Royal BC Museum Satellite Gallery in Vancouver

The Royal BC Museum, a favourite attraction of many in Victoria (myself included), has opened up a satellite gallery in Vancouver at the Wing Sang building on East Pender.

From June 14 to September 3, 2012 Wing Sang will feature Intimate Glimpses: Emily Carr — the evolution of an artist. This exhibition will include a recently uncovered Emily Carr “funny book” and watercolour, neither seen by the public before.

Curious is the overall theme of the four new and concurrent summer installations created by the Royal BC Museum: Intimate Glimpses, Artifact|Artifiction, Magic Lantern and Bottled Beauty. Each is built around unique items and stories from the 125-year-old provincial museum and archives, based in Victoria.

The satellite museum gallery, Royal BC Museum at Wing Sang, is made possible by the Museum’s Sustaining Patron, Rennie Marketing Systems.

The Wing Sang building is the oldest in Vancouver Chinatown. The Victorian Italianate structure located at 51 East Pender Street was constructed in 1889 for Yip Sang, a prominent Chinese-Canadian businessman whose Wing Sang Company flourished in an era when the Chinese faced discrimination and restrictions.

In 1901 the building was extended to 69 East Pender Street by architect Thomas Ennor Julian (best known for Holy Rosary Cathedral). In 1912, Yip Sang built a six-storey brick building across the alley behind Pender Street for his family.

An elevated passageway connected the two buildings. Beneath it ran Market Alley, a once thriving retail area with small shops and services which also served as a former center for the production of opium (legal in Canada until 1909). The building has had a rich and varied history and contains the oldest schoolroom in Vancouver. Wing Sang Building acquired historical preservation and heritage designation by the City of Vancouver in 1999. [Continue reading »]

The satellite gallery is open every day from 10:00am to 6:00pm now until September 3, 2012. If you’re already a Royal BC Museum member, your admission is free. Others can enjoy the exhibit for $11, or $33 for a family pass.

Make a day of it and visit Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens or the Chinatown Night Market on your visit if it falls on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday this summer.

Follow the Royal BC Museum on Twitter and use the tags #WingSang & #YVR if you’re posting updates about the exhibition.