Donna Seto - Chinatown Heritage Art Print (8.5 x 11)

Featured Buildings in Print:

CBA Building/Cathay Importers (104-108 E Pender), Sun Ah Hotel/Ho Ho Restaurant (100 E Pender), Mah Society Building/Jade Dynasty (137 E Pender), Chin Wing Chun Building/New Town Bakery (157 E Pender), Bamboo Village (135 E Pender), Ming Wo Building (23 E Pender), Hon Hsing Athletic (27-29 E Pender), Cheng Wing Yeong Tong Building/Ho Inn Restaurant (79 E Pender), Commercial Building in Shanghai Alley (509-511 Carrall Street), Wah Sun Stationary/Sino Publishing (78 E Pender), Mixed-Use Building (49 E Pender), Wing Sang Building (51 E Pender), Lim Sai Hor Building (531 Carrall Street)

About the Series:

The buildings featured in this print are part of a larger watercolour series featuring historical buildings in Vancouver's Chinatown. The paintings invite questions regarding place and memory, as well as dialogue that unravels and reimagines a Chinatown that once was and could be. Influenced by historic photographs of Vancouver, the colourful illustrations portray Chinatown during its thriving days when businesses such as Cathay Importers, Ho Inn Restaurant, Ming Wo Cookware,
and Ho Ho's Restaurant were some of the pillars of the community. The paintings also celebrate the gathering places of the Societies such as the Chinese Benevolent Society, Mah Society, and the Chin Wing Chun Society as well as their efforts in developing a community for newcomers to Canada. In 2022, the series was featured on Global BC, CBC News, and South China Morning Post.

About the Artist:

Donna Seto (she/her) is a Vancouver-based writer, academic, and self-taught watercolour artist who was once told that art wouldn't get her anywhere. During the pandemic, she revisited her passion for art and started illustrating the buildings of Vancouver's Chinatown. Donna is drawn to urban settings, marginalized communities, layered histories, and the complexity of memory, which she hopes to capture through her art. She is working on turning her illustrations of Chinatown into a book (House of Anansi, 2025).

Twitter: @donnaseto
Instagram: @donna.seto