On the west concourse of Rideau Station, behind glass display windows, porcelain plates and crushed cookies turn a busy transit hub into a space for public reflection. Curated by Ashley Carmichael, My Fortune Cookie Says presents a personal and thought-provoking exhibition by Ottawa artist Don Kwan. On view from October 17, 2026, to April 11, 2027, the show occupies Corridor 45|75, a public art gallery operated by the City of Ottawa along the pedestrian concourse. Instead of placing art inside a traditional gallery, this exhibition brings meaningful work directly into the daily path of transit riders.
Don Kwan is a third-generation Chinese-Canadian artist whose practice draws from his experience as a gay East Asian creator to explore identity, family history, and anti-Asian racism. In My Fortune Cookie Says, Kwan pairs ordinary domestic objects, such as mass-produced porcelain plates and broken fortune cookies, with direct statements from recent anti-racism movements, including Proud to be Asian and Racism is a Virus.
The exhibition speaks directly to two United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities and Sustainable Cities and Communities. Displaying artwork centred on Asian diasporic identity, queer lived experience, and anti-Asian racism directly within a high-traffic transit corridor brings marginalized narratives into plain view, addressing the first goal’s call to elevate underrepresented voices in mainstream civic spaces. At the same time, offering free, thought-provoking art inside a subway station turns infrastructure people usually just rush through into an accessible site of cultural connection, which is what the second goal asks of inclusive urban public spaces.
The fortune cookie itself carries a layered cultural story. According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, fortune cookies became widely popular across North America during the 1930s as a free dessert in Chinese restaurants, with early roots tracing back to California. For Kwan, the object also connects directly to his own heritage. His family operated the historic Shanghai Restaurant on Somerset Street in Ottawa’s Chinatown, a long-standing gathering space for food, family, and community.
Framing the exhibition around the question “How may familiar objects be transformed into vessels for public dialogue?” Kwan answers by using household items as tools for subtle resistance. One key work is Spread Love. Not Hate. My Fortune Cookie Says (2025), a photographic image transferred onto a 10-by-10-inch porcelain plate, demonstrates how everyday dishes can carry messages of solidarity and care.
Using ordinary objects to reflect on belonging and social change has long been central to Kwan’s practice. In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, he described how using his art to explore identity and representation helps him navigate both personal and societal challenges. "Art is a way for me to heal but is also a way to reconcile things about homophobia and racism in a broader conversation about what belonging means," Kwan shared.
That ongoing engagement with memory and heritage is reflected across his portfolio. In a 2022 TD Stories profile, he similarly noted that finding a sense of belonging "has been a lifelong struggle" as a queer Chinese-Canadian artist. That profile highlighted works like Fortune (2021), a traditional Chinese lantern featuring family photos transferred onto coloured glass, which now forms part of the Ottawa Art Gallery's permanent collection. Beyond gallery walls, Kwan actively engages with local community histories through initiatives like the Ottawa Chinatown Walking Tour.
A plate usually reaches people at a family table. In My Fortune Cookie Says, it reaches thousands of strangers on their way to a train, turning a routine walk through a subway station into a powerful encounter with community, empathy, and quiet resistance.
My Fortune Cookie Says is on view at Corridor 45|75, Rideau Station, West Concourse, Level 2, through April 11, 2027. Admission is free through the Sussex Drive and Rideau Street entrance.