2024 Year of the Dragon
Lantern Stories
šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square
North of the Vancouver Art Gallery
Grounded
Damian John
Inspired by the question of the wholeness, this piece uses the idea of the warrior and tries to imagine it from its most whole, its most healthy place. In that place there is a sense of the ground, of being connected to the earth, to self, to our emotional body, in all its fullness and allowing that to truly be alive in us, to truly connect us to everything, every being.
Dragon Sea
Kristina Luu
Ha Long Bay, also known as Vịnh Hạ Long, is a world UNESCO site and one of the many natural marvels of Vietnam. The name translates to “Dragon Landing Bay”. Local legend says that a dragon descended in this bay and protected the Vietnamese people from invaders from across the ocean.
In the blue sky, a whisper of a dragon’s tail curls around the women in the basket boat, called thuyền thúng, and flows into the ocean below. Here, the dragons swarm the currents like the bounty of the sea, mimicking a school of colourful fish. The existence of dragons is more than just myth, after all, as they live on in the land itself.
Talking to the Moon
Jade Hanuse / Anuximana
I created this piece because I often find myself having conversations with the moon.
To be a balanced functioning society, we follow the phases of the moon to know when to hunt for certain animals, to fish and gather plants and berries. The stars falling upon her symbolize the star dust we all come from. The raven detail on her blanket represents the light in each of us. The woman’s labret is shared with the moon to symbolise we are of each other. The moon, the stars, and raven all help us to have stl’mstaliwa – the full human experience.
The Spirit Child
Odera Igbokwe
The spirit child is the purest version of ourselves. They represent the inner child that roams freely between the physical and spiritual realm. They freely jump from the precipice to start new journeys, knowing they are protected by the embrace of Spirit and the guidance of their astral companions. Whether that means falling into physical embodiment, or floating upwards into the collective cosmos, The Spirit Child is relentless in their need to explore, imagine, and play.
The Spirit Child is a reminder that new beginnings are always possible, that we contain multitudes, and finding yourself is as simple as honouring your journey.
Looking Back
Jerry Whitehead
As we look back at our lives, childhood was a memorable time, being allowed to play with other children freely at our gatherings. Guided by our elders and ancestors spiritually to where we are now and beyond.
Whether we are grown ups or forever young, let’s reach for a time where we are all free to be.
My Family III
Richard Hunt
From the left, the design features a bear holding a baby bear. Bear is used in the dance of the Animal Kingdom and Mother bear is dancing with her baby. The bottom is the Sisiutl, or two-headed serpent. Sisiutl was the main crest of my mother, Helen. Sisiutl has supernatural powers and protects you.
Holding on to the Sisiutl is Cedar Man and Woman. Cedar is our tree of life. Everything we do, from our cradles to our houses, comes from the cedar tree. When I dance, I dance with cedar bows on my wrists and ankles.
Above the Cedar Man and Woman are the hummingbirds which represent our children. In the centre is the Eagle with the sun’s face, which has transformed into a flower. Our people believe in transformation. The sun is a prerogative of our chief. The Eagle is sitting on the Sea Monster and the sea monster’s mouth turns into a door with a man looking out.
From the right, Eagle with a copper in its mouth. Eagle is the main crest of my village of Fort Rupert, B.C. Copper symbolizes wealth. Earth with the Moon. Earth is where we live, and the moon gives us light at night.
All these crests belong to my family from Fort Rupert, B.C. and this is our tree of life.
Faces
Studio 101 Eastside Arts Society
Studio 101 is an Eastside Arts Society program dedicated to supporting diverse and engaging artistic experiences for Vancouver’s Eastside youth.
Many Eastside schools have limited exposure to professional artists and arts experiences beyond the classroom. Studio 101 brings school children into participating Eastside Culture Crawl artist studio spaces for free, hands-on workshops. For many participants, it is their first time connecting with professional artists. The program provides students insights into the various phases of the creative process, while promoting creative confidence and fostering an appreciation of the visual arts.
This year, the program offers classroom activities and small group visits to artists’ studios for immersive hands-on workshops. Students from grades 4-7 from Britannia, Seymour, Strathcona and Xpey’ Elementary schools will take part in workshops to create ceramics, painting, sculpture, and mixed media works.
