bc chinese history museum...story together – to provide a sweeping narrative that explores the...

Creating Cultural Capital

BC CHINESE HISTORY

MUSEUM

Museum Advisory Report: Phase 1 March 29, 2018

Lord Cultural Resources is a global professional practice dedicated to creating cultural capital worldwide. We assist people, communities and organizations to realize and enhance cultural meaning and expression. We distinguish ourselves through a comprehensive and integrated full-service offering built on a foundation of key competencies: visioning, planning and implementation. We value and believe in cultural expression as essential for all people. We conduct ourselves with respect for collaboration, local adaptation and cultural diversity, embodying the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professional practice. We help clients clarify their goals; we provide them with the tools to achieve those goals; and we leave a legacy as a result of training and collaboration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................4

1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................................6

1.1 Background to and Purpose of this Study .................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Scope of Work and Methodology ................................................................................................................ 8

2. Concept, Site and Governance Options ........................................................................................9

2.1 Four Concept Options ..................................................................................................................................... 9

2.2 Outreach Opportunities ................................................................................................................................ 17

2.3 Site Options ................................................................................................................................................... 19

2.4 Governance Options ..................................................................................................................................... 19

3. Contextual and Comparables Analyses ...................................................................................... 22

3.1 Contextual Analysis: Benchmarking of BC, Canadian and US Museums .................................................... 22

3.2 Experience of Other Chinese-Focused Facilities in Vancouver Area ............................................................. 24

3.3 Comparables Analysis: Experience of Chinese American Museums .......................................................... 27

4. Needs Assessment/ Analysis of Potential Markets ..................................................................... 34

4.1 Resident Markets ....................................................................................................................................... 34

4.2 School Group Markets................................................................................................................................ 38

4.3 Tourist Markets .......................................................................................................................................... 40

5. Preliminary Options Analysis ....................................................................................................... 42

5.1 Museum Options Under Consideration ........................................................................................................ 42

5.2 Criteria for Analysis of Options ..................................................................................................................... 42

5.3 Analysis of the Options ................................................................................................................................. 45

6. Next Steps ................................................................................................................................... 52

Appendix A: Museum Planning Glossary .......................................................................................... 53

Museum Advisory Report: Phase 1 BC CHINESE HISTORY MUSEUM

Lord Cultural Resources 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Phase 1 Museum Advisory Report is based on a confidential study and provides an analysis of four potential concept options associated with a future BC Chinese History Museum. This might entail physical, program-based (living museum) and/or virtual opportunities. At this stage of planning a variety of criteria are used to allow for comparison of the four options, with detailed planning and associated financial projections to be prepared in a subsequent stage of work. This report also considers site and governance options that, along with the concept options, will be considered as part of a community engagement and consultation process. The four concept options are as follows and indicate a continuum of development that would involve limited investment in the first option and far more substantial investment and benefits in the third and fourth:

Virtual Museum: A museum that tells the story of the history of the Chinese in British Columbia entirely on-line. A likely capital cost range is $1-5 million depending on the definition of “virtual” which can range from a simple web page and links to a full-blown online virtual reality experience.

Living Museum and Small Visitor Centre: This is where walking tours and various heritage and cultural programs take place. It is described as a living museum because the experiences would occur in an area that would be appropriate for such tours and experiences, in this case a Chinatown. However, there is a need for at least a modest visitor centre “base” from which the experiences would emerge. A likely capital cost range is $5-15 million depending on the size of the visitor centre and other variables that would need to be more fully developed in future planning.

History Museum: A history museum using multiple means of expression (artifacts, graphics, multimedia, etc.) that would offer a narrative of Chinese British Columbian history and feature displays from a permanent collection and regular temporary exhibitions. A likely capital cost range is $50-100 million again depending on a wide range of variables that would need detailed development in a future planning phase.

History Museum and Cultural Centre: A history museum that would also serve a cultural centre role to offer various public programming opportunities focused on Chinese culture and language. A cultural centre component should not require a substantially larger space as it is focused largely on programs and events associated with the contemporary BC Chinese community. A likely capital cost range is also about $50-100 million.

There is an opportunity for a “hub and spoke” concept: a living history visitor centre, history museum or history museum/cultural centre “hub” that would seek to attract visitors on the basis of the artifacts, exhibitions, programs and other experiences offered. Off-site “spokes” could range from historic sites of BC Chinese history located elsewhere throughout the province to universities offering courses in BC Chinese history, to existing institutions or places that could display travelling exhibitions. A museum developed on a hub and spoke concept would enable visitors to learn about various places throughout British Columbia that can tell other aspects of the BC Chinese history story, and they would be encouraged to attend them or learn more about them on-line.



The appropriate potential sites for a physical museum are either in or near Vancouver’s Chinatown or in Richmond where there are large populations of residents of Chinese descent and large potential tourist markets. Although various governance options are considered the likely governance models for a BC Chinese History Museum are either an independent not-for-profit organization or a satellite of an existing museum or university. The research and analysis conducted in this Phase 1 study have led to the following key findings and conclusions:

There are already substantial online offerings related to Chinese history in British Columbia. An option for the British Columbia government might therefore be a partnership strategy: to offer more substantial financial support to them, or to appoint a staff person to assist in expanding the sites and disseminating them more widely. This would need to be done in partnership with the sites’ current owners and administrators.

A living history option requires a place with a relevant history that visitors would be interested to tour. That would appear to exclude Richmond, a suburban city with few heritage buildings or neighbourhoods but a recently-developed centre of Chinese Canadian life in BC. Noteworthy as well is that there are existing walking tours by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation and in Vancouver’s Chinatown by the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver. Management of the Cultural Centre commented on increasing competition from private walking tours.

Implementation of a history museum or history museum/cultural centre will have substantially higher capital and operating costs than a living museum but also has an opportunity to attract substantially more visitors including tourists from other parts of Canada, the U.S. and China.

Chinese language communications will be an important consideration in both a physical and virtual museum.

The existing Chinese-American museums studied are relatively small, have modest attendance levels and were implemented and sustained with substantial financial support from local and national Chinese-American communities. Representatives of all of the Chinese-American museums interviewed in this study strongly emphasized that a community engagement and consultation process is essential in seeking to implement a Chinese history museum in any city. Such consultation is a planned next step in this study for a BC Chinese History Museum that should focus not only on which of the concept, site and governance options for a BC Chinese History Museum is preferred but also on the extent to which the Chinese-Canadian community is prepared to support a museum financially. Culturally-specific museums in general have been implemented not only with governmental support but also substantial financial support for capital development and operations from their specific ethnocultural community.

There are numerous public history efforts related to the Chinese story in British Columbia, from existing online resources to cultural centres and heritage and walking tours. But none tell the entire story. One of the most important findings of this study is that there is a need to bring the story together – to provide a sweeping narrative that explores the story of Chinese in BC in all its respects. The new museum, in whatever form it may take, could therefore be an aggregator of resources and a partner with these existing organizations, filling in missing pieces of the story where necessary. Again the hub and spoke model would appear to be very appropriate in this case.



1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter summarizes the background to and purpose of this Museum Advisory Report that analyzes four potential options associated with a future BC Chinese History Museum1 (BCCHM). This might entail a physical, program-based (living museum) and/or a virtual museum. The chapter also sets out the scope of work and methodology associated with this first phase of planning for which confidentiality has been maintained.

