“Let’s Build a Collective Memory of Chinatown” Wins Heritage Toronto Public History Award
Congratulations to Assistant Professor Linda Zhang and the entire team behind Let’s Build a Collective Memory of Chinatown! This groundbreaking initiative has been recognized with the Heritage Toronto Public History Award, celebrating its innovative approach to preserving living heritage through community-led storytelling and design.
The project, developed as part of Assistant Professor Linda Zhang's ARCH 393 Option Design Studio, ran from Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 in Toronto and Cambridge, brought together over 300 Chinatown residents across four generations to explore how shared memory and imagination can safeguard the area’s heritage and foster community stewardship. It was praised for its creative intersection of scholarship, intergenerational dialogue, and collaborative memory gathering.
By amplifying marginalized voices and embracing intergenerational storytelling, the project challenges conventional public history practices. It demonstrates how community-led design and memory work can combat systemic erasure, honor living heritage, and build collective power.
Reimagining Public History Through Community Voices
Toronto’s Chinatowns have long histories of anti-displacement organizing, mutual aid, and placekeeping, legacies often absent from official archives. Let’s Build a Collective Memory of Chinatown sought to uncover these stories by centering “cold” memories (anchoring activism and resistance) and “hot” memories (celebrating Chinatown as a vibrant, lived space).
Through oral histories, archival research, and architectural reconstructions, community members worked alongside University of Waterloo architecture students to create interactive co-maps, design models, and public exhibits. These works were showcased at Waterloo Architecture’s Riverside Gallery from December 12, 2024, to February 25, 2025.
Co-design models reimagine present-day spaces while honouring Chinatown’s history of placekeeping.
Collaborators
- Student Team: Samira El Badaui, Kayla Estacio, Lana Dang, Cindy He, Jenny Hu, Khadeejah Kazi, Avory Lai, Alisa Lau, Jhony Li Feng, Tina Lin, Nathan Man, Areeba Saleem, Derek Shin, Jacquelyne Jane Villaspin
- Community Partners: Planting Imagination, Cecil Community Centre, Scadding Court Community Centre
- Community Collaborators: Simon Liao, Eva Chu, Christie Carrière, Bryan Hong, Sharon Hong, Phyllis Lam, Chiyi Tam, Shulan Tien, Beryl Tsang, Julie Wang, Angela Wang, Amy Wang, Eric Wang, Wendy Yang
Waterloo Architecture students and community members collaborated through a series of interactive workshops.
About the Award
The Heritage Toronto Awards have celebrated excellence in heritage since 1974, recognizing individuals, organizations, and projects that preserve and promote Toronto’s rich history. The annual ceremony brings together nominees and city influencers from across culture, development, and policy-making communities.
The 50th Annual Heritage Toronto Awards took place on Monday, October 20, honoring outstanding achievements in the heritage sector. Awards were presented in four categories: Book, Built Heritage, Public History, and People’s Choice.
The Public History Award specifically recognizes multi-media and collaborative projects designed to engage, challenge, and educate the public about Toronto’s heritage. This year’s nominees represented a wide range of creative approaches, from short films to public art installations and publications.