Victoria Chinese Public School, June 5, 2020, 2020

In this drawing, Karen Tam reflects on the ways in which Chinatowns function both as safe places for Chinese people and as designated areas restricting their presence within urban spaces. The Chinese Public School in Victoria, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Canada, is pictured in this drawing. It was founded in 1909 by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) after the Victoria School Board ruled the previous year that children born in China were prohibited from attending the city’s public schools because they did not understand English. Tam’s drawing of the building as it stands today emphasizes its impressive architecture, which was the work of the Scottish architect David C. Frame, who synthesized elements of Eastern and Western design. More subtly visible (in the foreground) is the racist graffiti found on a column outside the school in June 2020 that read “No Dogs or Chinese Allowed!”