1.1 BACKGROUND TO AND PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY

British Columbia today is the home of about one-third of the 1.6 million Canadians of Chinese descent. Some 20% of the total population of the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area is of Chinese ethnic origin (27% for the City of Vancouver and 53% for the City of Richmond). BC was the entry point for most Chinese immigrants who settled in other parts of Canada. There is a wealth of stories associated with the Chinese experience in British Columbia, which is multi-faceted and goes back some 240 years. There are stories of persecution and exploitation (for example, in migrations associated with the Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 and subsequent construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway) and stories of exclusion and injustice (such as a head tax in 1885 and the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act, which was not repealed until 1947), but also stories of cultural cohesion, mutual support and entrepreneurial success. With further changes to immigration policy in the 1960s, BC and Canada became places of choice for substantial new Chinese immigration. The key to telling the story of the Chinese experience in British Columbia lies in personal stories and experiences – the real people who lived the history being discussed. There is little that affects visitors more than learning about the ways in which historical events or issues affected actual individuals – how they became established, how they responded to adversity, how they fought for rights that were denied – these kinds of stories can be the foundation of an extremely powerful museum experience. The vision for a BC Chinese History Museum also aims to attract and engage a new generation of Chinese-Canadians to their heritage and rightfully celebrate the makers and making of the Chinese-Canadian story in BC. The museum could provide a unique setting for the Chinese-Canadian story balanced by thoughtful interpretation and scholarly authority with satellite displays across the province. ·It could be an opportunity to bring together for the very first time all the historical artefacts and collections, the maps, films, photographs, archives, audio recordings and stories linked to the Chinese-Canadian story and recognise these as essential part of the BC story.

The nature of what a BC Chinese History Museum might be and how it might develop may therefore vary widely. We have identified a range of options that have been considered to help inform initial decision-making by the province of British Columbia. The four options are summarized as follows, fully explained in Chapter 2 and analyzed in Chapter 5 of this report. The four options are as follows:

1 This is a placeholder name for a potential future physical museum. The name is to be determined in

future planning.



Virtual Museum: A museum that tells the story of the history of the Chinese in British Columbia entirely on-line.

Living Museum and Small Visitor Centre: This is where walking tours and various heritage and cultural programs take place. It is described as a living museum because the experiences occur in an area that would be appropriate for such tours and experiences, in this case a Chinatown. However, there is a need for at least a modest visitor centre “base” from which the experiences would emerge.

History Museum: A history museum using multiple means of expression (artifacts, graphics, multimedia, etc.) that would offer a narrative of Chinese British Columbian history and feature displays from a permanent collection and regular temporary exhibitions.

History Museum and Cultural Centre: A history museum that would also serve a cultural centre role to offer various public programming opportunities focused on Chinese culture and language. A cultural centre may not require a substantially larger space as it is focused largely on programs and events associated with the contemporary BC Chinese community.

There is an opportunity for a “hub and spoke” concept: a living history visitor centre, history museum or history museum/cultural centre “hub” would seek to attract visitors on the basis of the artifacts, exhibitions, programs and other experiences offered, and off-site “spokes” that could range from historic sites of BC Chinese history located elsewhere throughout the province to universities offering courses in BC Chinese history and to existing institutions with artifacts or archives. A museum developed on a hub and spoke concept would enable visitors to learn about various places throughout British Columbia that can tell other aspects of the BC Chinese history story, and they would be encouraged to attend them or learn more about them on-line. At this Phase 1 stage of planning a variety of criteria are used to allow for comparison of the four options, with detailed planning and financial projections to be prepared in a subsequent stage of planning for one or more of these options. Also set out in this report are governance options. It must be emphasized that this is a preliminary study that sets out options, not recommendations, which will assist in a needed community engagement and consultation process. Consulting with the Chinese Canadian community is vital and doing so recognizes that the Museum’s “voice” must be that of British Columbian Chinese communities whose stories these are, and that the stories should be told from those communities’ perspectives. The BC Chinese History Museum and its stories, in whatever form, must therefore be “owned” by the community no matter the site, governance and implementation model or option selected. To begin the planning process, the British Columbia Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture developed a request for proposals and solicited responses from prospective consulting firms. Lord Cultural Resources, the largest museum planning firm in the world, was selected to conduct the study. Research assistance in this Phase 1 study was provided by the Vancouver office of Nordicity.



1.2 SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY

To meet the study’s objectives, the consultants carried out the following work elements:

Reviewed and analyzed background material provided to us as well as additional data that we gathered.

Facilitated an internal Vision/Assumptions Workshop and a separate Steering Committee meeting as well as other meetings with tourism and education Ministry and Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) officials.

Compiled and analyzed contextual data regarding museums in British Columbia of various sizes compared to median and average data for museums in Canada and the United States. We also considered the experience of existing Chinese-focused institutions in Vancouver.

Compiled and analyzed data and conducted interviews regarding four Chinese-American or pan-Asian museums in the United States identified to offer comparability to the potential physical museum. Confidentiality was maintained in interviews by referring to our work as for another US city considering a Chinese-American museum.

At this time, the Steering Committee has advised that if the option of a physical museum is undertaken, it will most likely be located somewhere on the Lower Mainland, likely in Greater Vancouver. We have therefore analyzed data and interview feedback regarding potential resident, school and tourist markets for Vancouver and Richmond, which are the two major centres of Chinese Canadian populations in the area, in comparison to provincial and national figures.

Developed preliminary museum development model options and analyzed them based on a variety of criteria. This will precede a community engagement process that will help to provide direction for a Phase 2 study and result in detailed planning and costings for the selected options(s).

Prepared a draft Phase 1 Report. A conference call meeting was held with the Steering Committee that served to provide the basis for modifications in this final Phase 1 report.

Bold italics are used throughout the document to highlight key findings and conclusions.



2. CONCEPT, SITE AND

GOVERNANCE OPTIONS

This chapter describes the concept, site and governance options under consideration.

2.1 FOUR CONCEPT OPTIONS

The options range from a completely on-line virtual museum to a living museum involving heritage tours and other programs that would start from a visitor centre base, to a full scale history museum or a history museum that also functions as a cultural centre.

Virtual Museum

The definition of a “virtual museum” encompasses a range in terms of extent, quality and interactivity. For the purposes of this study a virtual museum involves digital entities that exhibit some museum characteristics (for example, a thematic or chronological arrangement of the subject matter using digital images of artifacts, oral histories, photographs and other means of expression that can be digitized). The goal may be to complement, enhance, augment or completely supplant a physical museum experience. An example of this type is the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC), accessible at http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/home/. This is a program of the Canadian Museum of History and is described as “the largest digital source of stories and experiences shared by Canada’s museums and heritage organizations.” Note that it is not a replacement for actual museum experiences, but an enhancement of them, and contributors of digital content to the VMC are physical museums across the country. The Virtual Museum of Canada includes exhibits on Chinese history, such as Garden Meanings: A Classical Chinese Garden about the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen garden in Vancouver2 and sections of larger exhibits that relate to Chinese history, such as Chinese in Ranching which relates to the Chinese contribution to the British Columbia ranching industry3, or The Chinese Cowboy under the Community Stories section.4 As noted, some of these are sections of larger online exhibitions, such as the Chinese in Ranching story which is part of a larger online exhibit on ranching in the province.