Beauty That is Brave
Rashmi Tyagi
Beauty that is brave symbolizes the triumph of sisterhood, and celebrates the indomitable strength of being a woman. The female figures in the artwork are mirror reflections of each other, emphasizing that self discovery is possible when we choose to see one another in honest light. Freedom, as represented in the birds soaring above the forest, is then a ripple effect of that self acknowledgement.
The artwork focuses on the feminine nurturing of eternal beauty which gives birth to true liberation. The artist believes this quality of beauty can only be found when we’re in tune with the divinity of nature and of ourselves. As humans, the sense of freedom we experience on earth is directly proportional to the bravery with which we show up for one another. The emotional landscape of the piece is meant to inspire our relationship with the divine beauty that surrounds us as well as encourage us to meditate on the bravery in their own personal lives.
In the Year of the Dragon, the artwork is an invitation for people to come together in celebration of their personal victories. As well as an olive branch for them to embrace their truest selves. It serves as a reminder of the resilient spirit of the Vancouver community, which like the dragon, continues to soar with divine hope even in the darkest of winters.
Ocean Artworks
Granville Island
In pursuit of the sun
Weiwei Xu
The Dragon leads Yan, the wanderer, through the forest in the depths of a harsh winter. There is nothing to fear in the elements, when the dragon keeps you warm as you forge your path ahead.
This Lunar New Year, let’s venture freely into the unknown, with the fierceness and the grace of the dragon!
Towards Alternate Landscapes
Tajliya Jamal
In response to the theme “Born to Be Free”, the design features two genderqueer people standing together in unfolding mountainscapes. The characters display strength and vitality; they are also ambiguous in gender, are interpretable as more than a singular identity, and break out of the confines of how we are coded to see and understand one another.
In consideration of the many meanings of the Wood Dragon, the drawing conveys an excitement for new beginnings and growth, as well as the strength and fearlessness associated with the dragon. Reflecting on the dragon’s association with Yang – light, fullness, and the male/masculine – the design offers alternative depictions of masculinity.
Rising
Anita Ho
When I look to the sky, the sense of hope and freedom washes over me. In a sense we all yearn to break free of something whether it is a universal, communal or personal struggle. To know that we are not alone in this yearning brings me the sense of hope, strength and community that I can overcome and reach for something new.
Regurgitating
Sara Khan
“Regurgitating” was a strange kind of utopian take on the world, a sort of a wish. Although humans of course continue to procreate and regurgitate life as we do, in this piece is a projection of a wish, a desire for the natural environment around us to also grow at the same rate.
This Lunar New Year, let’s make a wish for a world that grows with unrestrained joy!
Year of the Wood Dragon
Seeroro
An illustration depicting the Year of the Wood Dragon using elements of traditional Chinese papercut design and festive lunar new year colours. The year of the Wood dragon wishes prosperity, vitality, and growth to all in the coming new year.
Dragons
Studio 101 Eastside Arts Society
Studio 101 is an Eastside Arts Society program dedicated to supporting diverse and engaging artistic experiences for Vancouver’s Eastside youth.
Many Eastside schools have limited exposure to professional artists and arts experiences beyond the classroom. Studio 101 brings school children into participating Eastside Culture Crawl artist studio spaces for free, hands-on workshops. For many participants, it is their first time connecting with professional artists. The program provides students insights into the various phases of the creative process, while promoting creative confidence and fostering an appreciation of the visual arts.
This year, the program offers classroom activities and small group visits to artists’ studios for immersive hands-on workshops. Students from grades 4-7 from Britannia, Seymour, Strathcona and Xpey’ Elementary schools will take part in workshops to create ceramics, painting, sculpture, and mixed media works.
Jack Poole Plaza
Two Sturgeons
Atheana Picha
For this piece, I wanted to make two big sturgeons, close to their dimensions in real life. Sturgeons are gentle and slow-moving creatures that live deep in the river. They travel up and down the waterways, and can grow to be quite old. My relatives call them the ‘elders of the river,’ and they look prehistoric. In the centre is a salmon egg, representing the beginning of the journey, with crescents rippling out. All of my sturgeon art is dedicated to the elders in my life. They are generous with their time and teachings. Even the smallest teachings affect me, and help me to grow.
