Art reflects our ever-changing culture and has the ability to shift society's values and views. Racism and injustice have been huge topics during the pandemic, especially in the Asian community, where the anti-Asian racism, discrimination and violence in North America became a harsh reminder that we must stand up against hate.
Read MoreArt reflects our ever-changing culture and has the ability to shift society's values and views. Racism and injustice have been a huge topics during the pandemic, magnified by the heartbreaking discovery of thousands of unmarked childrenís graves at Indigenous residential school sites, the Black Lives Matter movement, and anti-Asian racism, discrimination and violence in North America.
Read MoreArt reflects our ever-changing culture and has the ability to shift society's values and views. Racism and injustice have been a huge topics during the pandemic, magnified by the heartbreaking discovery of thousands of unmarked childrenís graves at Indigenous residential school sites, the Black Lives Matter movement, and anti-Asian racism, discrimination and violence in North America.
Read MoreCultures collide: where art meets game culture and tells a story that doesn't often get heard in Asian cultures. Just in time for Pride Month, read more on what Jasmine Chen, an Asian Canadian leader in theatre, thought about “A Summer’s End - Hong Kong 1986.” It is a breathtaking emotional narrative captured in a visual novel, created by Asian-Canadian game developers Charissa So and Tida Kietsungden. They are the hearts and minds behind Oracle & Bone, an independent game studio in Vancouver.
The story follows Michelle, a buttoned up office worker living in Hong Kong during the heydays of the 1980s. She meets Sam, a free-spirited woman and unconventional entrepreneur, by chance after an incident involving a broken heel. They share a mutual attraction, and the story takes off with emotion and addresses issues of identity not often forged in Chinese culture.
In K BODY AND MIND, you see two women on stage. They are Asian. Their hair and clothing are identical, but they are not twins. What happens when they open their mouths is probably not what you’d expect. Over the three episodes of K BODY AND MIND, you hear these two women voice a whole cast of characters, dozens of background voices, and a dog. Those two women are myself and actor Donna Soares.
Read MoreActing in a movie — that was the dream. In particular, to be able to act in a Chinese film. Being Canadian-born with Chinese ethnicity, that was what I dreamed about as a kid. I wanted to be in the movies that my immigrant parents loved to watch, the ones they made me watch while growing up in Calgary. It was a family weekend ritual that my parents could enjoy to remind them of a home that they missed and that I never really knew. My parents were from Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and decided to move to Canada in hopes my sister and I would be able to go to university here. To be in a movie with actors in those very films we watched at home is still surreal and is something I'm very grateful for.
Read MoreVincent’s name and story is one that isn’t told enough: a young Chinese man beaten to death in Detroit due to anti-Japanese sentiment in 1982, just days before his wedding. The killers apparently assumed Chin was of Japanese descent and are alleged to have used racial slurs as they attacked, as the Japanese were blamed for taking up jobs in the automotive sector at the time. He was chased down and beaten to death by Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, both who were never brought to justice for this cruel and racially-driven murder. They never spent a single day in jail. His murder and the outrage became a pivotal moment in the Asian American Movement.
Read MoreIn this lively one hour event, a panel of celebrated cultural leaders and award winning artists come together to discuss how they've navigated and succeeded in the world of performing arts. Moderator Jasmine Chen will be asking Writer/Director/Musician Romeo Candido, Choreographer/OAYSIS Studios Founder Ming-Bo Lam, and Artistic Leader/Theatre Artist Miriam Fernandes about their journeys in building their own platforms and amplifying the voices of their communities. They will share their insights and experiences in how resilience has enabled them to adapt, particularly during the pandemic, which has threatened the survival of the performing arts industry.
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