2 http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/erudit-scholar/meaning/index.php?usr=n5|true|true|eng 3 http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/buckaroos/english/chinese.html 4 http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000379&sl=2851&pos=1

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/home/http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/erudit-scholar/meaning/index.php?usr=n5|true|true|enghttp://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/erudit-scholar/meaning/index.php?usr=n5|true|true|enghttp://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/buckaroos/english/chinese.htmlhttp://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000379&sl=2851&pos=1http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000379&sl=2851&pos=1



There also existing webpages that are not explicitly “virtual museums”, but which are virtually indistinguishable from them. An excellent example is “Chinese Canadian Stories” on the website of Professor Henry Yu of the University of British Columbia and operated by the UBC Library.5 The site is a rich compendium of individual stories, chronology, databases and video relating to Chinese history in British Columbia. Another example is Bamboo Shoots: Chinese Canadian Legacies in BC, an on-line educational resource for teachers of Grades 5 and 10 developed by the Province in partnership with the Chinese Canadian community in BC. It offers a rich gallery of historical photographs, and a wealth of archival documents and personal stories that accompany five lessons at each grade level. Most online or virtual museums are actually programs of existing physical museums. But there are some with no existence other than in cyberspace. Moreover, a full-blown “virtual museum” can be much more than a website with photos, digitized artifacts and video links. It is possible to construct an entire virtual experience of a museum in cyberspace, offering virtual tours via virtual reality technology. This could be very technologically advanced, or could use a more affordable technology such as Google Expeditions which is smartphone-based. There would be substantial capital costs in developing such an experience, and ongoing operations costs as well, depending on the extent of the experience. Examples of virtual-only museums typically focus on art such as the International New Media Gallery6, since art lends itself to the online medium, but others include the International Museum of Women7 or the Girl Museum.8 Since there are already substantial online offerings related to Chinese history in British Columbia, an option for the British Columbia government might therefore be a partnership strategy: to offer more substantial financial support to them, or to appoint a staff person to assist in expanding the sites and disseminating them more widely. This would need to be done in partnership with the sites’ current owners and administrators.

Living Museum

A “living museum” typically means a “living history museum” (such as Fort Langley in British Columbia or Colonial Williamsburg in the United States) but in this context is understood to mean a heritage tour or tours based out of a small visitor centre as well as other programs-based opportunities. It is sometimes referred to as a “museum of the streets.” This option is tied to a specific place, and in this case to historic Chinatown areas. Three of the four Chinese American Museums discussed in the following chapter include heritage walking tours and the fourth plans to implement such tours as part of its current expansion. Similarly the Chinese Cultural Center of Greater Vancouver already offers walking tours of the historic Vancouver Chinatown. These experiences confirm that while largely programs-based, a Living Museum option requires a starting point for heritage tours, at a minimum a small visitor centre to begin guided tours or alternatively, if self-guided, to orient visitors, provide them with physical brochures or maps or instructions regarding an app download for a smartphone opportunity.

5 http://ccs.library.ubc.ca/en/henry.html 6 http://www.inmg.org/ 7 http://exhibitions.globalfundforwomen.org/ 8 https://www.girlmuseum.org/

http://ccs.library.ubc.ca/en/henry.html



Generally living history museums take four forms:

As noted, a site such as Fort Langley in which heritage buildings exist and animators provide living history interpretation. This form is the most “museum-like” and is not under consideration for the BC Chinese History Museum.

Regarding the understanding of the term in this context, a very basic version might include a printed map or guide that visitors would use to walk an area, with heritage plaques on significant buildings or marking important sites;

A guided heritage walking tour, along the lines of that provided in numerous cities. As with the virtual museum option, this already exists in Vancouver – the Vancouver Heritage Foundation offers frequent walking tours of local neighbourhoods and these tours have in the past included Chinatown (the tour offered on Nov. 19, 2017 included Chinatown and a dim sum lunch, for example).

Screenshot of “Lost Souls of Gastown” walking tour from Vancouver Heritage Foundation.

Or a digital, smartphone-based option using beacon-based technology to “ping” user phones when they approach a heritage site and offering them the option of viewing content on their phones. The City of Victoria offers an app for self-guided tours using mobile devices, and like other options does include one for the Chinatown in that city (“Mysterious Chinatown Walking Tour”)9

9 See

http://vicmap.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=205c109c7bdc490bb46b7a5baef9880d



“Mysterious Chinatown Heritage Walking Tour” screenshot from the app download page of the City of Victoria.

Advantages of the living museum concept include an ability to implement much more quickly and at substantially lower capital and operating costs than larger physical museums. Because there are already some Chinese heritage walking tour options in the Lower Mainland and in Victoria, there is an opportunity to serve as an aggregator of all of these existing offerings and put a coherent narrative over the experiences offered. [ A disadvantage is the limits on the story – it would be a heritage-based tour, and the capacity to provide a full and complete narrative of the Chinese British Columbian story would not be possible. And although the future BC Chinese History Museum could become an aggregator of existing Chinese heritage walking tour resources, it would require partnerships with existing groups as well as consultations with the local Chinese communities whose views of the sensitivity, accuracy or effectiveness of these tours are unknown to the consultants at this time.

History Museum

There are numerous history museums across the country and around the world that utilize artifacts and multimedia-based methods to tell stories. Many are small community museums and others seek to tell a wider story such as the Royal British Columbia Museum. For a BC Chinese History Museum, the narrative would be of Chinese British Columbian history and it would feature displays from a permanent collection and regular temporary exhibitions that could come from China or the Chinese American museums discussed in the following chapter. The RBCM provides an immersive experience in its permanent exhibition that does include a representation of a small turn-of-the-20th-century Chinatown. Other treatments could be personal and story-based, such as that at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Still others could treat the subject matter in “contextual” mode, using artifacts, text, graphics and multimedia to illustrate a narrative. An example here would be the new galleries at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa.



Immersive Chinatown experience at the RBCM, Victoria

Individual journey gallery at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg.



Objects displayed in contextual mode at the Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa. The size of exhibition spaces could vary substantially. Permanent exhibition space could include a variety of galleries that could be chronological, thematic or both. Temporary exhibitions would help to facilitate repeat visitation. Such temporary exhibitions might go beyond BC Chinese history to include opportunities for other ethnocultural groups to tell their own stories on a rotational basis. In addition to exhibition space, a history museum would require a variety of other public spaces for public and educational programming, including a theatre or a lecture hall. A museum facility could also and revenue generating spaces for facility rentals, retail and food service. Artifacts would require collections storage and care spaces along with offices and other non-public spaces, as well as proper loading bays, workrooms and other back-of-house spaces for collections and other functions. Regarding potential collections for a BC Chinese History Museum, the Royal British Columbia Museum has approximately 2,500 three-dimensional objects, some highly significant, relating to Chinese British Columbian history in back-of-house storage areas, although it cannot be assumed at this time that these would be available to a new institution. In addition, there are reportedly collections held privately in the community but additional consultations beyond the scope of this first phase study would be required. Regardless of what may or may not be available, the fundamental question relates to the decision to collect at all. Some new museums, when faced with such a situation, choose not to become collection-focused institutions, but rather decide to tell their stories using other means of expression due to the heavy costs (in both money and time) involved in creating a three-dimensional collection from scratch (an example is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, or the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 which has focused on collecting intangible objects, particularly oral histories and “born digital”



collections). In fact, any new museum’s approach to the subject of collections and collecting is one of the most important decisions that must be made. Any decision to become a collecting institution has serious implications for both capital and operating costs:

First, the storage and handling of a collection often entails space and facilities that require approximately 15%-20% of the building’s net space on average, although that is highly variable based on the nature, scope and extent of the collection. In some cases back of house spaces are not likely to be so large if the focus will be on collecting for display, but if the local Chinese communities are very forthcoming with collection donations, and indeed, expect the new Museum to take care of such collections, the spaces will need to accommodate growth according to a collection development strategy and up to a design year (the last year the facility being planned will be adequate, usually about 20 to 25 years in the future).

Second, the development of a collection sometimes necessitates an acquisition fund. However it is always preferable to build the collection via donation where possible, and in this case it is very possible that sufficient collections could be obtained via donation.

Third, about two-thirds of the operating budget of collecting institutions is either a direct or an indirect result of their collecting function and must be accounted for in operational business planning and projections.

Although there are serious implications to collecting, there are also major benefits.

