A Japanese cultural group in Steveston is donating $2,000 toward a mural and memorial garden at Lord Byng Elementary to highlight the history of the area.
The Steveston Japanese Canadian Cultural Advisory Committee (SJCCA) will give $1,000 toward the school’s mural project and $1,000 toward renewing the Hide Hyodo Memorial Garden, explained the chair of the committee, Kelvin Higo, to Richmond city council on Tuesday.
While the school is named after Lord Byng, also known as Viscount Byng of Vimy, a field marshal in the First World War and later Governor-General of Canada, the school has a deep connection with Steveston’s Japanese community – something that was greatly impacted during the Second World War when Japanese-Canadians were interned and stripped of their possessions, including many fishing boats that were their livelihood.
Hyodo was a school teacher in Steveston who taught at the Japanese school, located next to Lord Byng elementary, until she was interned in 1942.
While interned, she was charged with making sure students at seven internment camps in B.C. were properly educated. Hyodo later received the Order of Canada for this work.
At Tuesday’s parks and recreation meeting, Coun. Bill McNulty suggested working with the school district to get more murals onto the outside walls of schools to show the city’s history.
This was echoed by Coun. Harold Steves who said he’d like to see murals on all schools in Richmond to reflect the history of the city instead of the “big blank walls” that many schools currently have, adding “art should always tell a story.”
“It would be really something if every school had a mural on it,” Steves said.
Five murals will be painted in Richmond in 2022. In addition to the one at Lord Byng elementary, there will be murals at Maple Lane elementary, Garden City elementary, the Steveston Harbour Authority and Hayer Demolition on Mitchell Island.
The chosen artists, Erica Phillips and Madeleine Phillips, for the Lord Byng mural will work with students and the Steveston Japanese community to decide on themes of diversity and inclusion for the mural.
The city is contributing $1,800 toward the Lord Byng mural and the school is contributing another $1,000.
