Many Words for Tea

Poster transcript

Different names. Different routes. Many ways of sharing tea.

One leaf · many languages · open encounters.

Historical background

Tea words can suggest histories of maritime and overland exchange, but language does not prove a single route by itself. The poster therefore uses dotted paths as an invitation to inquire, not as a definitive trade map.

Curator’s interpretation

Wen Ying’s 和而不同 calligraphy sits at the centre. The many names around it do not become one word, just as Edmonton’s communities do not need to become one culture. The shared table is meaningful because difference remains visible.