Lectures and Talks
Artist Talk with Christopher K. Ho, Godfre Leung and Holman Wang
Thu Jun 23, 2022 | 6 PM - 7 PM
Blue Moon Theatre, Shangri-La Hotel | 1128 West Georgia Street
From left to right, top to bottom: Christopher K. Ho; Godfre Leung; Holman Wang; Melissa Karmen Lee; Courtesy of the Speakers
In conjunction with the exhibition Offsite: Christopher K. Ho, the Vancouver Art Gallery invites you to an artist talk featuring Christopher K. Ho in conversation with guest curator Godfre Leung and local children’s book author Holman Wang.
The panel will reflect on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Hong Kong Handover and consider issues such as Hong Kong diaspora, transnational citizenship and the imprint of the wave of Hong Kong to Vancouver immigration, between 1989 and 1997, on the city today.
This talk will be moderated by Melissa Karmen Lee, Director of Education and Public Programs.
Following the artist talk, join us for the opening reception of Offsite: Christopher K. Ho. Find out more »
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Christopher K. Ho is a speculative artist based in Hong Kong and New York. His practice encompasses making, organizing, writing and teaching. He is known for materially exquisite objects that draw from lived encounters with otherness and with privilege. Recent solo shows include Marvin ♥ Henry at 56 Henry, Aloha to the World at the Don Ho Terrace at the Bronx Museum and Dear John at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, all in New York City. He has exhibited at Asia Society, Hong Kong; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou; Queens Museum, New York; and Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY. The New York Times, Artforum, ArtAsiaPacific, South China Morning Post, ArtReview, Art in America, Modern Painters, Frieze and Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art have featured his work. He currently serves as Executive Director of Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong.
Godfre Leung is a critic and curator. His writing has appeared in ArtAsiaPacific, Art in America, C Magazine and Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, as well as in publications by institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. His exhibitions include Pao Houa Her: Emplotment, Or Gallery, Vancouver, 2020; Guesthood and Alienhood: Sun Yung Shin, Jinny Yu, Republic of the Other, Hotam Press Gallery, Vancouver, 2021; and TJ Shin: The Vegetarian, The Bows. He is currently Artistic Director at The Bows in Mohkínstsis (Calgary), on Treaty 7 lands.
Holman Wang is a lawyer who also finds time to make children’s books. He has published 17 books for young readers, illustrated through an interdisciplinary combination of needle-felting, scale-model set-making, and photography. His unique artwork has been exhibited around the world, including the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2013 and 2019, and The Original Art exhibition (Society of Illustrators) in New York City in 2015. In addition to his Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, Holman has also earned a Bachelor of Education, a Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture, and a Juris Doctorate, all from the University of British Columbia. Holman is currently working on a middle grade / young adult novel.
Melissa Karmen Lee is the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery, where she oversees public programs designed for diverse audiences of all ages to enhance the understanding of the Gallery’s over 12,000-piece art collection and of travelling contemporary and modern exhibitions. She was on the founding team to open Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Art, Hong Kong—a UNESCO heritage site—serving as the Education and Public Programs Curator in 2016-2019. In 2016, she was the Scholar in Residence at the David Lam Centre, Simon Fraser University. She was on faculty as Senior Lecturer at the English Department of Chinese University of Hong Kong Kong from 2008-2015.