Firstly, a collection facilitates a very different presence in and service to the community. Educators at all levels, from pre-school to university, can plan lectures, tours or other programs around particular artifacts or other objects well in advance, and can arrange for students to see them even if they are in storage at any particular time. They can then return regularly.

Also, it is expected that developing a collection will have a highly emotional impact on the Chinese British Columbian communities and it may well be important to attracting attention and engagement and funder support.

More important still, a collection implies validation, and therefore stimulates a very different level of community involvement than does a virtual museum or some other non-collection-based option. Holding a collection, for museums, is necessary for peer recognition. A public collection also stimulates donations and thus a much broader engagement throughout the community.

Furthermore, possession of a collection facilitates the operation of a temporary and traveling exhibition program. It is important to note that museums are similar to banks in that one can borrow only as well as one can lend, so being able to draw on other museums to supply artifacts for temporary or travelling exhibitions, which is common, does depend on the museum being able to return the favour in the future. Other museums are more likely to lend to an institution that has its own collection resource from which it can lend, especially if that collection is of high quality and has certain areas of strength that distinguish it. Without such a collection, institutions must pay more heavily and/or originate more inventive scholarship in order to secure the collection loans they need. In many cases, they either become reliant on package shows of limited interest from agencies for much of their season, or else they must constantly expend very high participating fees to join in shows organized by collecting institutions. If the new BC Chinese History Museum is to be a collecting institution, the correct course of action in developing a collection is to let the detailed interpretive plan drive the collection development process – not the other way round. If the interpretive plan drives collection development, then specific



object needs can be pinpointed once the interpretive planning is finalized and staff can then make a concerted effort to locate such objects. Where good quality objects to support this or that story cannot be located, then other means of expression should be identified in order to support the story. This is the normal process, and means of expression to support stories in exhibitions are identified during the content coordination phase of exhibition design.

American Indian Museum and Cultural Center, Oklahoma City

History Museum/Cultural Centre

This option has all of the components of the history museum but would also serve a cultural centre role to offer various public programming opportunities focused on Chinese culture and language. A cultural centre may not require a substantially larger space as it is focused largely on programs and events associated with the contemporary BC Chinese community. Such programs typically focus on traditional or contemporary arts and crafts, dance, music and other tangible and intangible forms of cultural expression. These programs can be for adults, children, seniors or school groups depending on market potential and demand. They are sometimes free but are often charged and may require dedicated program space in the facility.

An example is the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma City. It tells the story of the forced migration of Native Americans to Oklahoma from across the country but also seeks to tell positive stories of Native American achievements. Although largely government funded, substantial capital and operating funds are raised from various tribes and private supporters of Native American descent.



2.2 OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES

No matter which concept option is selected it is understood that outreach opportunities will be provided throughout British Columbia associated with Chinese history and culture. This could include “hub and spoke” and other opportunities discussed below.

Hub and Spoke

With the exception of a virtual museum, there is an opportunity for a “hub and spoke” to be established with respect to BC Chinese history. That is, a living history visitor centre, history museum or history museum/cultural centre “hub” would seek to attract visitors on the basis of the artifacts, exhibitions, programs and other experiences offered. And whether a virtual or physical museum, visitors would also learn about other places throughout British Columbia that can tell other aspects of the BC Chinese history story, and they would be encouraged to attend them or learn more about them on-line. The “spokes” could range from historic sites to universities offering courses in BC Chinese history to institutions with artifacts or archives.

Other Outreach Opportunities

Among other opportunities for outreach are the following examples:

Travelling Exhibitions and “Pop-Up” Exhibits These would be traveled to schools, museums, community centers and libraries throughout the province. The differences between temporary/travelling museum exhibitions and “pop-up” exhibitions are worth exploration. Pop-ups can appear in non-traditional spaces because they are smaller, often do not include objects, are very adaptable and can be produced locally (as opposed to a more formal travelling or temporary exhibition that is planned and produced by a professional museum exhibition development and fabrication company). Pop-ups are also substantially cheaper and can be produced for as little as a few thousand dollars (depending on size). Most travelling exhibitions tend to have fewer numbers of artifacts than museum-based permanent exhibitions, but instead feature a large presence of text and graphics along with some artifacts and interactive elements (which can range from analog flip panels to more sophisticated digital media), although the presence of electronic components raised complications for travelling and installing the exhibition as well as increased costs. Although it would increase the capital cost, it may be possible to augment visitor engagement in traveling exhibitions initiated by the BCCHM via personal smartphones, a technique that is becoming more common, particularly in temporary and travelling exhibitions. At the beginning of the exhibition, visitors would be invited to phone a toll-free number (as shown on the introductory graphic panel and on any printed maps of the exhibition). A recording would answer the visitors’ call, introducing themselves as the guide and then describing the purpose of the exhibition. Most importantly, the guide would inform them that text message “prompts” (leading questions intended to get them to engage with the content) will arrive on their phones at predetermined points in the exhibition, asking them to engage with the content at that particular point.



When the recorded introduction ends, visitors hang up their phones, then go through the exhibition normally, pausing at four to six engagement points at which their phones will buzz, indicating a text message from the guide. The text message will ask specific questions or ask for observations on the relevant aspect of the exhibition, and request the visitor to text those responses back, after which the guide responds to the visitor’s answers. This engagement continues as visitors reach each of the predetermined engagement points, until the end of the exhibition. Once visitors indicate via text that they have reached the end, the guide will call the visitor back and offer a concluding message that wraps up the experience. This technique has proven very effective in examples such as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s State of Deception: The Power of Propaganda exhibition, now travelling across the United States. The costs and revenues for a travelling exhibition include the following categories, including some benchmarks and rules of thumb that can be cited here to assist with subsequent financial projections:

Capital costs for travelling exhibitions of the type envisioned can vary, but for an exhibition that includes text, graphics, artifacts and analog interactivity we would estimate a capital cost range of about $150 - $200 per sq. ft.

Maintenance costs will increase over the life of the exhibition and for the purposes of the projections to come we will assume an allowance that will increase over the life of the exhibition.

Storage fees during periods of inactivity would be about $1000/month for an exhibition that can fit into one truck, as one of about 1,500 sq. feet could.

Transportation is often extra to the rental fee and paid by the renter, so it would have no impact on the projections to come at a later stage of this study, but for information, most exhibits in the 1,500 sq. ft. range cost of $2,500-$3,000 to transport.

Rental fee ranges are provided above. In this case a reasonable assumption for rental revenue for a travelling exhibition might be about $10 per sq. ft., which, if about 1,500 sq. ft., would mean a rental fee assumption of $15,000. A small pop-up would be much cheaper, likely along the lines of the Tennessee State Museum’s I Have a Voice African-American exhibition, available for $500.

A travelling exhibition does have a “shelf life” – as research advances, techniques change and market preferences evolve, exhibits are refreshed or retired. But they can be on the market for a number of years depending on demand and a 4-year run for such an exhibition would not be out of the ordinary. After about 4 years (with some exceptions), travelling exhibitions are generally retired. For museums that host travelling exhibitions, the usual exhibiting time for each venue is approximately three to four months. Pop-ups are by their nature up for a considerably shorter period of time. An important issue for development of traveling exhibitions as a form of outreach throughout the province is whether the BCCHM will charge for rentals of the exhibitions or provide such exhibitions as part of its mission and mandate and charge only for transportation, insurance and related costs. Such travelling exhibitions could be developed and managed by an existing museum such as the Royal British Columbia Museum which would offer the advantage of established funding and professional staff.



