Art tells a story
Across B.C., creators are using their art to celebrate their traditions and uplift their community. To highlight their visual stories, we asked artists to share their work to support the Anti-Racism Data Act. We’re grateful to each of them for their contributions.
Art is a powerful tool to help us learn about the society and cultures around us and reflect on our own understandings of the world.
Meet the artists
Angie Quintanilla Coates
Angie Quintanilla (keen-tah-knee-yah) Coates is a visual artist born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, based in Port Moody, B.C.
In her work, colour becomes a language, one that’s both cultural and deeply personal. Rooted in her Mexican heritage, known for its unapologetic, defiant optimism, and shaped by her own path toward healing, her pieces become conversations in that language. Through them, she invites viewers to pause for a sense of respite, a celebration through shape and colour, and an open invitation to anyone who needs it to get a dose of what she calls dopamina mexicana.
In Bloom I
Inspired by Port Moody’s forest trails, In Bloom I is an abstract wood relief sculpture evoking botanical forms of B.C.’s west coast. Drawing on Mexican tile design, Angie utilizes rhythmic repetition to build movement and connection, transforming each geometric piece into a bold, intentional and insistent claiming of space.
To view more of Angie’s work, visit angieqcoates.com.
Annie Chen
Annie Pei-Hsuan Chen is a multidisciplinary artist whose whimsical, graphic style is shaped by her Taiwanese roots and Canadian upbringing. She also runs Lemonni Design, a surface design studio in Vancouver, B.C. that licenses artwork to retailers and manufacturers worldwide. Inspired by architecture, travel and everyday surroundings, her work explores form, colour and spatial relationships through an intuitive visual language. Her practice spans murals and fine art with work exhibited in galleries and commissioned for public and private spaces.
Whispers of the Wild
Whispers of the Wild captures Squamish, B.C.’s landscapes through layered forms inspired by mountains, forests and rivers. Hidden animals emerge within the composition, inviting closer viewing and reflecting the interconnectedness of the region’s ecosystems.
To view more of Annie’s work, visit lemonni.com.
Fernanda Salla
Fernanda Salla is a Brazilian-born multidisciplinary artist who brings the vibrant culture of São Paulo, with its rich street art, into her work, inspired by the animals and landscapes of British Columbia. With a background in journalism focused on education and arts, she combines narrative, cultural awareness and creative expression, advocating for accessible, diverse and inclusive art in Prince George, B.C.
Northern Flight (Canada Goose)
A minimalist illustration of a Canada goose in flight across a stylized northern landscape, created with watercolour and ink. Soft gradients contrast with delicate linework of bare trees. The circular composition references geometric elements found in various Brazilian art movements and local traditional art, evoking calm, freedom and a connection to nature through a contemporary, expressive visual language.
To view more of Fernanda’s work, visit instagram.com/fesallaart.
George Littlechild
George creates art as a lifelong calling—an expression of passion, purpose and identity. A Sixties Scoop survivor, his work is deeply rooted in lived experience, carrying both personal and collective histories. Vibrant, powerful and emotionally driven, his art blends storytelling with spiritual and intuitive practice to explore social and political realities.
Encouraged from a young age, George has built a distinguished career spanning formal training, exhibitions, publications and teaching. As an artist, educator and cultural worker, he is committed to addressing injustices faced by First Nations Peoples, while celebrating their resilience, strength and enduring cultural legacy.
The Man who Seeks the Stars
My alter ego wearing long braids, colourful dashing and in awe of the night sky. A two spirited historian, seer doer, visionary speaking for his tribe/indigenous peoples. Righting the wrongs through the creator’s gift of art and creativity. Art has power and truth. Art is a gift to humanity and artists are gifted/blessed.
To view more of George’s work, visit georgelittlechild.com.
Jace Junggyu Kim
Based in Surrey, B.C., Jace Junggyu Kim is a Canadian painter whose work bridges the gap between figurative precision and abstract chaos. A graduate of Emily Carr University, Kim transitioned from a career in digital animation to traditional painting, blending oil, acrylic, ink and spray paint.
His practice is defined by a unique ambidextrous technique: his left hand offers masculine, expressive energy, while his right provides feminine, articulated detail. By painting with both hands simultaneously, Kim captures the tension and harmony within his psyche, creating contemporary portraits that are both raw and refined.