Untitled
Cyler Sparrow-Point
This print tells the story of Cyler’s discovery of an historically significant woven basket that had been buried in the muddy shores of the Fraser River near the town of Steveston. The artist created his imagery to reflect this dramatic experience, bringing together the action of the river waves below, and the intricate patterning of the basket above, floating to a new life.
Untitled
Debra Sparrow & Isaiah Sparrow
Debra Sparrow was born and raised on the Musqueam Indian Reserve and is self-taught in Salish design and jewellery-making. Her work can be seen in various museums and institutions. Her nephew Isaiah Sparrow assisted her in carving this wood print for Big Print Steveston in 2022. The imagery, framed by a Musqueam pattern, is derived from river life along the Fraser River.
13 Months
Ali Istanda
In the Bunun tribe, there is the practice of carving the year’s activities into wood. Following the moon, sometimes there is an extra month—the 13th month. Ali Istanda hopes that everyone can take this thirteenth month to rest and reminisce about the good things that happened in the previous twelve months.
Inspired by the traditional calendar of the Bunun tribe, here are the 13 months:
1 – The shamans sleep, and if they dream of the goddess, there will be a harvest.
2 – Families help each other plant the millet seeds.
3 – Slay pigs and sheep as thanks to the neighbours who helped you.
4 – Cut the grass and weeds to ask the millet to grow well.
5 – Gather around the fire, the men at the centre and the women behind them. Share how you have contributed to the tribe this year, what you have hunted, and everyone chants and sings the Pasibutbut, a polyphonical eight-part harmony that is ritually sung for a bountiful millet harvest.
6 – The harvest month. Slay the pigs by the throat; the louder they scream, the better the millet grows.
7 – The men go hunting and the women begin to weave.
8 – Come back home to take care of the millet. Play spinning top; the faster it spins, the faster the millet grows.
9 – Parents of newborns create a necklace of seedlings as a protective charm for their child.
10 – Hunt other tribes; protect our tribe.
11 – Turn the dirt over and prepare for next year’s crops.
12 – Clear the weed and wood from the field to burn for fertilizer.
13 – Rest and reminisce this year!
Pendulum Gallery
Chigiri-e: The Language of Paper
Leanne Lai Hildebrand
Migration is for the possibility of a better future. This possibility can often be an uncertainty for you and your family.
Change is facing your unknown self with courage, and not using the answers to create expectations for yourself.
Should we approach this new year with courage or with expectations?
I look forward to growing myself safely within the good.
Carrying my courage, I will look for good things along this journey.
When looking forward to the New Year, have we also fallen into the idea of “only one interpretation of good”?
Leanne used the good in her life to imagine the paper in her hands, and found that the real lesson happened when she had the courage to be torn open. Breaking through the rules, the unrestrained artist appeared so clearly within the Chigiri-e paintings!
Through her art, she shares her desire to become a free person.
Expect the unexpected within our creativity!
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Washi 和紙 is the Japanese word for traditional paper made from a variety of renewable plant fibres. Wa means “Japan”, and shi means “paper”. The inner barks of three renewable shrubs indigenous to Japan—kozo (aka paper mulberry), mitsumata and gampi—are the primary fibres used in making washi. Other fibres such as hemp, abaca, wood pump, and rayon are sometimes used ofr paper or mixed in with other fibres. Japan has a long history of producing washi for everything from utilitarian tissues for cleaning swords to kamiko for making clothing, to surfaces for the creation of the finest calligraphy, paintings and prints.
—The Japanese Paper Place
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Chigiri-e (ちぎり絵) is a Japanese art form in which the primary technique uses coloured paper that is torn to create images, and may resemble a watercolour painting. The technique dates from the Heian period of Japanese history when it was often used in conjunction with calligraphy. Handmade paper is essential for the creation of chigiri-e images.
—Wikipedia
The Lantern City is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered on this land, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples whose arts and stories inspire us to bring communities together.
