(L) Ken Lum; (C) Warren Cann; (R) Wayson Choi

 

KEN LUM (born 1956)

Ken Lum was born in Vancouver. He grew up in the Strathcona neighbourhood and began his schooling at Admiral Seymour Elementary. He has gained international recognition for his work as an artist and an educator. He has worked in a number of media including painting, sculpture, and photography. He has held several prestigious teaching positions, and has served in a leadership role on a number of public committees. His awards include the Killam Award for Outstanding Research (1998) and the Distinguished University Professor Award (2003). In 2017, Ken Lum was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

WARREN CANN (born 1950)

Warren Cann was born in Victoria. While attending school in Vancouver, he became interested in electronics and performing in local rock bands. In 1972, he moved to Britain where he became famous as a member of the ‘new wave’ band Ultravox. Cann’s last performance with Ultravox was in July 1985 at the Live Aid Benefit Concert organized to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Cann was one of the first musicians to modify commercial drum machines to override preset commercial programs.

WAYSON CHOY (1939 – 2019)

Wayson Choy was born in Vancouver. He spent his childhood in Vancouver’s Chinatown. After graduating from Gladstone, he studied creative writing at the University of British Columbia. In 1962, he moved to Toronto where he taught at Humber College from 1967 to 2004. His novel, The Jade Pony (1995) won the Trillium Book Award and the City of Vancouver Book Award. His memoir, Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood (1999) dealt in part with his coming to accept that he was gay. In 2005, Choy was named a member of the Order of Canada. In 2009, he published Not Yet: A memoir of Living and Almost Dying.

 

Posted August 10, 2020

 

(Note: the information shown here was gathered via Google searches.)