Artist Statement

My artistic journey began with the learning of Chinese brush painting in 1994 as I looked for a new aspect of life related to my roots. I was inspired by this art form using unique brush strokes in its expression of nature. From there, I explored with other media such as encaustic, acrylic, and collage. By joining several artist groups have given me the opportunity and encouragement to create and participate in numerous venues, locally and oversea, such as Spain and China. At present, my focus is creating artwork that reflects our surroundings and everyday life. Having lived in British Columbia for most of my life, its beautiful surroundings become my source of inspirations. In my work, I strived to capture the light and colors of nature with a sense of peace and spontaneity.

Learning Other Culture through Arts

Chinese painting, Calligraphy, poetry are closely linked, and are considered high form of Chinese Art History. These art form use the same brushes, Chinese ink and brush strokes. The technique involved holding the brush, whether upright or slanted, brush strokes movement, whether quick to slow, plus the amount of pressure applied, form the unique brush strokes in calligraphy and drawing.

The brush strokes expression encourages imaginations and artistic expressions. Composing a painting is much like poetry and very often they are presented together in the artwork with calligraphy. This creative process with the involvement of mind and thoughts is much like meditation which is known for its benefit in our health and wellbeing.

www.eileenfong.com

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Artist Biography

Eileen Fong
Tel: (604) 432-1341
Cell: (778) 230-1802
E-mail: eileenfong.art@gmail.com
Web Page: www.eileenfong.com

Eileen was born in China, raised in Hong Kong and then immigrated to Canada in 1968. After graduating from the B.C. Institute of Technology, Eileen began working in the field of health. Because she wanted to explore a new aspect of life and something related to her roots, she began studying Chinese brush painting in 1994, learning from several master painters throughout the years. Her love of nature coincides with the beautiful expressions of nature revealed in this art form. As a member of several local art organizations, Eileen has participated in many juried group shows locally and oversea. She has taught Chinese brush paintings with the community centers and presented workshop with the Teachers Conference. In 2014, Eileen participated in a cultural exchange group exhibition in Guiyang, China. She self-published the book, “An Exploration of Chinese Watermedia” and illustrated a Children book of a Japanese Folktale, “The Dream Jar”.

Awards, selected:
2021 Jun, “Climb Every Mountain with Much Happiness,” 2nd Place, Post-Pandemic World Exhibition, Semiahmoo Arts Society, B.C.
2020 Dec. “Winter Berries in the Snow,” Honorable mention, Christmas Exhibition, Surrey Arts Council, B.C.
2013 Mar, “The Golden Touch,” Award of excellence, Federation of Canadian Artists
2011 Nov, “Paradise,” People’s Choice Award, Best of the Year Show, White Rock Community Centre, B.C.
2011 Aug., “Along the Country Lane,” Award of distinction, Oil and Water, Gallery, 1710, B.C.
2011 Mar, “From Near to Far,” Honorable mention, ArtsPacific, Delta Arts Council, B.C.

Eileen Fong
Tel: (604) 432-1341
Cell: (778) 230-1802
E-mail: eileenfong.art@gmail.com
Web Page: www.eileenfong.com

The CanAsian National Digital Platform is being created to improve the representation of Canadian artists of Asian origin on a national scale, while facilitating exchanges between artists as well as with the cultural industry. The project is looking to hear from Canadian Asian Artists to help develop the platform that will be a free one-stop hub for everything connected to Canadian Asian (CanAsian) arts, culture and heritage. Fill out this 10-minute survey here to help out and voice your opinions!

The project also has free virtual conversations until September 3rd for Canadian Asian Artists to come give their input. Learn more about these conversations here.

To improve the representation of Canadian artists of Asian origin while facilitating exchanges between artists as well as with the cultural industry, a national digital platform is being created. This project is evolving under the supervision of a multicultural, multidisciplinary and pan-Canadian council. Funded with a major grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, this tool is the result of objectives set during the second edition of the Symposium in 2020.

These community conversations, led by Shawn Tse, help shape the project itself to better serve the asian canadian community.

