A park without a name > City of Calgary public art commission > October 25 - 28, 2022
A park without a name was a public art commission by the City of Calgary for the renaming process of the park formerly known as James Short. The park was named after a white lawyer who was a leader of Calgary’s Anti-Chinese movement during the early 20th century. Located on 115 4th Avenue S.W, the park shares a common boundary with Chinatown.
A park without a name makes transparent how a racist past continues to be felt in the physical, psychological, and social landscape of contemporary Calgary. With one exception, the phrases on the banners are excerpted from conversations and interviews with community members who were part of renaming the park, formerly known as James Short Park. Each phrase comes from a place of personal reflections about the city-led renaming process, historical truths, and the power of names. The voices represented by the banners speak courageously against the erasure of Chinatown’s history in a collective volume evocative of community power.
Visit the project's page on the City of Calgary's website for more information.
Writing:
Press:
"The Home Stretch on CBC Radio, October 25, 2022.
Photo credit: Danny Luong, 2022.