Curating Dialogues

Human tell stories, and stories connect people. Indigenous people have long used storytelling as a method to pass on knowledge and as a way of holistic learning. In recent years, storytelling is increasingly used as a tool for policy makers to better understand the communities, improve dialogues and empower residents. Stories and narratives are also used by city builders to connect new ideas with old contexts in order to foster a sense of identity for evolving and changing communities. In many ways, storytelling is a tool toward more inclusive and participatory planning.

Wabi Sabi Planning Lab works with partners / clients to reframe complex urban issues, explore new ways to curate dialogues that encourage pluralistic understanding of cities and engage the diverse city builders in defining a collective vision with impactful actions.

  • Community Housing for Resilient Communities

    Wabi Sabi Planning Lab developed, managed and implemented this multi-funder action-research project, partnering with nine community organizations in B.C. and Quebec to showcase innovative land stewardship approaches undertaken by the non-profit community housing sectors. The project used a unique storytelling method for the nine speakers to share the stage and tell their individual stories with a collective narrative of community equity building, highlighting how they are incrementally acting to increase local control of urban land development through the development of housing as community-owned assets. The project was featured in Canadian Housing Renewal Association’s national congress in Victoria in April 2019.

    The nine case-study organizations include:
    1. Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS)
    https://vnhs.ca
    2. Catalyst Community Development Society
    https://catalystcommdev.org
    3. Société locative d'investissement et de développement social (SOLIDES)
    https://www.solides.info
    4. Société d'habitation populaire de l'EST de Montréal (SHAPEM)
    https://www.shapem.org
    5. Chinatown Society Heritage Buildings Association (CSHBA)
    http://www.chinatownsocieties.org
    6. Tomo Spaces – Together More
    http://tomospaces.com
    7. Vivacité - Société Immobilière solidaire
    https://vivacitesolidaire.org
    8. Unité de travail pour l'implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE)
    http://utile.org
    9. False Creek South Neighbourhod Association Re*Plan Committee
    http://www.falsecreeksouth.org/replan/

    Project Final Report and Videos:
    https://www.bchousing.org/research-centre/library/housing-affordability/community-housing-series-for-resilient-communities

    Funders of this project:
    BC Housing
    Vancity Credit Union
    Real Estate Foundation of BC
    Caisse d’économie solidaire
    CMHC / SCHL

  • Belonging at the Table

    In early 2021, Jessica Chen collaborated in the development of a proposal spear-headed by Dr. Henry Yu of UBC titled, “Belonging at the Table: Transforming Intangible Cultural Heritage to Reflect Who, Where and When We are in Canada” with many community and museum partners in B.C. The proposal first recognizes the constraints imposed by the colonial design of our museums and aims to rethink our best practices surrounding the interpretation of Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) cultural heritage. While the project focuses on Chinese cultural heritage, it adopts decolonization as a goal and a process to challenge traditional narratives about Canada’s history. Part of the proposal hopes to collaborate with community and civic stakeholders in Montreal’s Chinatown.

    This proposal is building on the learning from the groundbreaking exhibition “A Seat at the Table: Chinese Immigration and British Columbia” in Vancouver’s Chinatown that was launched in August 2020 by UBC INSTRCC and its community partners. This exhibit conveys the resilience of Chinese Canadians in helping reshape Canada to be a more just and inclusive society. From the Chinese Head Tax to recent anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic, racism has been a defining experience of Chinese migrants in Canada. Over the past two centuries, Chinese Canadian communities have developed unique systems and strategies to address these adversaries through community-based advocacy and solidarity with other excluded groups such as Indigenous people. This exhibition not only documented this history, but also reframed the way we engage with Canadian cultural heritage with a more inclusive curation practice.

    https://museumofvancouver.ca/a-seat-at-the-table