The Liu Lobby Gallery invites you to the latest exhibition in the series Roots and Reflections: On Personal and Collective Identity. Weaving Belonging: Stories from Unceded Territories features artwork by Aaniya Asrani co-created in conversation with Antje Ellermann, Chief Janice George, Elmir lsmayilov, Gloria Tsui, Sussan Yanez, Valentina Voloshko and Willard ‘Buddy’ Joseph. Visit the gallery during its open hours from May 1 – July 11, and be sure to join us for the closing reception on July 10 to participate in an activation of the artwork.
Exhibition: May 1 – July 11
Closing Reception: July 10
Curated by Ellinee Nelson
About the Exhibition:
Weaving Belonging explores and questions social belonging in Vancouver, a place shaped by ongoing settler colonialism. Bringing together a range of perspectives—Indigenous folks rooted in this land and those from distant shores, immigrants seeking new beginnings, generational settlers, and refugees in search of sanctuary—the exhibition negotiates aspects of identity, history and our shared existence on these stolen lands.
This work extends from storytelling sessions Aaniya Asrani facilitated around reconciliation, community care, and shared responsibility on unceded territories. Each collaborator created their own drawing while sharing their stories and Asrani created a drawing in response. The small prints on view represent these individual drawings, while the larger prints reflect the blending of the two. Together, they grapple with personal and collective connections, weaving fragments of their histories, identities, and lived experiences into a collective “placemat of belonging.” This process highlights the fluidity of identity and the interconnectedness of our realities, emphasizing that belonging is continuously redefined through relationships and dialogue.
Weaving Belonging challenges viewers to reflect on their positionality and invites them to engage actively in reshaping their understanding of identity and belonging.
To listen to the storytelling sessions click here
Artist Bio:
Aaniya Asrani (b. 1992) is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and visual storyteller from Bangalore, India. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication from the Srishti Institute of Art, Design, and Technology (2014) and a Master of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University (2019), where she also taught as sessional faculty.
Asrani’s practice focuses on exploring social and cultural systems through community-based art, workshops, and design projects. Based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, her work aims to create opportunities for dialogue, connection, and shared understanding across diverse communities.
She serves as the Lead Community Artist at posAbilities, where she is shaping an inclusive artist collective, and leads Neighbourhood Organizing, a Vancouver Coastal Health-funded initiative bridging social divides. Asrani is also a published children’s book author and illustrator, expanding her impact across creative disciplines.
Acknowledgements:
The work in this exhibition was created as part of the Belonging in Unceded Territory project. This project was initiated by UBC’s Centre for Migration Studies to bring settler colonialism into the centre of conversations on social belonging in Vancouver. The dialogue sessions facilitated by Aaniya Asrani at Immigrant Services Society of BC as part of this project, aimed to address these questions and served as the inspiration for her artist residency with STEPS Public Art.
This work is generously supported by STEPS Public Art, UBC’s Centre for Migration Studies, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Bridging Divides, and Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House.
Important Links:
Storytelling sessions: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rHb4-jFkGOAMR3hBRzTAwy6vpga3I0D5
Belonging in Unceded Territory project:
https://migration.ubc.ca/research/faculty-research-projects/belonging-in-unceded-territory/
