Hayashi Studio follows the diverse lives that came to a small town on Vancouver Island in the 1900’s and Senjiro Hayashi, the Japanese photographer who took their photos. Hayashi used his lens to document every race, class and gender. Almost a century later the photos showcase a piece of the Pacific Northwest History rarely seen – that of the diverse and racialized.

This project was inspired by a research trip director Hayley Gray took to Cumberland, BC and by the incredible work that local historians, museums, community members and organizations have been doing to commemorate and educate the public about its rarely seen past as well as the ramifications of historical erasure.