Outreach School and Public Programming Whether a form of outreach from a more conventional “bricks and mortar” physical museum or one that is entirely virtual, outreach school programming should relate to the provincial school curriculum. Outreach programs to the schools would take the form of traveling artifact kits and study materials as well as teacher’s guides. Programs could be aimed at a variety of grade levels as discussed in Chapter 4, with the strongest curriculum link likely to the Grade 5 social studies curriculum in which students study immigration as well as discriminatory policies. There may be opportunities for a museum bus to travel throughout the province to schools and other public facilities or to provide an organized tour of other Chinese British Columbian history sites in what has been referred to as a String of Pearls or the Silk Road.

Distance Learning for Adults and School Students Distance learning programs should be asynchronous programs – web-based learning programs that can be accessed by users (either adults or children) at any time – as opposed to synchronous (live) programs that require scheduling, a higher level of investment in technology and significant staff commitment. This is because asynchronous programs provide much more flexibility and museums with significant experience in distance learning are moving away from live lectures and programs and toward the asynchronous model. However, these types of programs can be very expensive to develop and implement – upwards of $500,000 to $1 million for just one or two courses and for that reason are often sponsored.

2.3 SITE OPTIONS

If the option of a physical museum is implemented, it will be located somewhere on the Lower Mainland, likely in Greater Vancouver. The site options are either in or near the Vancouver Chinatown or in the City of Richmond, which are the two major centres of Chinese-Canadian populations in the province. Chapter 4 includes analysis of available data and interview feedback regarding potential resident, school and tourist markets for Vancouver and Richmond. A determination of a site for a physical BCCHM, whether a living museum and small visitor centre, a history museum or a history museum/cultural centre, will take place following feedback from a community engagement and consultation process.

2.4 GOVERNANCE OPTIONS

Although it might be possible for the BC Chinese History Museum to operate as a for-profit private museum, that option is clearly not practical because a for-profit museum would not have a mission focused on preservation and education. It would also require a major private funder willing to be responsible for most of the capital and operating costs. A private for-profit museum is not considered here as a realistic governance model for a BC Chinese History Museum. The four options that are compared here are as an independent not for profit charitable organization, a line department of a provincial ministry, an arm’s length body, or as a satellite or branch of an existing museum or university. These models are to be presented as part of the community engagement process before a decision is finalized. Here we set out selected features of each option.



Independent Not For Profit

Line Department of Provincial Ministry

Arm’s Length Body (Crown Corporation)

Satellite of Existing Museum or University

Board Governing Advisory Governing, reporting to the relevant Minister

Advisory Board and Fundraising Board

Staff Museum staff are employees of the nonprofit charitable organization

Staff are civil servants

Staff are employees of the Crown Corporation

Usually museum or University staff

Funding Organization responsible for generating all operating funding, usually via earned, private donation and annual grant applications or other government funds

Primarily departmental appropriations

Annual grant from government; Museum has responsibility to generate a portion of annual operating requirement on its own

Higher likelihood of generating private support than a line department due to perception of independence

Main Advantages Full independence; greatest freedom of operation.

Secure annual funding

Substantial operational freedom combined with a level of financial security

Lower operating costs if senior management operates an existing museum and most likely to secure temporary exhibitions

Main Disadvantages

Difficulty securing temporary exhibitions without a longer term track record. Greater risk for private capital funders given less certain sustainability.

Greatest difficulty securing private capital funds for implementation and ongoing private operating support; museum is usually just one program of many under the Department head and therefore not always a priority.

Annual grant renewable each year and subject to change or elimination; possible political sensitivities.

Somewhat less independence

The table shows each model’s strengths and weaknesses, but regardless of the model the governing authority must fulfill the following responsibilities:

Establish and communicate the institution’s mission and mandate;



Either provide funding for, or play an important role in raising funds for the museum’s operations, depending on the model chosen;

Approve and monitor the governing and operating policies;

Ensure that the institution fulfills its educational mission on behalf of the public and its core stakeholders;

Prepare and implement long-range strategic plans;

Act in a fiscally responsible manner and assure financial stability;

Hire and monitor the Executive Director (who then recruits and monitors all other staff);

Ensure that there are adequate staff resources. Museums in the 21st century are revising their organizational structures to become less top-down and more visitor-centric. Traditionally, museum functions were inward-focused but this type of approach is in fact outdated and not as responsive to the needs of today’s visitors as newer ways of doing. Whatever the organizational structure chosen for the BC Chinese History Museum, we assume that it will place visitors at the centre with its activities primarily designed to serve visitors, either directly or indirectly.



3. CONTEXTUAL AND

COMPARABLES ANALYSES

This chapter focuses very much on providing benchmarks for a physical museum. The data seek to emphasize the need for future attendance and financial projections be based on realistic expectations that emerge from consideration of benchmarks for British Columbia, Canadian and US museums. Context is also established by assessment of the main existing Chinese-related cultural attractions in the region and the experience of existing Chinese American museums.

3.1 CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS: BENCHMARKING OF BC,

CANADIAN AND US MUSEUMS

The following table includes benchmarks from medium and large museums and art galleries in British Columbia, as well as Canadian and US museums. (The Canadian data are averages and the US are median figures.) Among the most relevant data are the following points, including some potential implications to the BCCHM.

Relationship of Operating Budget to Attendance: Most museums in Canada and the United States are quite small, resulting in relatively low average or median attendance figures. Generally, the larger the size of the exhibition space and operating budget, the higher the attendance potential. The definition of “medium” and “large” size for the museums in BC relates to the operating budget not the space. Nonetheless the data show that museums with annual operating budgets over one million dollars attract substantially more visitors than those with smaller budgets.

School Groups as Percentage of Total Visitors: Education is part of the mission of all museums and a physical BCCHM will not be an exception. The data shown here indicate that school groups account for roughly 10% of all visitors.

Members: Just as museums with larger budgets tend to attract substantially more visitors, so too do larger museums attract more members.

Staffing Levels and Volunteers: Staffing levels are very much dependent on the size of the operating budget. Noteworthy is that larger museums in BC operate with fewer volunteers, likely reflecting less of a need for volunteers with an adequate paid staff. A future community engagement and interview process should explore the likely extent of volunteerism in the nearby Chinese Canadian community.



Sources of Operating Revenue: The reality is that earned income generates a relatively small percent of the operating budgets required by most museums. None operate on the basis of earned income alone. It is also a misconception that American museums are more entrepreneurial and have greater ability to generate earned income; the data indicate this is not the case. In the United States contributed income is primarily from private sources and this exceeds earned income. Canadian museums rely much more substantially on governmental support as opposed to private revenue, and are less likely to have endowments to support operations.

Sources of Operating Expenses: Staffing costs in both Canada and the United States are generally in the range of 50% of total operating costs. Such costs tend to be higher when a museum has a substantial collections care responsibility. Marketing expenditures tend to be higher in the US than in Canada, but are higher for the larger sized museums in BC.

Comparative Data for BC, Canadian and American Museums

Medium* BC Museums & Art Galleries

Large** BC Museums & Art Galleries

All BC Museums & Art Galleries

All Canadian Museums

All US Museums

Sample Size 92 20 233 1,088 671

Attendance 12,550 184,684 23,306 23,019 26,500

School Groups as % of Total 8.0% 9.7% 8.7% 8.5% 12.3%

Members 227 5,860 628 374 795

Total Full-Time Staff 3 21 3 4 7

Total Part-Time Staff 7 29 6 7 5

Total Volunteers 227 57 136 49 65

Sources of Operating Revenues

Earned Income as % Total 33.4% 46.9% 43.2% 37.0% 27.6%

Government Sources % 53.2% 37.2% 41.5% 49.4% 24.4%

Private Donations % 12.5% 13.4% 13.3% 11.36% 36.5%

Interest/Endowment % 0.9% 2.5% 2.1% 2.3% 11.5%

Total Operating Revenue $367,761 $4.7 million $566,948 $838,000 $1.2 million

Sources of Operating Expenses

Staffing 49.5% 54.0% 52.0% 47.3% 49.9%

Occupancy 11.2% 8.5% 9.2% 13.1% N/A

Collections Care N/A N/A N/A N/A 8.0%

Marketing 2.7% 4.9% 4.2% 3.5% 4.1%

Source: 2015 Canadian Heritage Survey (2013 data) and 2009 Financial Survey of American Alliance of Museums Note: *Museums categorized as medium have an annual revenue between $100,000 and $999,999 ** Museums categorized as large have an annual revenue $1 million and over Canadian figures represent averages, where US data represent median.



