Heritage Hour | Spring 2023

VHF’s Heritage Hour (formerly Evening Lectures) are a series of talks focused on local heritage. Join us at University Women's Club at Hycroft Manor this spring from 7 pm to 8:30 pm to enjoy fascinating pieces of Vancouver’s history with a selection of local speakers.

Tuesday, March 28th | Linking Time: Contemporary Cemetery Design within Historic Settings

Join VHF and designer Bill Pechet for an evening of conversation about contemporary commemoration. This talk will explore a variety of designs by both PECHET Studio and others that highlight the challenges and opportunities in designing within historic cemetery environments and specific cultural traditions. Using both local and international examples, including Vancouver’s own Mountainview Cemetery, Bill will explore themes such as the provision of ritual, ideas of eternity, and forms of new internment.

About the Speaker

Bill Pechet is the director of PECHET Studios. He received degrees in Geography and Visual Arts from the University of Victoria, in 1979 and 1981 respectively, followed by a professional degree in Architecture in 1987 from the University of British Columbia School of Architecture. In addition to his leadership in the studio, Bill has been a faculty member at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture since 2000, and a frequent lecturer on issues of the urban built environment and the critical role that public space can play in the development of healthy and vibrant cities. In 2018, Bill won the Carter Wosk Award, the highest award in the province, for his creative achievements in local, national, and international milieus.

Tuesday, April 18th | (Re)Making home away from home: South Asians’ 120 years in Vancouver

For over a century, South Asians have been making their home in Vancouver. Public opinion about migration of South Asians to Vancouver at the turn of the last century (est. 1903) was fraught with racism, discrimination and prejudice. While South Asians saw themselves as British subjects coming to another colony, European settlers saw them only as economic migrants to a “White Canada” with limited rights and responsibilities. From 1907-1947 South Asians fought for the right to vote, to citizenship, to representation, to rightful depiction in the media, to voluntary migration and for Canadian public opinion to change.

Join Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains as she explores the strength and resilience of the South Asian community (re)making a home away from home through archival images, community stories and current events. She will then reflect on the idea of home and the interplay of nostalgia and memory of Punjab that have shaped her identity.

About the Speaker

Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains is the Director of the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley and an Associate Professor in Culture, Media and Society Studies, College of Arts. Dr. Bains’ critical analysis of India’s multilingual policy and planning has fueled her interest to study the impact of language, culture and identity on South Asian Canadian migration, settlement, and integration. Her research includes and intersects cross-cultural education with a focus on anti-racist curriculum implementation; race, racism, and ethnicity; identity politics; Sikh feminist ideology; migration and the South Asian Canadian Diaspora and Punjabi Canadian cultural historiography.

Dr. Bains is a newly appointed member of the Knowledge Network and the Abbotsford Community Foundation. She has served as a Commissioner on the Agricultural Land Commission, as a Director of the Fraser Basin Council, as a Bencher on the Law Society of British Columbia and as a member of the Farm Industry Review Board for British Columbia. She has served on numerous boards locally, nationally, and internationally and received recognition for her commitment to social justice, preservation of histories and cultural knowledge, women’s rights, service and research.

Dr. Bains has extensive professional experience in community development and has worked with diverse organizations in the area of cross-cultural mental health, immigrant women, youth and families, board development, diversity, equity, inclusion, cross cultural development, women’s rights and socio-religious interfaith dialogue. She serves the community as a diversity educator, community developer and community activist in the field of anti-racism and immigrant settlement integration. She is a consummate community advocate and volunteer and has assisted numerous community organizations develop and grow. She continues to serve on numerous Boards, committees, and organizations locally, nationally and internationally.

Tuesday, May 16th | White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver

On Sept. 7, 1907, thousands of people gathered in front of Vancouver’s city hall to protest against Asian immigration to Canada. Led by members of the Asiatic Exclusion League, the ensuing mob attack on the city's Chinese Canadian and Japanese Canadian communities is emblematic of a systemically racist era.

Based on 360 Riot Walk, an interactive 360 walking tour created by Henry Tsang, White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver explores the conditions leading up to and the impact of a demonstration and parade in Vancouver, and delves into the social and political environment of the time, when racialized communities were targeted through legislated as well as physical acts of exclusion and violence. Essays by Tsang and others speak to the colonial times that preceded and followed the 1907 riots, as well as issues that Chinese, Japanese and other racialized communities in North America are facing today. White Riot poses the question: in the current ethos of anti-racism and decolonization, what does it take to reconcile our collective histories within the legacy of white supremacy?

In this illustrated book talk, artist and author Henry Tsang will explore to this pivotal moment in the history of racialized communities and a cultural and social context for understanding for the current wave of anti-Asian sentiment, highlighted by archival photographs of the riots colourized by Tsang as well as those of contemporary Vancouver where the riots took place.

About the Speaker

Henry Tsang is a visual and media artist based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples that is also known as Vancouver. His projects explore the spatial politics of history, language, community, food and cultural translation in relationship to place, taking the form of gallery exhibitions, pop-up street food offerings, 360 video walking tours, curated dinners, ephemeral and permanent public art, by employing video, photography, language, interactive media and convivial events. He is a past recipient of the VIVA Award and is an Associate Dean at Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, Canada.

PLEASE NOTE: For in-person events, we are unable to provide refunds or credits for cancellations received less than four (4) weeks prior to the event. For additional information on VHF's policies, please visit our Policies page prior to registering.

If you would like to make a donation in addition to your registration, the amount will be tax deductible and you will receive an official tax receipt for donations of $20 or more. Our Registered Charity number is 891765968.

GST# 89176 5968 RT0001