Game On: A New Exhibition Explores Chinese-Canadian Representation in Sports
Written by Fête Chinoise Editorial Team (Kayla Lo)
IMages Credit: The Chinese Canadian Museum, Julian Fok
Tomorrow, soccer fans across the nation will be glued to their screens as Canada takes the pitch for a historic Round of 16 match at FIFA. Sports have an unmatched power to bring people together, creating a fierce sense of shared identity, collective pride, and belonging as we rally behind our home team. This wave of global excitement offers the perfect opportunity to look closer and recognise the incredible legacy of Chinese-Canadian representation in sports.
Timed beautifully with FIFA’s sporting fever, the Chinese Canadian Museum launched its major new exhibition, Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports, on June 10, 2026, the very same day the World Cup kicked off.
Exhibition View. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
“Chinese Canadians have always been part of the game, but rarely part of the story.”
“Chinese Canadians have always been part of the game, but rarely part of the story,” notes Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum. This poignant nuance forms the heart of the showcase, which invites visitors to trace over a century of Chinese-Canadian presence in sports. Designed as an electrified, sports bar–inspired space, the Poy Family Gallery presents archival objects, photographic portraits, and newly commissioned moving image works, allowing everyone to explore these beautiful layers of history through different mediums.
Exhibition Opening on June 10, 2026. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Exhibition Opening on June 10, 2026. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Exhibition Opening on June 10, 2026. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Over a Century of Grit and Greatness
The exhibition spotlights over 20 legendary Chinese-Canadian athletes who excelled on Canada's rinks, fields, and courts. Visitors can explore more than 25 historical objects, from an Olympic medal to a rare 1930s soccer trophy, tracing the journeys of icons like three-time Olympic medal-winning figure skater Patrick Chan, four-time Grey Cup champion Norman Kwong, Olympic gold-winning rhythmic gymnast Lori Fung, and basketball sensation Zach Edey, currently playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
In the main gallery, a specially commissioned video montage narrated by retired sports reporter John Lu traces this athletic journey from early grassroots community clubs to the global spotlight. To dive deeper, visitors can head up to the museum’s third floor to view the new documentary, Yellow Card: Reclaiming Our Story in Canadian Sports, which offers an intimate look at the systemic hurdles and triumphs of representation.
Patrick Chan and Lori Fung. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
The Charles Suey Trophy. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Bradley Kwong’s Jersey. Photo credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Visitors looking at Zack Edey’s photo. Photo credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Patrick Chan’s Skates. Photo credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Exhibition View. Photo Credits: Julian Fok.
Stepping Into the Game
Momentum also invites visitors to step directly into the competitive arena. Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has created a participatory ping pong table installation, where visitors are welcome to pick up a paddle, become a living part of the interactive art, and enjoy some sporting fun themselves.
The exhibition further engages contemporary artists to interpret these complex histories through a modern lens. A newly commissioned LED moving image work by Seoul-based YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES uses AI-generated imagery and text to examine hockey as a Canadian secular religion through the figure of an Asian-Canadian female player. Hong Kong artist Wong Ping’s award-winning animation, Debts in the Wind, uses a surreal golf course and dark humour to explore wealth and access. North Vancouver-based Malaysian artist Felicia Chang presents striking documentary photographs capturing the camaraderie, teamwork, and drive of young female Canadian field hockey players.
Debts in the Wind by Wong Ping. Photo Credits: Julian Fok.
Photographs by Felicia Chang. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
Photographs by Felicia Chang. Photo Credits: Chinese Canadian Museum.
A Time to Celebrate
As the World Cup brings the global stage to our doorstep, Momentum bridges the gap between the games we love and the histories we share. The exhibition offers the community an encouraging space to fully recognise, celebrate, and feel immensely proud of the profound contributions Chinese-Canadians have made, and continue to make, to the Canadian sporting landscape. By bringing these triumphs forward, it serves as a powerful reminder of what is possible, inspiring future generations of athletes to push boundaries and write their own stories into Canada's sporting legacy.
Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports is on view on the ground floor in the Poy Family Gallery through September 5, 2027. In celebration of the FIFA tournament, the museum is offering extended summer hours from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Wednesdays through Sundays, for a limited time through July 19, 2026. To plan your visit and secure your tickets, visit chinesecanadianmuseum.ca.
Photo Credits: Julian Fok.
MORE FROM Fête CHinoise
As FIFA fever sweeps the nation, a dynamic new exhibition at the Chinese Canadian Museum celebrates over a century of grit, greatness, and athletic legacy. “Chinese Canadians have always been part of the game, but rarely part of the story,” notes Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum. This poignant nuance forms the heart of the showcase, which invites visitors to trace over a century of Chinese-Canadian presence in sports. Designed as an electrified, sports bar–inspired space, the Poy Family Gallery presents archival objects, photographic portraits, and newly commissioned moving image works, allowing everyone to explore these beautiful layers of history through different mediums.