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Burnaby Art Gallery marks Asian Heritage Month

The Burnaby Art Gallery is celebrating Asian Heritage Month with a new off-site exhibition at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. The exhibition includes two works by award-winning director-producer and visual artist Linda Ohama.

The Burnaby Art Gallery is celebrating Asian Heritage Month with a new off-site exhibition at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.

The exhibition includes two works by award-winning director-producer and visual artist Linda Ohama.

Ohama, who was born and raised on a potato farm in Rainier, Alta., is a third-generation Japanese-Canadian.

Many of her works focus on the theme of cultural heritage and family.

The two featured works, Obachan's Smile and Inherited Gifts, tell the story of her grandmother Asayo Murakami, the central narrative of her 2001 documentary Obachan's Garden.

A press release notes that the documentary follows the story of Murakami, who left Hiroshima in 1923 and settled in the fishing village of Steveston.

In the film, Ohama interviews her grandmother and discovers a buried past - her life in Japan, her arrival in Canada as a "picture bride," her determination to marry a man of her choice, the bombing of Hiroshima and the forced relocation of her family during the Second World War.

Obachan's Garden will be shown in the Burnaby Art Gallery's turret room from May 24 to June 2.

The two featured artworks will be at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts until June 2.

See www.lindaohama.com for more on the artist.

For more on the exhibitions, see www.burnabyartgallery.ca or call 604-297-4422.