Pleasant Shimo Featured on the Cover of the Georgia Straight Holiday Gift Guide

There are certain publications you grow up with. You don’t just read them, you absorb them. They quietly shape how you understand a city.

For me, The Georgia Straight was one of those. Long before I ever worked in journalism, it was where I learned about Vancouver’s neighbourhoods, its music venues, its festivals, and its politics. The paper helped me understand the city I was living in.

When I later became a journalist myself, the Georgia Straight became a source of story ideas, context, and community pulse.

So when I received a message from Georgia Straight journalist Vicki Duong asking if Pleasant Shimo would be included in their Holiday Gift Guide photoshoot, I didn’t hesitate. I was thrilled.

I wasn’t in Vancouver at the time of the request so my 21-year-old cousin Sam stepped up, just like he did during the Vancouver Home Show. He handled logistics, made sure the prints arrived safely, and worked with the team on the ground.

As a journalist, I was used to seeing a story through from beginning to end. Knowing the final angle. Seeing the edits. Understanding how it would land. This time was different. I had no previews, no revisions, no visibility. All I could do was trust the editorial process and let go.

A few weeks later I got a message from Vicki. The issue had just been published.

Seeing Pleasant Shimo on the Cover

I immediately texted family and friends, asking them to grab copies if they came across them. When the photos started coming back, it hit me.

Pleasant Shimo was on the cover of the Georgia Straight Holiday Gift Guide.

They chose to feature Mount Pleasant by Amanda Niekamp and Queen Elizabeth Park by Courtney Caroline.

These are artists interpreting places they know deeply, now reaching a much wider audience.

Amanda Niekamp's spent the past decade living and working in Mount Pleasant. While Courtney Caroline has called Queen Elizabeth Park her home since moving to Vancouver.

Amanda spent the past decade living and working in Mount Pleasant. While Courtney Caroline has called Queen Elizabeth Park her home since moving to Vancouver.

Pleasant Shimo meets Bard on the Beach

Another surreal moment: Pleasant Shimo's write-up was next to Bard on the Beach, a Vancouver cultural institution.

"Show off your favourite neighbourhood with a Pleasant Shimo art print, created in collaboration with emerging and underrepresented artists who draw from lived experience. Through field research and thoughtful design, they translate spots like Chinatown, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, and Stanley Park into pieces that feel personal and familiar."

A Full-Circle Moment

The feature was also a reminder of what it feels like to put your work out there without control.

As a journalist, you’re usually behind the lens. This time, Pleasant Shimo was the subject. Exposed, interpreted, and shared. It’s uncomfortable in the right way. Necessary.

Around the same time, we were also included in Vancouver Magazine’s Holiday Wish Book. Two publications that help define Vancouver’s cultural landscape, both choosing to spotlight neighbourhood-based art, local artists, and storytelling rooted in place.

It’s different being on the other side of the page. But if that’s what it takes to spread the word, support artists, and tell neighbourhood stories with care, it’s a position I’m learning to embrace.