Canton-sardine

Canton-sardine is an artist-run centre located in Vancouver Chinatown, which was established in 2018 by artist and curator Steven Dragonn, critic and curator Xiaoyan Yang. The institute's name is called Canton-sardine because the founders thought that other than exhibitions, an artist-run space also carries curatorial and publishing functions, as it can also be a site for artist residencies and bookstores among many other roles. Thus he attempted to use the word “Sardine” to replace “Space” to redefine the artist-run centre’s mandate after French Avant-garde artist Arman’s thought. Also, the founders who originated from Canton, China, so-called “Canton-sardine”.