On September 16th, I visited the media preview for the Tombolo (tuhm-Bo-low) Make-Believe Mall, a whimsical pop-up children’s art gallery nested in East Vancouver’s neighbourhood Kingsgate Mall (102–370 East Broadway Street, with two hours of free parking). Covered by over 250 art pieces by children age 2-12, the venue transforms into a storybook experience. This is Anita Cheung and Ryleah Resler’s third year hosting Tombolo, an art gallery for “the young and young at heart,” and this year’s exhibition is their most public-facing one. Tombolo is a word used to describe “a strip of land that connects two larger areas of land (one which is often an island).” Anita (the artist, illustrator, and designer) and Ryleah (the experiential designer and brand activator) collaborate to create a shared space between the worlds of children and adults.

From the Grocery Store to the Toy Store, and to the Flower Shoppe, young artists unleash their imagination and deliver versions of their dream shops. Walking through the venue felt like rifting through a vibrant, colourful storybook, the categories pre-established by Anita and Ryleah, with each “page” being a cohesive storefront with different activities. In the pet store section, tiny drawings of octopus cats, flying seahorse, turtle carrying a basket, and other imaginary creatures materialize on the ‘Adopt A Pet’ wall. From ‘The Animal Hotel’ (in additional to a kitten hotel) to ‘The Dragon Store,’ animals are undoubtedly a fundamental part of young artists’ imagination.

Contrary to the quiet, sterile atmosphere of adult art galleries, Anita and Ryleah prioritize interactivity, aiming for the space to be “as fun as the art residing inside.” Their vision and expertise in design shine through as children point their fingers to and chat about kittens, plants, and rocks in the paintings, pull out a Jenga piece, and hold up candy bracelets to for their parents to see. Even though the gallery is not larger than a retail store, I spent almost 90 minutes in there, making bouquets, designing a bracelet, and admiring all the lovely art pieces by young local artists.

As a reader and writer, my eyes were immediately drawn to the bookstore, where a decently-sized children’s books collection line the shelves. Quickly, though, the white board with word magnets captured my attention. Children and adults are welcome to arrange words into funny phrases, dialogues, or even poems, to leave behind messages for others. Personally, I put “midnight spaghetti probably genius,” though I prefer the existent phrases: “Stay lovely mushroom / you are not ordinary / excellent dinner” (feels like a haiku!) and “Yikes! A big frog friend / beautiful. Enormous neighbour / perfect disco pants.”

The Flower Shoppe is a beloved spot with fresh-cut flowers you could arrange into a bouquet with complimentary multi-colour threads and kids’ scissors. Naturally, the corner is adorned with artwork like ‘My Flower Shoppe,’ which features an arrangement of dry flowers, paper flowers, and bracelet beats bouquet, with the young artist saying, “All are welcome and we love to give people beautiful flowers to fill their space with!” The sponsor, Anna from Mini Atelier, a new creative studio for young children (age 18 months to 5 five years), offers complimentary preview sections for families. The Toy Store serves as a cozy, comforting corner, where children play board games — including a giant Jenga, because who doesn’t love a giant Jenga — and snuggle with a giant teddy bear in the corner. The Candy Shoppe, the most popular designation by the children in attendance, of course, shows off glass jars holding assortments of beads, letters, and strings, and table and chairs for children and adults to sit and make bracelets, necklaces, keychains, and other accessories.

No mall is completed without a photo booth. In the back, a private photo booth—also covered with various art pieces—provides an opportunity for families to commemorate their day. Next to it is The Vault, a booth presented by Tombolo’s title sponsor Wealthsimple, by giant loonies and toonies alongside booklets that teach children about the concept of money, titled ‘Carrots Can Wait.’ Money is not the centre of the young artists’ imagination of shops, since few of them mark the “merchandise” with prices, with a couple of exceptions. A friend comments that ‘Julian’s Candy Shop’ charges from $10 to $31.25 for a piece, which is definitely “Vancouver price.”

Besides all of the activities that allow people to linger at all the various shops, the artworks are the centrepiece of the gallery. Some of my favourite titles include ‘Glitter Diamond Robot Kittens for Sale,’ an acrylic painting ‘Piper Peridot’s Potion Shop,’ and ‘Talking to Plants Store,’ where artist E. mentions that “If you feel lonely all you have to do is come here and they will keep you company.” My partner’s favourite is ‘Pizza Dream,’ a shop designed on a pizza box, that wisely advises us: “The next time you eat pizza save the box and make art.” A box of little cakes made of play dough, all intricately and colourfully decorated, also wins the most appetizing award.

As someone who is just getting back into multi-media and interdisciplinary art, this gallery serves as a timely reminder that art is only limited by play and imagination for children. We all used to combine and experiment with multiple art forms as children. I am awestruck by the materials the young artists incorporate in their works: paper, crayons, play dough, strings, sea shells, Legos and so on. ‘The Dinosaur Rainbow Toy Store’ is made with holographic cardstock, and a disco shop is made from tiny pieces of mirror tiles and clay. From the cute critter crew on Rainbowland to ‘Pet Rock Shop’ that allows you to adopt a pet rock to take on walks to ‘Animal Rescue Centre Mall’ made from colour-coordinated Lego pieces, young artists use a variety of materials to design wholesome creatures. ‘Julian’s Candy Shop’ uses cotton to make cotton candies and googly eyes to make Monster lollipop, and rocks became ladybugs, mushrooms, and geese in ‘Rock Beach Animals for Sales.’

Tombolo allows you to glimpse into the complexity and love in a child’s imagination. I am moved by a piece title ‘Everything Food Restaurant,’ where the artist states, “You are probably wondering why there is a witch. It is because my grandma is a witch and I named her terewitchy. She is a good witch and she makes everything you can imagine when you are hungry.” From a poet’s perspective, I am also amazed by how one young artist plays with mishearing (“Mondegreen”) in ‘Imaginary Mail’: “I was thinking about Imaginary Mall and how it sounds like Imaginary Mail so I was inspired to create a little post office for our mail.” This exhibition gives me a reason to slow down, to build something with my hands, and to cherish the creativity of young artists.

After perusing artworks, a visitor may write postcards to young artists in the “Love Letter” section, giving back by encouraging them to keep creating and boosting the magic for these young artists of seeing their art on a big stage.

The Tombolo Make-Believe Mall will be available and open to the public until September 27th. Please check their website for hours; they offer extended hours adjusted for Pro-D days in school districts. The tickets are $8 for children and $15 for adults, inclusive of the gallery, interactive “stories,” and the art- and craft-making stations. Tombolo recommend pre-booking tickets online, through walk-in options might be available.

Anita and Ryleah can’t wait to see where Tombolo will go and daydream about future ways to be immersed in children’s art. You can follow along their journey on Instagram @tombologallery.

Ocean Wei (he/him) is a poet and speculative fiction writer currently residing on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ peoples as he pursues an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. He is an alum of the Lambda Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices and the McCormack Writing Center’s (formerly Tin House) Speculative Online Workshop. His works have appeared in Brevity, Laurel Moon, Stone of Madness Press, en*gendered lit, and more.

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Come wander, come wonder: Tombolo “Make-Believe Mall”