About the Project
360 Riot Walk is an interactive walking tour of the 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver. It utilizes 360 video technology to trace the history and route of the mob that attacked the Chinese Canadian and Japanese Canadian communities following the demonstration and parade organized by the Asiatic Exclusion League in Vancouver. Participants are brought into the social and political environment of the time where racialized communities were targeted through legislated as well as physical acts of exclusion and violence. The soundtrack is available in four languages of the local residents of the period: English, Cantonese, Japanese and Punjabi.
You can stream the project on location with a mobile device and headphones or remotely on a web browser. There are 13 stops on the tour.
If you decide to take this self-guided tour on location, start at Maple Tree Square in Gastown in downtown Vancouver. You will need wireless data and about 2 hours to complete the tour; feel free to stop at any point and resume anytime later.
Please be aware that the area has a higher density of vulnerable and marginalized people – it may be a good idea to go with someone. Because you will be aiming your device in every direction, you may be perceived as taking photos of local residents, which may cause a reaction. Be courteous, and take the time to let them know that you are watching a recorded video.
Also please understand that if you decide to take this self-guided tour on location, you agree to accept full responsibility for your behaviour, well-being and health. The full release text is embedded within the 360 video project.
Enjoy the tour!
About the Artist: Henry Tsang
Henry Tsang is an artist and occasional curator whose projects explore the spatial politics of history, language, community, food and cultural translation in relationship to place. His artworks take the form of gallery exhibitions, pop-up street food offerings, 360 video walking tours, curated dinners, ephemeral and permanent public art, employing video, photography, language, interactive media, food and convivial events. Projects include: Tansy Point, a video installation of the site of the 1851 treaty signings by the Chinook peoples and the US government that were never ratified; 360 Riot Walk, a 360 video walking tour of the 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver, Canada; RIOT FOOD HERE, a public offering of food reflecting on the 1907 Riots; video installations Orange County, and Olympus, shot in California, Beijing, Torino and Vancouver, that explore overlapping urban and socio-political spaces; and Welcome to the Land of Light, a public artwork along Vancouver’s seawall that underscores the 19th Century trade language Chinook Jargon and the English that replaced it. Henry teaches at Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, Canada.
With thanks to 360 Riot Walk partners and funders
360 Riot Walk was created by Henry Tsang with the support of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Basically Good Media Lab at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Community partners include Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall, Chinese Canadian Historical Society, Powell Street Festival, the Carnegie Community Centre and Project 1907.
360 Riot Walk gratefully acknowledges funding for production and development from Creative BC and the British Columbia Arts Council, Neighbourhood Matching Fund of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, and a SSHRC Explore Grant through Emily Carr University.
