the Legacy Gallery came in at about 10 percent. Since 2015, solo women artists’ exhibitions at the Legacy Gallery have risen to over 25 percent. The “See-Jane-the Artist” project has also positively impacted UVic’s art collections with an increase of 600 percent in Ellen Neel’s artwork holdings and two percent of that of Elizabeth Yeend Duer. This work helps to promote and preserve these women’s cultural expressions for future generations.

Winner:

Chinatown Storytelling Centre

A Vancouver Chinatown Foundation initiative

The first permanent space of its kind in Canada, the Chinatown Storytelling Centre (CSC) is preserving Chinatown’s histories and boosting local revitalization through outreach, education, and public programs.

With its innovative focus on storytelling and living heritage, the CSC has played an instrumental role in documenting and sharing the stories and memories of the neighbourhood as well as providing a vital space for intergenerational community building.

For decades, Chinatown’s stories, memories, and cultural heritage have been slipping away. The CSC is a groundbreaking institution in its focus on storytelling as a living form of heritage, not to be frozen in time, but to be activated and embraced as a community-engaged practice for all.

Photo credit: John Sinal

Award of Merit – Social Impact

This Award of Merit recognizes the significant contribution of an organization advocating for the advancement of an important social cause such as reconciliation, social justice, inclusiveness, accessibility, sustainable development, climate action, wellness, etc.

Winner:

Museum at Campbell River and Cecil Dawson

The Museum at Campbell River and Cecil Dawson, hereditary chief and artist, joined hands to share one family’s colonization experiences that enfold contemporary social issues.

Located in the unceded territories of the Liǧʷiɫdax̌ʷ First Nations, the Museum at Campbell River recently opened the temporary exhibit “Cecil Dawson: Standing in the Gap”. Co-curated by Cecil Dawson and Beth Boyce, Cecil’s history was captured through an Indigenous lens and addressed timely contemporary social issues including the impact of pandemics and the burial sites of children uncovered at residential schools across the country.

It also addressed the role that museums have played in colonization and their role in the pursuit of (re)conciliation. This theme was explored in collaboration with Heidi Swierenga of the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) and was supported by MOA’s Collections Access Program, which ensured that Cecil’s family regalia, which he had only previously encountered in his grandmother’s book, could be present.

Cecil Dawson notes the importance of this initiative at the exhibit opening, “I’ve just been emphasizing the significance of this moment. This gathering. This happening. That it is important for us to create spiritual space when we have ceremony. When we get together as human beings. Seeking something better for all.

Pictured:  Heidi Swierenga from MOA, Cecil Dawson, and Beth Boyce from the Musuem at Campbell River.  The image was taken during the opening event for the exhibit by Bluetree Photography

Honorable Mention:

BC Archives, Genevieve Weber

Royal BC Museum

In 2019, the BC Archives acquired the records of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a religious order that operated ten residential schools in British Columbia. Using Article 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a guiding principle (Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as…their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions), the inclusion of community members in the processing of the records has been prioritized by Archivist, Genevieve Weber. As she continues the work at the BC Archives to make residential school-related records accessible, community engagement will remain the top priority.

Award of Merit – Innovative Practice

This Award of Merit recognizes a recent outstanding innovative and/or creative achievement in any and all aspects of an organization’s practice. At the heart of our communities are people who actively push boundaries, challenge conventions, and exemplify innovative ways of thinking, seeing, and doing. Creativity and innovation will be measured in respect to the nominated museum’s own capacity and history; it may reflect an all-new approach to museology in general, or it may reflect an individual museum doing something it has never done before.

Winner:

Rungh Redux

Rungh Cultural Society

Rungh Redux is an innovative archival web project that activates South Asian art histories from the 1990s and relates to present day IBPOC art and artists. Rungh Redux is a unique attempt to activate an archive and serves to inform artists, educators, cultural workers, and members of the public that racialized artists in British Columbia, and across Canada, have been creating both “community” and “professional” art for over 30 years. These histories would be lost or inaccessible if the Rungh Cultural Society had not embarked on a multi-year project to find, restore, digitize, and then create the interactive Rungh Redux web platform.

Producer/Curator: Zool Suleman

Web/Data Interactive Design: Frank Hangler, Plot +Scatter, and Rob Golbeck, Handcoded Web Services

Design: Simone Wharton, Milène Vallin Editorial

Project Lead: Amina Creighton-Kelly

Honorable Mention:

Multimedia Guide | Museum of Anthropology 

 The Museum of Anthropology’s Multimedia Guide exemplifies innovation in the area of digital engagement, using mobile technology to enrich visitors’ experiences and deepen learning about artworks and cultural belongings.

More information coming soon. In the meantime, check our their website!