Event focus: The Artists’ Portfolio (visibility and promotion)
Tickets

• What key information would you want to share and also see on other artists’ portfolios?
• How is the artist content communicated and what can we do to reduce harm on the platform? For example, if the artist doesn’t identify with any of our categories for ‘field of practice’ how does the platform recognize new practices?
• Do you have any preferences on the searchability/privacy of your portfolio?
• Will there by automatically a random generated weekly featured members?
• Randomly generated weekly featured new members?
• Randomly generated calendar of upcoming events or will there be a constant calendar or what’s coming in the next week?
• Do members voluntarily sign up to host sessions of conversations?
• Who should be contributing to a blog, newsletter, etc. if we have one?
• How would they like to use this site to build community? For example, those who do not like to promote themselves- will there be a place where people can showcase other talent they discover?

Event focus: Community Values (Social justice, decolonization, intersectionality, community care, sustainability)
Tickets

• What arts community issues need to be addressed now?
• What would we like to see featured so the content can be created? For example, norms of practice/equity rates, blogs on stress management, etc.
• How to combat systemic racism, model minority myth, and reduce discrimination on a new platform?
• Every province and city has a different approach, resources, experience, and capacity to address social issues. What are some ways that this platform can help encourage our diverse communities to support each others’ needs?
• How do we engage with the theme of decolonization? For example, communication, land acknowledgement, intercultural learning, collaborating with Indigenous, Black, and marginalized communities
• What are funding strategies that the community is comfortable with? Operational grants, corporate sponsorship, academic collaboration, fundraising, etc.

Event focus: Accessing the Digital Platform
Tickets

• What are some concerns you may have to access this platform?
• What are some barriers you currently have in your arts practice that you think this platform can help improve?
• In surveys artists preferred a clean, minimalist aesthetic. Should content be nested or do people prefer longer form webpages?
• What does the community want to see aesthetically to reflect their reality? Are their colours, images, or feelings the branding of the website should evoke?

Event focus: Artist Resources
Tickets

• What type of resources are most needed? (tips for grant writing, arts opportunities, mentorships, residencies, arts research, etc)
• How does the community want to be involved in inputting opportunities, calendars, residencies they find, job posting, etc.?
• What is an effective way to present all this information?
• If we were to create interactive content for this resource section, how often should we have this content?

Event focus: Artist Resources
Tickets

• What type of resources are most needed? (tips for grant writing, arts opportunities, mentorships, residencies, arts research, etc)
• How does the community want to be involved in inputting opportunities, calendars, residencies they find, job posting, etc.?
• What is an effective way to present all this information?
• If we were to create interactive content for this resource section, how often should we have this content?

Asian Persuasion All Stars is a collective of Vancouver-based Asian and non-Asian indie rock musicians who joined forces to combat the rise in Anti-Asian racism in Metro Vancouver during the COVID-19 pandemic. They recently released a cover of the ska classic, “Racist Friend,” originally by the Special AKA in 1984. The song is subtitled “Felix Fung King Kong mix” as it was mixed by notable local producer Felix Fung (Sunday Morning, Girlfriends & Boyfriends, Rich Hope, Stephen Hamm – Theremin Man, and many others), and the “King Kong” part is a tribute to Leslie Kong, a Chinese-Jamaican record producer from the 1960s and early 1970s who was a huge influence on the creation of reggae. Kong produced Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites” as well as early Bob Marley and the Wailers and Toots and the Maytals records.

“Racist Friend” is currently available for download from Bandcamp and can be heard on all streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. All proceeds from downloads and streams will go toward supporting Elimin8hate (elimin8hate.org), a Vancouver organization working to interrupt, dismantle and eliminate anti-Asian racism at all levels through an approach that affects change via education, media representation, policy changes and community organizing.

The members of Asian Persuasion All Stars (along with the bands that they are in) are:

Tony Lee – drums, percussion, vocals (Kele Fleming, EddyD and the Sexbombs, The New Black., Hard Rock Miners)

Eric Lowe – drums, vocals (The Vanrays)

Tim Chan – guitar, vocals (China Syndrome, Pill Squad)

Tamla Mah – vocals (Abel Collective)

Ron Yamauchi – vocals, keyboards (Kele Fleming)

Brooke Fujiyama – vocals (The Shit Talkers, Swimming Hammers)

Mike Chang – bass (China Syndrome)

Gabe Ng – bass (Abel Collective, Eye Bender)

Brian Minato – bass (Slip~Ons, the Deep Cove, formerly Sarah MacLachlan)

Ashton Sweet – flugelhorn, baritone sax (Balkan Shmalkan, Babyface Brass, and five others!)

