May is Asian Heritage Month, and a collaboration between Indigenous and Chinese artists in Vancouver has produced a new series of souvenir magnets, blending cultural traditions while highlighting the longstanding historical ties between the two communities.
Vancouver-based Chinese designer Sophia Zheng has spent nine years working in the arts and design industry. Last year, she partnered with Ts’msyen artist Morgan Asoyuf to create a series of souvenir magnets. After six months of design and production, the collection is now available.
The magnets feature iconic landmarks and cultural elements from Metro Vancouver, blending Indigenous motifs with Asian traditions. Zheng said the goal is to showcase both local Indigenous heritage and Asian cultural identity through accessible, everyday objects.
“We hope visitors take home more than just a fridge magnet, but a piece of Vancouver’s cultural experience,” Zheng said. “When they see it again, they can reconnect with the diversity and multicultural atmosphere they experienced here.”
The collection incorporates a range of elements, including Indigenous iconography and aspects of Chinese intangible cultural heritage.
One design, for example, draws inspiration from Yingge dance, a traditional folk performance featured in this year’s Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade.
“It includes dragon elements, the Millennium Gate, dancing figures, and even movable drumsticks,” Zheng said. “As someone with Chinese Teochew heritage, I feel a strong personal connection to Yingge dance, and I hope to help promote this intangible cultural tradition.”
For Asoyuf, the collaboration marked the first time she had worked with a Chinese artist. She said one of the main challenges was learning how to explain the artistic traditions and cultural boundaries within their respective communities while ensuring mutual respect.
“Even for Indigenous people, there are a lot of rules to it, but it’s hard to understand,” Asoyuf said. “As a full-time artist, I have to explain why certain things have to be done in a certain way.”
Asoyuf added that the collaboration worked well because both artists respected each other’s cultural practices.
Asoyuf comes from Prince Rupert on B.C.’s northwest coast. She said the partnership also reminded her of the historical ties between the province’s Indigenous and Chinese communities.
“Native people have a great love for Chinese people. Up north especially, we still go to Chinese restaurants all the time because we shared the same struggles,” Asoyuf said. “We were segregated and excluded from certain spaces, and the people who stood with us during that time are still remembered with loyalty today. That history is very real here in B.C.”
The magnet series is now available at select Canada Post locations and souvenir shops. The collection was also showcased at events held last weekend as part of Asian Heritage Month.