This page is for the "Same, Same but Different" Language, Art & Culture Exhibition, May 2024.

This project is for the Artist Residency Program at the Omineca Arts Centre with Artist & Second Language Teacher Cherie Chai from Speak Write Academy.

Click on a phrase to learn how to say it in many languages.

  1. What is your name?
  2. Hello, how are you?
  3. Did you sleep well?
  4. Have you eaten?
  5. What do you like to do in your free time?
  6. What will you be wearing today?
  7. Where will you be going today?
  8. Bye!

Link to the Name Song (Background music for the exhibition.) Please let Omineca staff know if you would like the Name Song to be played in the background for you as you go through the exhibition.

Artist's Biography and Exhibition Description

Cherie Chai is an artist and language teacher from Speak Write Academy who is passionate about using art to fight racism and discrimination. This language, culture & art exhibition titled “Same, Same but Different” aims to provide participants with an insight into various cultures via 39 languages, photos and items on display. Similar to how fresh flowers are hung upside down to air dry for the purposes of preservation, Cherie pasted various kinds of flowers upside down on the wall to symbolize the linguistic diversity and importance of language preservation. To show how language is tied to identity and to fight the fear of names in a foreign language, Cherie created the Name Song as the background music for the exhibition. The Name Song consists of the names in various languages, Indigenous drum beat to represent heartbeat, Zen music and calming water sounds.

Acknowledgements

It takes a collective effort to fight racism and discrimination, hence, Cherie would like to acknowledge the following people/groups for their contribution towards this exhibition: