A 3-part audio series created for the Calgary Chinatown Artist Residency, a program commissioned by The City of Calgary Public Art in partnership with The New Gallery. Special thanks to CJSW for hosting the episodes in 2021.
This series of podcasts focused on the continuation and preservation of oral storytelling as an important part of diasporic communities. Often the only method and space to share personal histories and experiences, these are the stories left out of books and academia. These are the memories passed down written in our bodies and can only be shared through embodied ways. To listen is to feel the vibrations of someone speaking, allowing the memories to reverberate through you.
Part 1: Chinatown Ghostline (in collaboration with Annie Wong)
In Episode 1, we talk about the ghost that likes to haunt an iconic part of Chinatown, Calgary Court. A popular ghost, go into the history of the area as well as speculate why ghosts love washrooms. Check out the archive on the website for additional photos and stories about this location and story.
All 4 episodes can be listened to on the website.
Have a tip about a ghost in Calgary Chinatown?
Heard a story from a friend of a friend of a friend’s grandpa who alluded to some hauntly experience?
Call the Chinatown Ghostline!
Artists Annie Wong and Teresa Tam are in search of a haunted history of Chinatown. We are collecting stories, tips, and improbable tales of sightings of the seemingly supernatural, spaces that feel strange, brushes with the otherworldly, or unexplained feelings that lingers in one’s body.
Part 2: something we feel but can’t place (in collaboration with FOONYAP)
“something we feel but can’t place” is an exploration of Chinatown in transition as reflected through language and silence. Historical events, such as the Vietnam War, and shifts in immigration policy continue to inform Chinatown’s culture while some community members seek to reconnect with their roots. Produced in collaboration with FOONYAP, music mixed by Kris Sujata. Special thanks to Cece, Danny, Diane, Jadda, and Dez.
Part 3: Re-mapping Chinatown Audio Tour
In this audio tour, we’ll be moving through Chinatown using local knowledge and lived experiences. We’ll be mapping Chinatown not through landmarks and monuments, but through the relations of people, spaces, and experiences. I ask that the listener try to re-tune their ears as we walk along together on this tour, try to pick up signals and meanings; questions that linger that we may never know the answers to. Special thanks to everyone who created these memories with me during the residency.