Kevin Tang – trombone (Camaro 67, Big Easy Funk Ensemble)

Greg Hathaway – vocals (Roots Roundup, Hathaway Brothers)

Norine Braun – vocals (Norine Braun and Alice Fraser)

Felix Fung – producer (Sunday Morning and producer of many others!)

Asian Persuasion All Stars Fundraiser Show- September 19 @ Lanalou’s

The video for “Racist Friend” premieres on Friday, August 20 at noon, and the band will be making their live performance debut at LanaLou’s on Sunday, September 19, 7pm. Also on the bill will be China Syndrome, Norine Braun and Alice Fraser, Swimming Hammers, and the Hathaway Brothers. Advance tickets for the show are available through the link below.

Artist Statement

I have had a passion for painting, a love of nature and a deep commitment to uplifting humanity, since I was a young child. As I got older, I realized that the world was not always a safe place and it has been crucial to my development as an artist to speak to oppression in all of its guises through the language I know best which is creative expression. Colour, line, form and the dream-like state we call reality is translated into the words that speak louder than words and it is in the making of art that healing may be found. Those who gaze upon my work will see what they want to see but perhaps they will share with me a nuance of the exile and forced migration I came to know as a seeker of freedom. I stand in solidarity with the lineage of all those who have been marginalized and oppressed. May my aching heart speak to you as deeply as the world’s anguish over our precarious existence on this planet speaks to me. May all beings find their way home.

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My name is Behzad Mohajer and I was born in Iranian Kurdistan in 1973. Painting and drawing from an early age, and inspired by a family member who was a well-respected artist, I was accepted into an Art Academy. My work was soon noted and stood out with a distinct style that was my own. 

After graduating from college, I developed my craft more fully and sustained my work by securing a job as a children’s art teacher. It was during the process of witnessing budding young artists that I soon recognized the therapeutic value of the exquisite discipline that I loved. I saw the transformative power that was the synergy between art expression and the children who were my students – primarily those who had survived the refugee experience in war-torn Kurdish territories. Even with limited resources, the healing power of expressive arts was apparent. 

Being an artist in a troubled country was not easy- especially finding oneself as a marginalized Kurd. The pressure that attempted to censor my creative actualization was in conflict with that which was so vital to my existence: art is life, art is breathing and it sustained me, transcending any fear of persecution.

In 1996 my entire oeuvre -my life’s work- was destroyed and I was prohibited from expressing myself: completely deprived of my liberty. By 1998, I was still threatened and my life was in danger.  I had no choice but to find a way to seek asylum which ended up being a 7 year process of waiting for the United Nations to finally resettle me in Canada. During this time, I managed to create under extraordinarily challenging circumstances. I remained an artist and a cartoonist despite it all.

I had extraordinary adventures and found myself unexpectedly working with both a Turkish and a European caricaturist: collaborating with them on different pieces.  I participated in several exhibitions in Turkey and Europe and because of my extensive involvement, I continued to receive threats from those who would seek to silence me. 

Exhibitions:

• 1990, Group exhibition  Private Gallery, Bukan, Kurdistan (also known as West Azerbaijan Province, Iran) 
• 1990, Group exhibition , Bukan Art Centre, Bukan, Kurdistan 
• 1991, Biennial group exhibition  Urmia, Azerbaijan, Iran
• 1992, Group exhibition , Saqqez, Kurdistan, (also known as Kurdistan Province, Iran)
• 1993, Group exhibition  Mahabad, Kurdistan, (also known as West Azerbaijan Province, Iran)
• 1994, Individual exhibition Bukan, Kurdistan
• 1995, Kurdish Artist Group exhibition  Sanandaj, Kurdistan (also known as Kurdistan Province, Iran) 
• 1995, Group exhibition  Halabja, Kurdistan region of Iraq 
• 1996, Individual street exhibition  Bukan, Kurdistan
• 1996, Group street exhibition, Bukan, Kurdistan,
• 2000, Group exhibition, Turkey 
• 2002, Group cartoon exhibition, Romania
• 2003, Individual caricature exhibition, Turkey 
• 2004, Group exhibition, Mehregan Festival, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 
• 2005, Individual painting exhibition, Turkey

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Kimberly Leong is a freelance illustrator, concept artist, and comic artist based in Metro Vancouver. She received her BFA in Illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in the year 2018. Born and raised in Malaysia, she moved to Canada in 2010 and is enjoying her life as an artist.