3.2 EXPERIENCE OF OTHER CHINESE-FOCUSED

FACILITIES IN VANCOUVER AREA

If a BC Chinese History Museum, in whatever form, is developed in Vancouver or Richmond, it will represent an addition to the existing cultural infrastructure relating to Chinese history in these cities. This infrastructure includes the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver in that city’s Chinatown,a small branch office in Richmond, and the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Park adjacent to the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver. Understanding their facilities, programs, operations and finances offers important context for consideration of the four development options for the BC Chinese History Museum discussed in Chapter 4.

Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver Founded in 1973, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver (CCC) is a non-profit, charitable organisation dedicated to the promotion and awareness of Chinese culture. It reports the support of 53 different cultural organizations, confirming the importance of community engagement in the process of the planning of and selecting a site for a new museum. The mission of the CCC is:

To promote understanding and friendship between the Chinese community and other cultural groups in Canada.

To interpret and communicate Chinese culture and to facilitate exchange with other cultural groups and with the community at large.

To promote and foster Chinese culture and art within the Chinese community and with other cultural groups.

To help Chinese immigrants adjust to the culture, heritage, and lifestyle in Canada.

To build and maintain cultural facilities for the purpose of achieving these aims and objectives.

The CCC is a registered not-for-profit and occupies land leased from the City of Vancouver. A entire city block was designated in Vancouver's Chinatown and the first building constructed in 1980 followed by others to include administrative, educational, and commercial buildings, a multipurpose hall and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. The CCC includes a museum and archives -with both permanent and ongoing exhibits, a library, branch office, and theatre. There are four buildings on site. The main building is about 10,000 sq. ft., the 23,000 sq. ft. David Lam Hall ( a performing arts centre), 14,000 sq. ft. for the Museum and 20,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Within the Museum the lobby is 3,000 sq. ft. classrooms are 2,000 sq. ft. the Military Museum 2,000 and exhibition hall 1,400 sq. ft. plus other spaces. The permanent exhibit in the museum is "From Generation to Generation." It uses historic photographs and text to explore the history of Chinese immigrants in B.C. from the Gold Rush in the 1850s to the end of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1947 and beyond. And it includes the Chinese Canadian Military



Museum and an art gallery that offers changing contemporary Chinese art exhibitions. These opened in 1998. The admission charge for museum visits is $10 for adults and $8 for children, whether in family or school groups. Scheduled 30 –minute guided tours of the museum are part of the admission charge. A 1.5 hour Chinatown Walking Tour serves about 5,000 and the museum attracts about 8,000 visitors annually. Prices for tours are at the same $10 and $8 charge as the museum visits. Tours are available in English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese and about 60% of visitors are estimated to be of Chinese descent. Four dollar discounts are available to those who pay for both the Museum and walking tours. Teachers and chaperones on school field trips are free. The walking tours have been in decline as a result of competition from private commercial operators. CCC organizes cultural and art exhibits, theatrical performances, and has been a focal point for art and cultural events. It offers a Chinese heritage language school, the S.K. Lee Academy, which is one of the largest in North America and serves 4,360 students on weekends. Chinese Language School has been operated for over 30 years and is one of the largest Chinese Schools in North America. Management reports that language classes have declined with increasing private competition. In addition to the Cultural Centre in Vancouver, the school offers opportunities for classes in Richmond, Coquitlam, East Vancouver and Northwest Vancouver and plans to expand to other communities too. This recognizes that Vancouver’s Chinatown area is no longer the largest centre of the Chinese community in the region. School field trip opportunities include paper cutting, martial arts, Tai Chi, Chinese calligraphy and Chinese painting. Programs are reported to serve 6,000 students of all ages. It operates year-round from Tuesday through Sunday with open hours from 11 am - 5 pm. The CCC is a non-profit and charitable organisation with an operating budget of about $1.7 million and generates about 80% is earned income, largely from commercial leases and language classes. It recieves financial and other assistance from the City of Vancouver and private donors. The Centre has a full-time staff of nine, plus 13 part-time – time staff and numerous part-time Chinese language teachers. They are supported by 2-3 regular and 10 periodic volunteers. The City of Vancouver has initiated a Chinatown Revitalization Project which aims to bring community members together to address issues such as economic growth and heritage retention. An Economic Revitalization Strategy for Chinatown in 2012 included among its recommendations to “modernize the Cultural Center and Museum to be an attraction while preserving its neighbourhood serving aspects.” The Centre is located in Chinatown close to the Downtown East Side which is known to be a challenged area. Despite having invested $400,000 into the facilities over the last few years, during their study visit, the consultants observed instances of boarded-up and broken windows at the Centre, along with clear evidence of drug use, vagrancy and lack of respect for the grounds. Clearly the Centre’s management is having challenges in maintaining the Centre to a standard of good repair. The main advice to another city contemplating a Chinese Cultural Center is to start with and seek to maintain long-term community support, to have a strong Board and recognize that securing capital funds is easier than operating funds.



Richmond Branch of Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver The Richmond branch of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver provides educational, artistic, and cultural services directed towards fostering Chinese culture within the local community. This includes traditional and simplified Chinese language classes to children and youth ages four to 19, and classes on Chinese culture to the general public. The Richmond branch organizes exhibitions, performances, and festivals and offers summer day camps for children aged seven to 12 which provide instruction on either Chinese culture or the Chinese language. Facilities are also available for rent. Operating hours are daily from 9:30 am to 1 pm, and 2 pm to 6 pm. The existence of branches or offices of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver confirms opportunities for a hub and spoke concept for a BC Chinese History Museum or for it to be a satellite of an existing museum or university. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Park Located adjacent to the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Park. It is owned by the City of Vancouver. The free admission Park is the outer ring and the charged admission Garden is the inner ring of the complex. The Garden It is the first Chinese or "scholars" garden built outside of China. The mandate of the garden is to “maintain and enhance the bridge of understanding between Chinese and western cultures, promote Chinese culture generally and be an integral part of the local community. It opened in 1986 in time for Expo 86 and was funded by Canadian and Chinese governments, Chinese Canadian citizens and other public and private sources. Attendance is reported at 80,000 annual visitors. Hours of operation are as follows: October 1-April 30: 10:00am-4:30pm *Closed on Mondays from November 1 to April 30* May 1-June 14: 10:00am-6:00pm June 15-August 31: 9:30am-7:00pm September 1-30: 10:00am-6:00pm Admission rates are as follows: October 1-April 30 Adult: $12 Student: $9 (Age 6-17 or over 17 with valid student I.D) Senior: $10 Family: $25 (2 adults and up to 2 children under the age of 17) May 1-September 30 Adult: $14 Student: $10 (Age 6-17 or over 17 with valid student I.D) Senior: $11 Family: $28 (2 adults and up to 2 children under the age of 17)



The price of admission includes a 45-minute scheduled guided tour. School programs are offered and related to life in Ming dynasty China (1368-1644), immigration to BC, festivals and holidays, inventions and mythical creatures. School programs are offered for all grade levels and are reported to support the BC provincial curriculum.

