Picnic In Boyle Street welcomes the summer!
The Edmonton Arts Council welcomed more than 100 people to its first Community Public Art Picnic of 2019 on June 8, at Boyle Street Plaza. Guests enjoyed snacks from Honest Dumplings and the Davinci Cone while trying their hand at Chinese calligraphy and mahjong or playing giant games of chess, or joining an informal drumming circle.
A land acknowledgement and prayer by Elder Francis Whiskeyjack, and a Chinese ancestral offering and prayer from Marcus Fung highlighted the historic relationship between Indigenous peoples and Chinese settlers, reinforcing the need for a continuous journey toward reconciliation and respect.
Those themes are reflected in Invisible Gate, the artwork currently under development for Kinistinâw Park on 96 Street. Artists Mitchell F. Chan and Shawn Tse were onsite collecting artifacts and stories for this community-centered project. The artwork will place two lion sculptures, symbolizing the now-vanished Harbin Gate in the park. Constructed of transparent acrylic, the lions will contain cast replicas of “precious objects’ collected from people living in, and visiting, the Boyle Street / South China Town community, representing the many layers of history within the community.
Photos - Kyra Brown & Eva Marie Clarke (Edmonton Arts Council)
