Some of the exhibition’ s most striking works begin with objects that could easily be overlooked.
Gu’ s Crushed Cans series grew from the culture shock of his early years in Canada. Repeated images of flattened pop cans transform something disposable and mass-produced into something personal, while the large-scale installation gives the familiar imagery an entirely different presence.
Other works expand the conversation beyond Gu’ s own experience.
Yellow Cargo explores globalization and migration through the experiences of migrant workers in Canada. Nearby, a shipping crate references the packages workers send home to their families, filled with practical necessities as well as toys, electronics and other items chosen for loved ones waiting far away.
It is a simple object carrying a much larger idea. Home is not always only the place where you are standing. Sometimes it is also the place you continue to care for from thousands of kilometres away.
Elsewhere at the Museum of Vancouver, the city’ s creative history takes a completely different form.
Press Start: A Vancouver Game History Pop-Up explores Vancouver’ s influence on the global video game industry through local stories, vintage hardware and interactive experiences.
Until November 7th, 2026, visitors can try vintage systems, arcade cabinets and game demos while learning more about how games are created. The exhibition also highlights Vancouver’ s connection to major publishers and independent studios, along with the close relationship between the city’ s gaming, film and visual-effects communities.
For a city whose creative influence is often experienced on a screen rather than recognized as part of its history, Press Start offers a chance to see Vancouver differently: as a place where
ideas developed locally have reached players around the world.
At first glance, Becoming and Press Start have little in common. One is a deeply personal exploration of migration, memory and identity. The other is colourful, interactive and rooted in technology.
Together, they show that a city’ s story does not live only in landmarks or major events.
It can live in a basement staircase, a crushed pop can, a package sent across an ocean, or a game created in Vancouver and played somewhere far away.
Both exhibitions invite visitors to look beyond the objects themselves and consider the people, experiences and ideas behind them. In doing so, they offer a richer way to understand the city: not simply by asking what happened here, but by asking what people came here and created.
Museum of Vancouver, www. museumofvancouver. ca