Deep Sleep
This powerful portrait challenges the construct of race by blending human features with a chaotic, vibrant spectrum. The division of warm and cool tones suggest internal conflict and the pain of systematic division. By painting a magnolia, a symbol of perseverance, it demands a vision rooted in shared humanity and growth.
To view more of Jace’s work, visit jacekimstudio.com.
Marlene Yuen
Marlene Yuen 袁慧嫻 (she/her) is a visual artist. She is a second-generation Chinese-Canadian who lives, works and makes on the unceded and ancestral home territories of the xwməθkwəyəm̓ (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səlílw̓ətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Her practice varies from illustrations, prints, comics, zines and handmade books. She has also created artworks about Vancouver’s historic Chinatown and Chinese Canadian labourers for museums, galleries and public art programs. Marlene has exhibited at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, grunt gallery, Griffin Art Projects, the Chinese Canadian Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery and Richmond Art Gallery.
Anna’s Garden
Anna’s Garden is a tribute to Chinese Canadian artist, Anna Wong, who worked at her family’s business in Chinatown’s oldest tailors, Modernize. A true trailblazer, she studied printmaking at the Vancouver School of Art and continued her studies and teaching career at Pratt, New York. In her retirement, she was known to enjoy tending her garden of poppies and bluebells.
To view more of Marlene’s work, visit marleneyuen.com.
Mimi Thompson
Mimi Thompson is a first-generation Canadian painter and photographer of mixed Asian and European ancestry with an emerging art practice in Kelowna, B.C., located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the syilx/Okanagan people. An Emily Carr University of Art & Design graduate, Mimi produces medium and large scale works in oil, acrylic and digital photography centring on contemplations of destruction and renewal, beauty and ephemerality.
Persephone Anemone
Weaving together threads of isolation during the pandemic lockdowns and experiences of marginalization, Persephone Anemone is part of a larger body of work contemplating the longing for and eventual attainment of community, love, acceptance and belonging.
To view more of Mimi’s work, visit mimithompson.ca.
Rande Cook
Rande Cook is a contemporary Indigenous artist of Kwakwaka’wakw heritage whose work bridges tradition, innovation and environmental consciousness. Rooted in ancestral knowledge and formline design, his practice expands into sculpture, panel work and public art that engages both cultural narrative and modern materiality. Cook’s work often explores the relationship between humans, spirit and the natural world, incorporating elements of science and storytelling to deepen meaning. Through refined craftsmanship and bold vision, he creates museum-quality works that resonate in both intimate spaces and large-scale installations, inviting reflection, connection and a renewed respect for land, culture, and collective responsibility.
Amelia
Amelia is part of the Colours series, celebrating the beauty and diversity of human races. Through layered form and vibrant expression, the work speaks to unity, healing and our shared responsibility to care for Mother Earth, inviting viewers to reflect on connection, respect and collective stewardship of the natural world.
To view more of Rande’s work, visit randecook.gallery.
Sara Khan
Sara Khan explores the blurred lines between the real and imagined through watercolour paintings, textiles and ceramics.
Recent solo exhibitions include “Zameen Kha Jai Gee Asmaan” at Zalucky Contemporary in Toronto (2024) and “Roshni Key Teh Mein” at the Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. (2021). Group exhibitions include “Historical Children” at Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, and “Let Me Take You There” at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, Scarborough, ON (2023). She was artist-in-residence at the Burrard Arts Foundation in 2021.
Khan holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the National College of Arts, Lahore. She lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
Transporter
Much of Sara’s recent work revolves around hybridity and transformation. Sara is drawn to what we become after an evolutionary experience, for example, what motherhood might entail, turning us into a shell, a home for our children.
To view more of Sara’s work, visit sara-khan.com.
Sharon Lam
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Victoria, B.C., Sharon Lam is an illustrator who loves the challenge of trying to capture the spirit of a place. She began drawing her family’s favourite restaurants and parks when her Mom entered hospice care. In their final weeks together, Sharon realized that their favourite memories did not take place on distant vacations but instead at their weekly local haunts. Sharon’s art aims to celebrate all of the cherished memories that were created in these special spots.
Ogden Point Breakwater
The breakwater is a beloved spot where my family enjoys a stroll together. I’m always struck by how everyone walking delights in the sunshine, chasing the sunset, and are so excited to spot an otter! These walks remind me to focus on being present and to cherish our time together.
To view more of Sharon’s work, visit artbysharonlam.com.
