Chinatown Portrait Project
As a portrait photographer it's natural to photograph people in locations that relate to their lives. My Vancouver Chinatown Portrait Project was a way for me to capture some of the people and places of Vancouver’s Chinatown whose connections span generations. I was very fortunate to have ten portraits from this series on display at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden from May through August, 2019.
Nee Hung Au and Yee Moi Au at 524 Keefer Street
Nee Hung and Yee Moi arrived in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the 1950s where they first met and decided to make a life together. They purchased 524 Keefer Street in 1970 after years of scrimping and saving wages earned in a shingle mill, a laundry, a restaurant and a textile company. Renting the building out became a source of income and they spent their time looking after the building and tenants. The building represents years of sacrifice and hard work and is a source of pride. Though they may never say it, the Aus love Chinatown—it gives them a sense of belonging. Until recently, they would take the bus to Chinatown most every day, even when they had no reason to go out. Nee Hung Au passed away in 2019.
Photo Assistant: Clive Camm
Edwin Lee at the Kuomintang Building
Edwin Lee was born in Vancouver and has lived there all his life. His family was instrumental in developing Vancouver’s Chinatown during the days of the Goldrush. Edwin literally wrote the book on growing up in Chinatown. He's pictured in front of the Chinese Nationalist League (Kuomintang) building at 525 Gore Avenue. The building marks the eastern edge of Chinatown and was once home to the Wai Kew School where Edwin attended Chinese classes in the 1940s. The Chinese Nationalist League had the building constructed in 1920 as its western Canadian headquarters. For most of the building’s history the ground floor was occupied by retail stores with residential and meeting rooms upstairs.
Larry and Shirley Chan at 658 Keefer Street
For siblings Larry and Shirley Chan, the heritage home at 658 Keefer Street is a monument to their parents Mary and Walter and to a family legacy of saving Chinatown from destruction. Larry and Shirley recall the Chan home being a meeting place for concerned residents in the 1960s and 70s with Mary, Walter and Shirley uniting locals in protest against an ill-conceived freeway development plan that would have obliterated the Strathcona neighbourhood and changed Vancouver forever. Larry later led a project that trained and paid local residents to rehabilitate area homes. The two-and-one-half-story Edwardian house was built in 1906 and became the Chan family home in 1958. Larry now lives in the restored home with his family.
Photo Assistant: Clive Camm
Orville Lim at 531 Carrall Street
Orville Lim has a deep connection to the Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Benevolent Association Building at 531 Carrall Street. Orville said it has been most rewarding to lead the recent restoration which has returned the building's facades to their original design. Built in 1903 as the headquarters for the Chinese Empire Reform Association, the building has been owned by the Benevolent Association since 1945 and is one of three original buildings remaining in Vancouver's Shanghai Alley. The building recently received the 2019 Heritage Award for Outstanding Heritage Conservation and is part of the Vancouver Chinatown national historic site.
Photo Assistant: Clive Camm
Howe Lee at the Memorial Monument
Col. Howe Lee (retired) passed away in 2021. In 2018 when this photograph was made he was the highest ranking Chinese-Canadian in the Canadian Army and the founder and President Emeritus of the Chinese Canadian Military Museum. Howe’s passion for the Canadian Chinese was contagious. He tirelessly honoured and promoted the Canadian Chinese contributions which made Vancouver, British Columbia and even Canada, a better place to live. Howe is pictured at the memorial monument in Vancouver's Chinatown which is dedicated to the Canadian Chinese for their bravery in World War II and their invaluable work on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Photo Assistant: Clive Camm
Judy Lam Maxwell at the Millennium Gate
Judy (a.k.a. Chinatown Girl) enjoys teaching, research and writing, cooking and people. Specializing in Chinatowns around the world, Judy is third-generation European Canadian on her dad’s side and first-generation Chinese Canadian on her mother’s side. In addition to leading her historical tours of Vancouver’s Chinatown, Judy loves teaching her dumpling masterclass at the historic Sai Woo restaurant. Judy is pictured at Chinatown’s Millennium Gate which, much like Judy herself, symbolizes the coming together of Eastern and Western cultures.
Photo Assistant: Mirana Radivojevic
Jessica Lee at 72 East Pender
Jessica immigrated to Vancouver in 2004 and opened her store at 72 East Pender Street one year later. She says the store has been an adventure and a learning experience and she feels blessed that her store allows her to remain connected to her Chinese roots. “My customers ask me about the history or cultural significance of the Chinese and Asian items I sell, and this inspires me to research and learn more.”
Update: Sadly Jessica had to close her store in 2020 due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Katherine Soucie at 525 Carrall Street
Katherine Soucie is an international award-winning artist and designer who transforms textile industry waste into works of art. Her unique live-work studio space is located in the Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Benevolent Association Building at 525 Carrall Street, in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown. Now part of a national historic site, the building started out as the global headquarters for the Chinese Empire Reform Association in 1903. It changed hands several times serving as a rooming house and a brothel, before being purchased by the Association in 1945. Katherine is pictured with some of her art on the Shanghai Alley side of the building.
Photo Assistant: Jackie Cheung
Olivia Chan at Treasure Green Tea
Olivia runs the Treasure Green Tea Company in the 200 block of East Georgia Street. The building was once home to the Keefer Laundry which occupied one third of the block. Olivia is a second-generation Chinese merchant. Her father, Mr. Kwok Sun Cheung, opened the shop over thirty years ago. Olivia’s advice is: “Don’t be loyal to tea. Be loyal to your tea merchant.” Olivia still serves some of her father’s loyal customers as well as a new generation of tea lovers drawn by the taste and health benefits of tea. Olivia and her shop were featured in the 2015 film Everything Will Be, a documentary about Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Robert Sung at Tin Lee Market
Robert (Bob) is from Vancouver and is third-generation Chinese Canadian. His culinary background is rooted in his family’s 70-year involvement in the food and hospitality industry in British Columbia. Bob’s extensive education and background in business, teaching and culinary ethnic trends, form the foundation for his culinary and cultural walking tours including AWok Around Chinatown. He is a member of the Chinese-Canadian Historical Society of BC and the Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee. Bob is pictured at the Tin Lee Market on East Georgia Street.
Equipment and process for the Chinatown project
I wanted to use a photographic approach that would lend a nostalgic feel to the images. I decided to shoot this project using a Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5 press camera for a classic look that matches the historic theme and the vintage buildings. I combined the traditional film photography equipment with a modern electronic flash system in order to separate my subjects from their surroundings somewhat and give them something of a studio lighting look within an available-light environment.