Vancouver’s iconic Punjabi Market in South Vancouver has served as a cultural hub for decades. Next week, the Punjabi Market Collective will add two new murals that honour the community. Created by artists Jas Nagra And Jessie Sohpaul, the goal of Murals in the Market is to help facilitate storytelling through public art by collaborating with local BIPOC artists, to bring more foot traffic to the market and shine a spotlight on Punjabi Market once again.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

VANCOUVER –Vancouver’s iconic Punjabi Market in South Vancouver has served as a cultural hub for decades. Next week, the Punjabi Market Collective will add two new murals that honour the community.

 The Punjabi Market Collective (formerly known as Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective) will present the 2nd annual Murals in the Market initiative, sponsored and supported by RBC, Orr Development, the City of Vancouver, and Mona Cloth House.

The Punjabi Market Collective is a group of passionate advocates, artists and entrepreneurs who are working towards revitalizing Vancouver’s historic Punjabi Market by beautifying the market and creating a hub for arts and culture. Their goal with Murals in the Market is to help facilitate storytelling through public art by collaborating with local BIPOC artists, to bring more foot traffic to the market and shine a spotlight on Punjabi Market once again.

Punjabi Market was the first of its kind in North America, founded in 1970. From humble beginnings, Main Street transformed into a cultural hub and was home of the first Punjabi-language street signs outside of Asia. It is located along Main Street between 48th and 51st Avenues.

The 2 artists for this year’s murals are:

Jessie Sohpaul is an artist, designer, and the new Creative Director of the Punjabi Market Collective. Sohpaul’s work is heavily influenced by his experience as a first generation born into a Punjabi immigrant family and raised in Canada. Sohpaul draws from street art as well as traditional South Asian visual metaphors and scripts. Working with traditional and digital media, he strives to capture the energy and strength that he grew up around while honouring his Punjabi heritage.

 Jessie says “I hope my mural sparks interest and curiosity in the history of India and British Colonialism. There are a lot of stories and moments that don’t get the spotlight and in my mural I am able to show a glimpse of something from the past through my lens and visual style. Murals give life to the street, make a space visually exciting, and also allows artists to share a story through the mural.”

Mural location will be in the laneway behind All-India Sweets & Restaurant (6560 Main St, Vancouver)

Jag Nagra is the new Vice-Chair of the Punjabi Market Collective and is a queer South Asian visual artist working and raising a family with her wife on the traditional and unceded territory of the Katzie First Nation. She is passionate about community development and ending the stigma against LGBTQ+ people within the South Asian community. Her work has been featured in the public realm throughout Metro Vancouver.

Mural location will be beside Tim Hortons along 49th ave (6501 Main St, Vancouver)

The two murals are slated to be completed by the end of August.  Jessie’s mural will be hand-painted, and Jag’s will be applied as a printed vinyl application.

In addition to Murals, Punjabi Market Collective is proud to present Punjabi Market LIVE in partnership with Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts on August 28, 2-6pm at Main and 49th (in the parking lot behind Tim Hortons). Event will be FREE to enter (with food from food trucks available for purchase). There will be a DJ, Indigenous and South Asian performers, drag queen performance, poetry readings, and fun for the whole family. All ages welcome.