Janet Wang

Janet Wang
Born1977 (age 48–49)
OccupationsArtist, educator
Known forExamining Chinese diasporic identity in Canada
Notable workSpotlight: Janet Wang, Vancouver Art Gallery (2024)
Websitehttps://janetwang.com/

Janet Wang (born 1977), is a Canadian visual artist and educator based in Vancouver, British Columbia, known for her work examining Chinese diasporic identity in Canada.

Biography

Janet Wang, born in 1977 as a second-generation immigrant of Chinese descent, completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia and obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Leeds. She is an associate professor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Art Practice

Wang's practice includes sculptural installations, painting, drawing, and new media. Her work examines identity formation by appropriating and challenging social patterns. By drawing on historical canons and everyday traditions, Wang uses familiar elements to connect with viewers.

Wang's new studies and experiments with form emphasize the relationship between historical movements and the present, specifically addressing the exploitation of Chinese immigrants and its broader critique of capitalism. While the public artist-in-residence Irving House, she continued to elaborate on heritage and its potential reorientation towards a decolonial process, drawing from her research on the labour and exploitation of Chinese individuals in Canada.

Wang has participated in numerous residencies, including the Similkameen Artist Residency, ArtStarts, Artscape Gibraltar, Artists for Kids with the North Vancouver School District , Willapa Bay AIR , Good Hart and the Wassaic Project. She has also been recognized with grants from the Vancouver Foundation, BC Arts Council, SSHRC and the Canada Council for the Arts.. Her work is in the collection of Canada Council for Arts' Art Bank.

Exhibitions

2024: Spotlight: Janet Wang, Vancouver Art Gallery

2023: To Exit is to Enter, Evergreen Gallery, Coquitlam

2023: Peep Show, Malaspina Printmakers, Vancouver

2023: Ports of Entry, Sunshine Coast Arts Council, Sechelt

2014: Archetypical, Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver

2007: Inside Out (with Gwenessa Lam) Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond

Public art projects

2023: Irving House Public Art, artist-in-residence, City of New Westminster

2022: Holding Pattern, City Centre Canada Line Station with City of Vancouver Public Art Program

2020: Four Seasons of Movement, Clement Track and Field, City of Richmond

References

  1. ↑ "Faculty Research". ECU. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  2. ↑ "Town + Country: Narratives of Property and Capital". Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  3. ↑ Michael Gurney (February 21, 2023). "Mixed media show at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre examines art of belonging". Coast Reporter. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "Irving House Artists in Residence Talk". New West Museum Archives. July 14, 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  5. ↑ "Janet Wang - Artist for Kids". Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  6. ↑ "Residents Roster". Willapa Bay AiR. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  7. ↑ "Good Hart Announces 2026-27 Artists in Residence". Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  8. ↑ "Wassaic Project". www.wassaicproject.org. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  9. ↑ SSHRC. "Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council -". sshrc-crsh.canada.ca. Archived from the original on 2026-01-13. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  10. ↑ "Janet Wang Ports of Entry". Sun Shine Coast Arts Council. February 10, 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "50th anniversary Art Bank acquisitions". Art Bank.
  12. ↑ "SPOTLIGHT: Janet Wang". Vancouver Gallery. Vancouver Gallery. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  13. ↑ "Janet Wang: To Exit is to Enter". Evergreen Cultural Centre. Evergreen Cultural Centre. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  14. ↑ "Peep Show". Malaspina Printmakers. Malaspina. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  15. ↑ "Janet Wang Ports of Entry". Sunshine Coast Arts Council. Sunshine Coast Arts Council. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  16. ↑ "Archetypical". North Vancouver. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  17. ↑ "VISUAL ARTS LISTINGS". No. P48. The Vancouver Sun. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  18. ↑ "Projects in Progress: Irving House Artist in Residence Pilot". New West City. New West City. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  19. ↑ "Platforms: We Are Here, Live". City of Vancouver. City of Vancouver. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  20. ↑ "Public Art Richmond". Retrieved 10 March 2026.