MurmurVancouver.ca
Title
hear you are --- [murmur]
Description
[murmur] is an archival audio project that has collected stories set in specific locations throughout Vancouver's Chinatown. At each of these locations, a [murmur] sign marks the availability of a story with a telephone number and location code. By using a mobile phone, people can listen to the story of that place while engaging in the full physical experience of being there. Some stories suggest that the listener walk around, following a certain path through a place, while others allow a person to wander with both their feet and their gaze. Stories will be available in both English and Chinese.
Since at least 1885, Chinatown has been the center of Chinese life in Vancouver. From the original Chinese labourers who worked in the industries that built the province to the artists, workers, professionals and young people that are moving back into the area, Chinatown contains a wealth of human history that people need to know about.
Walking through Chinatown, it's clear these buildings and alleys are a storehouse of memory and emotion. Yet, as the city progresses and changes, and as people move in and out of the area, these memories are either neglected and undervalued, or kept inside of the heads of people.