Montréal Chinois: The Lost Decades / Les décennies perdues Photography 1945–1960s

This exhibition presents a rarely seen archive of Chinese Canadian life in Montreal from 1945 to the 1960s, drawn from the McCord Stewart Museum. It highlights a generation of self-taught photographers – Arthur Lee, his brother Samuel Lee, their friend Peter Wong, Vancouver-born Chuck Yip, and later Chong Hong Ho – who worked outside institutional frameworks and challenged their community’s erasure from dominant histories.

The Lee brothers’ and Wong’s photographs captured snapshots of tight-knit friendship circles, recording moments at the beach, on ski trips, and in everyday gatherings, offering a rare window into Chinese Canadian life during a period of profound social change. Arthur Lee, the eldest son of early migrants from Toisan, built a life in Montreal through family businesses like Wing Noodles Ltd., while also working with his brother Samuel and close friend Peter Wong to document community life. Chuck Yip, grandson of pioneer Yip Sang, extended this impulse, creating annotated albums and collages layered with travel, memory, and diasporic ties. Later, Chong Hong Ho, who moved from Guangzhou to Manitoba and Arkansas before settling in Montreal, carried this documentary spirit forward, photographing migration, family, and everyday gatherings. Together, their images highlight a distinct sense of style, capturing how Chinese Canadians shaped community life with confidence and flair.

Set against the Quiet Revolution and Beat generation, their portraits, cityscapes, and gatherings reveal Chinese Montrealers as active in cultural transformations. Montréal Chinois reframes cultural memory, highlighting how these photographers captured the everyday life of Chinese Canadian communities in a changing city.

Please note the exhibition dates are October 15, 2025 – May 10, 2026