The Lantern City lights up the night downtown and on Granville Island at LunarFest
Ten diverse local, Indigenous, and international artists have created towering lanterns for the installations
Post Sponsored by Lunarfest
Paige Bowman’s Tiger Tower, on display at The Lantern City, north of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Jody Broomfield’s Honouring the Spirit of the Children, on view at The Lantern City, Granville Island.
Charlene Johnny’s Hummingbird design, on view at The Lantern City, Granville Island.
To celebrate the Year of the Tiger, LunarFest is lighting up the winter night with The Lantern City, taking place at šxwƛ’ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square, North of the Vancouver Art Gallery from January 27 to February 9, and Ocean Art Works on Granville Island from January 29 to February 21.
The towering lantern installations feature creations from 10 local, Indigenous, and international artists.
LunarFest is collaborating with The Society of We Are Canadians Too on The Lantern City, expanding for the first time to encompass Granville Island, where six new lanterns are featured under the theme “Forever Young”. The lanterns feature designs by Coast Salish artist Jody Broomfield, whose work Honouring the Spirit of the Children pays tribute, in iconic orange, to the many young souls who were lost in the Residential School system; and Taiwanese Indigenous Rukai artist Pacake Taugadhu’s Lrikulau, which reflects humans’ wrongful past. In addition, Canadian artist Heather Sparks reminds us of all of the changes around us in Transformation; Charlene Johnny of the Quw’tusun First Nation presents her vibrant Hummingbird; Filipino-Canadian artist Danvic Briones features Wind Garden; and legendary Canadian troupe Cirque du Soleil has created a special Alegria lantern.
Downtown, returning to šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square under the theme “We Are A Family”, cultures are also coming together. South Asian queer artist Jag Nagra presents Nazar Battu, with its brilliantly hued South Asian mask designs, and Paige Bowman, a nonbinary artist, presents their work Tiger Tower, echoing the spirit of tigers. Elsewhere, Sandeep Johal’s One Day displays her signature Indo-folk feminine aesthetics, while Taiwanese legend Hung Tung’s Red Paper Series brings a festive mood to the plaza.
Complementing the viewing experiences of the lanterns at the two locations are the sounds of Woven Melodies, specially composed for The Lantern City by Taiwan’s renowned world-music composer Mr. Chao-Ming Tung and pipa master Ms. Hui-Kuan Lin.
Taking inspiration from the Tiger, LunarFest’s theme for 2022 is “Together, Stronger!” this year. Watch the New Year celebrations taking place virtually with online workshops and fortune telling on February 5 & 6. LunarFest is presented by Asian Canadian Special Events Association (ACSEA). You can find the full schedule of events for 2022 LunarFest Vancouver here.
Post sponsored by LunarFest Vancouver.