With a strong passion for story telling, much of Kimberly’s practice revolves around narrative illustrations, world building, and comics. Besides running her personal store and freelance client work, Kimberly dedicates most of her time to her original comic projects, with her current story titled “S Corp”, an action fantasy story, being her primary focus. She particularly enjoys exploring narratives that revolve around personal growth, overcoming hardships, and concepts of family. As a passionate lover of art you’ll rarely find her doing anything other than drawing. 

Social media links:

Portfolio / Twitter / Instagram / Store

Paul Wong Projects is partnering with the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Art and Leisure, and the Alternative Pride Festival to throw the Pride in Chinatown Garden Party on July 31st.

They are styling this event as a late-afternoon early evening “tea dance” with an ambience of music, dance, bar and performances, new tech vibes, and visual art installations. This is an inclusive event that celebrates Pan-Asian queer, energy, creativity and visibility . Listen to music, dance and gather in the spacious central courtyard or go into park trails and walk amongst the giant black bamboo groves and waterways or enter into the spectacular Classical Chinese gardens of ancient rock formations and heritage pavilions based on architectural designs from 400 years ago.

DJs playing on a custom install PK sound system ’til sunset!
Yu Su
HainafromChina (Normie Corp)
fagofcolour (Normie Corp)

Performances by
Kara Juku

Hosted by
Lyle Chan

Visual Art Installation
Rivers Have Mouths in the Hall of One Hundred Rivers

Created by
Paul Wong
On Main

prideinchinatown.com

Artist Statement:

Sigrid Gong is an emerging contemporary oil painter who explores the relationship between spirituality and her Asian heritage. Her vivid colour palette, carefully curated composition, and meticulous detail illustrate a greater sense of depth while simultaneously creating a space for tranquility for the viewer.

Although the subject of Gong’s work is chosen with Buddhist  imagery, Gong’s
intention is not to preach about any specific religion, but rather to evoke a place of enlightenment and serenity deep inside every viewer’s heart.

Biography:

Sigrid Gong is an emerging contemporary oil painter who explores the relationship between spirituality and her Asian heritage. Her vivid colour palette, carefully curated composition, and meticulous detail illustrate a greater sense of depth while simultaneously creating a space for tranquility for the viewer. Although the subject of Gong’s work is chosen with Buddhist  imagery, Gong’s intention is not to preach about any specific religion, but rather to evoke a place of enlightenment and serenity deep inside every viewer’s heart.

Gong graduated with a Bachelor of Design from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and a certificate of fine arts from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Over the years, Gong has worked as an interior designer and an art advisor in both Canada and China, while working on mostly commissioned pieces in her spare time. Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gong received a calling to create a new series entitled Fifth Dimension.  promotes spiritual ascension in the context of dimension through her artistic expression. The featured piece “Oh My Buddha” acts as an anchor piece for this ongoing series.  

Oh My Buddha, the first piece of a new series Fifth Dimension promotes spiritual ascension in the context of dimension through Gong’s artistic expression. Oh My Buddha acts as an anchor piece for this ongoing series which stemmed from Gong’s previous series Infinite Galaxies. 

Galaxy 1 from Gong’s Infinite Galaxies series, illustrates Gong’s understanding of the physical and spiritual transcendence in the modern world. Serving as a key piece of this series, Galaxy 1 demonstrates Gong’s unique method of colour application to convey the collision of stardust from two merging galaxies.  Galaxy 1 illuminates Gong’s exploration of the indefinite universe.

Galaxy 2 is the second piece from Gong’s Infinite Galaxies series. Gong’s brush work reimagines the sense of movement that occurred from a growing galaxy from millions of light years away. Gong’s fascination with space is a center point in Infinite Galaxies and prompts the viewer to reexamine the meaning of togetherness. 

time & place features past works by female Indigenous artists Zoe Cire and Savanna Todd. The works presented explore the artists’ relationship between the earth, history and identity. Explored through various mediums, Cire and Todd foster a shared space where human life and ecological life are interdependent. This symbiotic relationship between people and nature encourages dialogue where a cultural exchange can occur, creating moments of community. Drawing inspiration from their indigenous backgrounds each featured artist offers a unique perspective into their own histories through materiality. time & place inquires the relationship of self with the earth and the movement and exchange of cultural memories that are found within.