3.3 COMPARABLES ANALYSIS: EXPERIENCE OF

CHINESE AMERICAN MUSEUMS

In considering any of the physical museum options, it is important to emphasize that culturally specific museums are one of the fastest growing museum types in the United States. There are, for example, 800 African-American-focused museums or cultural centres and numerous other culturally specific museums, including several Chinese-American museums, some of which are reviewed in this study. The following table details available data and interview feedback from three Chinese-American museums and one Pan-Asian museum identified to offer comparability to the proposed BC Chinese History Museum. Those that were selected are as follows in alphabetical order:

1 Chinese American Museum, Los Angeles 2 Chinese Historical Society of America, San Francisco 3 Museum of Chinese in America, New York 4 Wing Luke Museum of Asian American Experience, Seattle Among the key findings from the data are the following points:

Location and Site: All of the museums are located in cities with large Chinese American populations and all are at sites within or very close to Chinatowns in those cities. In the case of the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles the building is inside the oldest surviving Chinese American building in southern California. The Chinese Historical Society of America is located inside a former Chinatown YMCA building, while the Museum of Chinese in America in New York stated in a former public school constructed in 1893 and is now in a modern building.

Mission Statements: The Chinese American museums all focus on the history of Chinese in America, including both exclusion and inclusion, particularly the contributions of Chinese Americans. The larger museums also tend to function as cultural centres.

1 2

1 3

1

4

1



Mandate and Branding: It is of particular importance to note that all of the museums refer to America in their names and none refer to the state of their location despite the fact that in three of the four cases, the collections are primarily from within the state or even the city.

Governance: Three of the four are not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organizations (the U.S. Internal Revenue Service designation for a not-for-profit institution) while the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles is jointly operated by a 501 (c) 3 foundation and a department of the City of Los Angeles. Governance is a key issue for the BCCHM.

Size of Building and Exhibition Space: All of the Chinese American museums are relatively small, with in the range of about 7,500 to 10,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space. The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle has a wider Asia Pacific focus and is in a larger 60,000 sq. ft. building with about 35,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space.

Revenue Generating Spaces: Of the four, only the Wing Luke Museum and the Museum of Chinese in America include a retail store and Wing Luke has spaces for evening rentals, theatre space and a community hall.

Collections and Exhibitions: All four museums include important collections of Chinese American history. These include the 65,000 artifacts of the Museum of Chinese in America in New York and the 7,700 artifacts of the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles. Exhibition content varies widely including stories of both exclusion and inclusion.

Operating Schedule: All are closed to the public on Mondays and the Chinese Historical Society is closed on Tuesdays. Open hours are only five hours for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Chinese American museums. The Museum of Chinese in America remains open on Thursdays to 9 p.m.

Admission Charges: These vary widely from the free admission charge to all that is mandated in Los Angeles in return for substantial City capital and operating support to the $10 charge in Seattle, $15 in San Francisco and $17 in New York. Commonly discount rates ore offered to seniors and students. Children under 12 are offered free admission in New York.

Reported Attendance Levels: The highest attended is the free admission Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles at about 60,000 annual visitors. Among the charged admission museums, San Francisco reports 20,000, New York 40,000 and Seattle 50,000 visitors. These are relatively modest attendance figures, which is a common phenomenon for most culturally specific museums.

Market Segments: School groups are a substantial market segment, accounting for 30-40% of all visitors among the three that reported figures. Persons of Chinese descent account for only about 25% of visitors to the museum in San Francisco, while the Wing Luke in Seattle reported that “most” of its exhibitions visitors are Caucasian.

Staffing and Volunteers: Full time staff range from 6 in Los Angeles (to be increased in an expansion), 7 in San Francisco, 12 in New York and 14 in Seattle, supported by part-timers and volunteers. New York reports 40 volunteers and Seattle 90 while Los Angeles referred to “hundreds”.

Operating Budgets: These range widely from under $700,000 in San Francisco and Los Angeles to over $4 million in Seattle and New York.



Sources of Operating Revenues and Expenses: The large majority of the funds in all cases comes from contributed sources (private and government) with earned income as “very little” in free admission Los Angeles, 10% at 11% in New York, and 25% in Seattle. Staffing is the largest single operating cost in all of the museums as is common.

Future Plans: The Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles is in the midst of an expansion and has received a $100,000 grant from the state of California. Museums are seeking to upgrade their visitor experience and add to collections storage space. Commonly expressed was a desire to increase both earned and contributed income.

Advice to a City Seeking to Add a Chinese History Museum: All three of the four that offered advice emphasized the importance of gaining strong community support.

Chinese American Museum Chinese Historical Society of

America

Location Los Angeles San Francisco

Chinatown Location

Yes. No current walking tours of Chinatown but may implement as part of expansion

Yes. Offer charged walking tours of Chinatown

When Opened Opened 2003 but took 20 years of planning and fundraising

1965 about two years after founding

Mission Statement

The mission of the Chinese American Museum (CAM) is to foster a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, America’s diverse heritage by researching, preserving, and sharing the history, rich cultural legacy, and continued contributions of Chinese Americans

The oldest and largest organization in the country dedicated to the documentation, study, and presentation of Chinese American history. Through exhibitions, publications, and educational, public programming, CHSA promotes the contributions and legacy of Chinese America.

Governance Model

Jointly developed and operated by Friends of the Chinese American Museum (FCAM) and a department of the City of Los Angeles. FCAM is a 501(c) 3, nonprofit, grassroots organization that assists the museum by generating supporter interest and participation, acquiring and conserving artifacts, conducting research, planning museum designs, conducting community outreach, and raising funds.

Not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization

Total Size of Building(s) (Gross Sq. Ft.)

N/A N/A




America

Total Size of Exhibition Space (Net Sq. Ft.)

7,500 sq. ft. with expansion of additional 5,500 sq. ft. to be completed in early 2019

10,400 sq. ft.

Facility Features Inside oldest surviving Chinese building in Sothern California.

Housed in the landmark Julia Morgan-designed Chinatown YWCA building at 965 Clay Street.

Gift Shop (Net Sq. Ft.)

No gift shop No gift shop

Size/Key Features of Collection

Although a “Chinese American Museum” the collections are primarily related to the Los Angeles area. The collection has over 7,500 artifacts, documents, and photographs, spanning the late 19th century to the present.

Collections are primarily from California: Kublai Khan collection Jake Lee Collection Multiple Daniel K.E. Ching Collections

Permanent Exhibitions

Origins: The Birth and Rise of Chinese American Communities in LA Journeys Sun Wing Wo General Store and Herb Shop

Chinese in the Sunset Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion The Architecture of San Francisco’s Chinatown Living in Chinatown: Memories in Miniature Remembering 1882 History of the Chinatown YWCA

Current Temporary Exhibitions

Circles and Circuits II: Contemporary Chinese Caribbean Art.

N/A

Current Traveling Exhibitions to Other Museums

None right now, but they have done in the past.

Unspecified but exhibits can be loaned to other museums for a nominal fee.

Current Admission Charges

Free admission to all, because mandated to be free by the City of Los Angeles which owns the property and provides financial support to the Museum.

Adults $15, children 3-17, college students with valid ID & seniors 65 & over $10, children 12 & under with adult admission & first Sun. of the month no charge.

Open Days and Hours

Tues.-Sun. 10-3. Closed New Year's Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Day.

Wednesday-Sunday 11am-4pm. Closed Holidays.

