Award for Placemaking Design
Award Sponsor: Entro
Winner: Veronika Kansaka
Winning Project: A Strange Land We Call Home - Koryo-saram of Sakhalin Island
Award Sponsor: Entro; School: Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Richmond, BC; Educator Suport: John Belisle & Michael Cober
The main intended audiences are local Korean-Canadians, British Columbians and communities seeking deeper connections with their roots, their own stories of migration or displacement or a greater understanding of Korean diaspora history outside of Korea and North America. Secondary audiences include academics, students and the Museum-going public.
“A Strange Land We Call Home” is rooted in the designer’s family history, passed down from grandparents and great-grandparents. In the 1940s, the designer’s great-grandparents were among the 150,000 Koreans (Koryo-saram) forcibly relocated by the Japanese military to Sakhalin Island, Russia. Torn from their homes, they endured harsh conditions as labourers in coal mines and timber operations during WWII. After the war, Japanese civilians were sent home, but Koreans were promised a steamboat that never came. Stranded in a foreign land, thousands—including the designer’s family—lived out their lives far from home. Many never returned. The exhibition honours the Koryo-saram by sharing stories of survival. Its identity draws from the Dojang (personal seal) as a symbol of belonging, with muted tones for hardship, vibrant pinks for hope and blurred imagery for life between two worlds.
Honourable Mentions
- High Line Canal by Gisoo Kang, Seneca Polytechnic, Toronto, ON
- Behind the Screens by Hannah Lord, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford BC
- Good Grief by Andrea May, George Brown College, Toronto, ON
- Buffalo Bayou Park Experiential Design by Maika (Nguyen) Nguyen, Seneca Polytechnic, Toronto ON
- Amongst The Shadows by Oleksandra Polska, Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Richmond, BC
Judges
- Loren Aytona Arena, Senior Designer at Entro, Vancouver, BC
- Jennifer Cook, Director of Communication Design at HCMA, Vancouver, BC
- Blair Francey RGD, Senior Designer @ Trajectory Brands Inc, Toronto, ON
- Arun Rajendran RGD, Wayfinding Designer at Fathom Studio, Halifax, NS
- Katie Wilhelm RGD, Indigenous Designer and Consultant at katiewilhelm.design, London, ON
