Edith Kwan

Chinese Culture

I do not have a personal artist statement but here is a reflection. Artists are inspired by a myriad of things. They may be inspired by nature, their surroundings, books they read, magazines, movies, music, travel, emotions, memories, their sketchbook, friends and family members, other artists, and their artworks. To me, nature has played an important role in my art practice. Nature influences me so it has played a vital role in my art practice because my works explore how travel can be part of the study abroad life. Besides, I have inspired myself to make this work. I was born in Hong Kong, so I want to talk about Chinese culture specifically in this photograph. I took this photo in Calgary's Chinatown. My friend is called Tina. Since I study abroad, I want to make a memory and a photo to capture what Calgary is like when talking about Chinese.

Words from the ARTIST

I started my photography art practice when I was in college. As a Hong Kong-born living in Calgary and having experienced different cultures, I talk about my life studying abroad through my art. What interests me is that photography is a way to capture life. Life is busy; I cannot remember every single detail, so I use a camera to take every moment. Through the process of researching and making art, I look at the idea of studying abroad as amusement. The motivation for my current art research and practice is based on two conditions that have largely affected me. The first was when I took a photography course when I first studied abroad in 2020. My first study abroad was in Vancouver. I did not have many friends to go out with, so I just randomly picked up my phone to take photos when I was walking on the streets. This helped me to feel less lonely. This is the time I started to love photography, as the camera is a friend to me when I am walking.

aRTIST bIOGRAPHY

Edith Kwan was born in Hong Kong in 2001. She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. Kwan is studying abroad in the program of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Studies at the University of Calgary, Canada. Kwan pursues photography as her art practice. She is concentrating on taking pictures of places and people, working with these topics because of her desire to share the differences between distinct countries. Kwan has been very involved in the University of Calgary, joining many volunteer initiatives. For instance, from 2022 to 2023, she was the First Year Students' Orientation Leader, Ask Me Program at the Leadership Student Engagement Office. She is the Fire Warden and Wellness Committee (Director of Chair) at Glacier Hall. She is the Mental Health South Asia Off Campus Team Website Artist. She is the Vice of Communications at the Pottery Club, Events committee at the Fashion Network club, and events committee at the Newcomers and International Students at the Graduate Students Association. Lastly, she is the president of the Calgary Chinese Alliance Church.