explorASIAN Festival is hosted and largely attended on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land and shared territories of the s?wxw? ú7mesh (Squamish), the selí?lw? itulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and the xwm??kw?y??m (Musqueam) nations in the city colonially known as Vancouver. We as an organization have a responsibility to honor the ancestors of this land and the continual stewardship enacted by the host nations: the xwm??kw?y??m, the s?wxw? ú7mesh, and the selí? lw? itulh. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity and privilege of living and working on these lands.

artist statement: Zoe Cire

Cire has conversations that are expressed through forms of painting, beading and textile work. These works gather materials in a shared space, and encourage dialogue and dance of identity, where the material construction and presence of these pieces derive from sharings and passings on. Her works house the color, shapes and sounds that make up the moments of community. With a focus on the terrains of materiality and association, Cire’s Practice speaks with language and memoryscapes, where it can be found, and what it says when it reaches.

artist biography: Zoe Cire

Zoe Cire is a visual artist born and raised on Treaty 6 territory of central Alberta, currently residing as a guest on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. Cire is an amalgam of Cree, Métis descent through her maternal side and mixed European paternally. Cire’s works talk with the culture that raised her, her kookum’s Cree lineage of Beaver Lake Cree Nation and mushoom’s Métis lineage. Cire completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts and minored in Curatorial Studies from Emily Carr University. Upon graduation, Cire was awarded the Vancouver Art Attack Award where she went on to have a solo exhibition, Berrypicker (South Main Art Gallery). Since then, she has exhibited in Discovery (Seymour Art Gallery) and
tântê ê-wî-itohtêyahk (Deer Lake Gallery).

artist contact: Zoe Cire

www.zoecire.com

@zoeanncardinalcire

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artist statement: Savanna Todd

Savanna Todd made these these three paintings in tandem with each other during the beginning of the pandemic after having recently moved into a new suite in her house. With her space empty and some time to herself, she decided to explore her relationship to the earth and history through her perspective as an Indigenous person living in a city. These works are comprised of acrylic on canvas and depict a meditative exploration of similarities that can be found in nature, as well as the artist’s relationship to herself. Antlers, roots, branches and veins all act as a connective tissue between our bodies and the earth. The artist hopes that in creating and showcasing these works, her audience can take a moment to contemplate how we are all connected and must treat the earth with the same respect we want our bodies to be treated.

artist biography: Savanna Todd

Savanna Todd is a painter, illustrator and beader based in unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories (Vancouver, British Columbia). Savanna Todd is a recent graduate with their BFA in illustration at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Savanna Todd’s work brings a decolonial perspective to other-worldly atmospheres. The artist draws from their own background as Cree-Métis. Their people are from Saint Paul de Métis Settlement Alberta, and originated in the Red River Settlement and White Fish Lake First Nation, with family ties to the Turtle Mountain Chippewa.

For art related inquiries, email Savanna Todd at savannamtodd@gmail.com

artist contact: Savanna Todd

savannamtodd@gmail.com

www.savannatoddart.com

@savanna.todd.art

The news of the first remains found of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops, BC on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation territory sadly reminds us that history not only includes achievement and pride but tragedy and sorrow. The continued discovery of more remains across British Columbia is a stark reminder of the systemic racism that has been faced by Indigenous peoples throughout Canadian history. These events are not limited to history but are a living personal and intergenerational traumas that many of our neighbours, friends and family face today.

As June marks National Indigenous History Month, we renew our stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples across Canada as they face the trauma caused by the Canadian government and the Church not only through residential schools but through any forms of colonialism, systemic racism or violence. We as an organization have a responsibility to the ancestors of this land to do better: to continue to address, promote understanding and create change to improve the situation of the Indigenous peoples today. We realize that when the past is forgotten, it is repeated.

Resources and services for Indigenous people and places to donate to support reconciliation:

The survivors’ crisis line is open 24 hours a day & 7 days a week: 1-800–721–0066
Native Women’s Association of Canada: www.nwac.ca/donate
Reconciliation Canada: www.reconciliationcanada.ca/get-involved/donate/
The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund: www.downiewenjack.ca/support-us/
The Legacy of Hope Foundation: www.legacyofhope.ca/
Indian Residential School Survivors Society – www.irsss.ca