Staff and Volunteers

8 FTE staff including six full-time and part-timer. Staff to be increased when expansion implemented. There are hundreds of volunteers, primarily from

7 full-time paid employees, 2 part-timers and 2 volunteers




America

within the Chinese American community, and mostly in the high school to college age range

Reported On-Site Attendance

60,000 of which 40,000 attend exhibitions and 20,000 through public programming. Although the mission statement focuses on history, the museum actually functions as a combination history museum and cultural centre

20,000, of which about 25% of Chinese descent

School Groups as Percentage of On-Site Attendance

One third Unknown

Total Operating Budget

$671,100 to increase in expansion $653.800


Earned – Very little Of non-earned: Private Support – 46% City of Los Angeles - 54%

Private – 72% Government – 13% Earned – 10% Other – 5%


Program services - 70% Administration - 30%

Program services – 59% Admin – 30% Other – 11%

Future plans Expansion on existing site N/A

Advice for a City Considering Chinese Museum

“Strong community ties and partnerships is a necessity.”

“Really involve the community”

Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific American Experience

Museum of Chinese in America

Location Seattle New York

Chinatown Location

Yes, Chinatown, Bruce Lee and food tours offered

Yes. Includes charged tours in warm weather months

When Opened 1967, expanded 2007 1980, relocated 2009 but kept original

building as Collections and Research Center



Mission Statement

To connect everyone to the rich history, dynamic cultures and art of Asian Pacific Americans through vivid storytelling and inspiring experiences.

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) aims to engage audiences in an ongoing and historical dialogue, in which people of all backgrounds are able to see American history through a critical perspective, to reflect on their own experiences, and to make meaningful connections between: the past and the present, the global and the local, themselves and others.



Governance Model

501c3 WLAM Property association holds the title for the Yick Building that houses the Wing Luke Museum

501c3

Total Size of Building(s) (Gross Sq. Ft.)

60,000 sq. ft. 16,000 sq. ft. in new building plus original building for storage and research

Total Size of Exhibition Space (Net Sq. Ft.)

35,000 sq. ft. 10,000 sq. ft.

Facility Features

Tateuchi Story Theatre KidPLACE and Youth Space Learning Studios The Marketplace Community Hall Library and Community Heritage Center.

Original building a former public school built in 1893.

Gift Shop (Net Sq.Ft.)

‘The Marketplace’ – unknown square feet.

Small gift shop off the lobby, including curated items by located artists

Size/Key Features of Collection

Not just a Chinese but an Asian American collection. Includes a 500-volume library of material pertaining to the collection & research fields available on premises; community & social service use & sponsorship.

MOCA’s Collections and Research Center currently houses more than 65,000 artifacts, photos, memorabilia, documents, oral histories, and art work from across the country with very little from the state of New York.

Permanent Exhibitions

Our Journey Community Portrait Galleries Historic Immersion Exhibits

With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America

Current Temporary Exhibitions

Year of remembrance Teardrops that Wound What’s in your cup? Community-brewed culture

Fold: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures



Current Traveling Exhibitions to Other Museums

None None

Current Admission Charges

Adult $17 Senior $15 Student $12.50 Youth $10. One free day per month

Adults $10, seniors 65 & over and students $5; discount to AAM & ICOM members; children under 12 in groups less than 8 & members no charge.



Open Days and Hours

Tuesday – Sunday: 10am-5pm Monday: Closed First Thursday of the month: 10am-8pm

Tues.-Wed., Fri.-Sun. 11-6, Thurs. 11-9. Closed Mon.; New Year's Day; Thanksgiving; Christmas Day.

Staff: Full Time, Part Time and Volunteers

Full-Time Paid 14; Part-Time Paid 7; Part-Time Volunteers 90, mostly younger.

Full-Time Paid 12; Part-Time Paid 12; Part-Time Volunteers 40, mostly younger.

Reported On-Site Attendance

50,000, mostly Caucasian 40,000

School Groups as Percentage of On-Site Attendance

35% 37%

Total Operating Budget

$3,000,000 $3,348,000


Earned 25% Contributed 40% Government 35%

Contributions 75% Government 13% Earned 11%


Staffing 50% Program Services 71% Admin 13% Other 16%

Future plans None - already in a recently upgraded space.

N/A

Advice to City Considering Chinese Museum

“A new museum needs to have community support, plans to keep content fresh and a large financial cushion.”

N/A



4. NEEDS ASSESSMENT/

ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL

MARKETS

This chapter considers available data and interview feedback regarding potential resident, school and tourist markets for Greater Vancouver, including consideration of a location for a physical museum in either downtown Vancouver or Richmond. This will help inform the evaluation of museum development options in the next chapter and the projections of attendance levels as part of the next phase of the study.

4.1 RESIDENT MARKETS

The resident market is important to all physical museums for the following main reasons:

Residents are readily accessible and available on a year-round basis.

Residents can be made aware of museums and their exhibitions and programs more easily and cost-effectively than may tourists.

Residents are most likely to be repeat visitors.

Residents are more likely to become volunteers, members and donors.

Residents often advise, and accompany, visiting friends and relatives.

Population Size and Projections

The resident market for a Chinatown location in Vancouver would encompass the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), encompassing 21 regional municipalities centered by the City of Vancouver. The following table includes population figures for the City and CMA in comparison to provincial and national totals and projections as well as to data for the City of Richmond, which has a very substantial Chinese-Canadian population. The data indicate a large and growing resident population base and that a Vancouver location for a physical museum facility would have a larger local population base than would Richmond. Noteworthy as well is that the population growth of the City of Vancouver exceeded that of Richmond from 2011 to 2016. The key issue here is whether residents of Richmond and other regional municipalities would be more likely to attend a physical museum in Vancouver than would Vancouver city and other regional residents travel to Richmond. This is an issue to be explored in a community engagement process if a physical location for the BCCHM is to be selected.



Ethnicity

As would be the case with all culturally specific museums, a core market segment for a physical or virtual BCCHM would be persons of Chinese ethnic descent. Three tables follow showing how substantial the Chinese Canadian market is in Vancouver, Richmond, the overall Vancouver CMA and British Columbia in comparison to national figures. This includes data on Chinese visible minority status, mother tongue and the extent to which Chinese is the language most spoken at home. Those identifying as a Chinese visible minority account for 27% of all residents in the Vancouver CMA. In the City of Vancouver those of Chinese descent comprise about 20% and for the City of Richmond about 53%. The data also indicate that the vast majority of persons of Chinese descent in British Columbia reside within the Vancouver CMA, confirming that if a physical museum is established it should be in the Lower Mainland.

The same pattern is seen with respect to data regarding mother tongue and the main language spoken at home. With second and third and other generations of Chinese Canadians more likely to identify English as the language most often spoken at home, the fact that in Richmond about 36% of residents speak Chinese at home (compared to 15% for Vancouver) confirms that a very large percentage of Richmond residents would be first generation Canadians. The data confirm the importance of Chinese language communications in both a physical and virtual museum.

Population

2006 2011 2016

% Change 2006-

2016

% Change 2011-

2016

Vancouver 578,040 603,502 631,486 9.2% 4.6%

Vancouver CMA 2,116,580 2,313,328 2,463,431 16.4% 6.5%

Richmond 174,610 190,473 198,309 13.6% 4.1%

British Columbia 4,113,487 4,400,057 4,648,055 13.0% 5.6%

Canada 31,612,897 33,476,688 35,151,728 11.2% 5.0%

Source: Statistics Canada, 2016, 2011 and 2006 Census

Visible Minority

Count % Count % Count % Count %

Not a Visible Minority 299,200 48.4% 1,240,555 51.1% 46,645 23.7% 3,179,005 69.7% 26,785,480 77.7%

Visible Minority 319,010 51.6% 1,185,680 48.9% 150,015 76.3% 1,381,235 30.3% 7,674,580 22.3%

Total 618,210 100.0% 2,426,235 100.0% 196,660 100.0% 4

bc chinese history museum...story together – to provide a sweeping narrative that explores the...

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