Have you had a chance to browse our Silent Auction yet? The bidding starts on June 8 at 10:00am so now is a great time to get a sneak peak at all of the amazing items on offer this year. From gift certificates to local artisan crafts and experiences, this is a great way to experience some of the best that Vancouver has to offer and support explorASIAN Festival and the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society at the same time.
VAHMS would like to thank all of our donors for their generous support, our Auction Host YKLM, and VAHMS Ambassador Jeff Chan for his amazing dedication and hard work that went into making this auction possible.
The auction starts June 8 at 10:00am and ends on June 10 after our recognition Awards Ceremony.
Here is a quick video that outlines how you can bid on our items using your phone or computer.
The Burnaby Artists Guild is pleased to invite you to view a video showcasing a collection of paintings by our members. This video was prepared for the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society to celebrate multi-Asian heritage in May.
Every year, VAHMS honours three individuals, community organizations, or educational institutions representing Pan-Asian communities that have made significant contributions to VAHMS’ vision of fostering, promoting and celebrating the arts and cultural diversity that Asian-Canadian communities bring to Canadian society. This year, in honour of our 25th Anniversary, we are pleased to present a special evening of programming with extra award presentations and entertainment.
Please join us as we honour these community-builders and reflect upon 25 years of VAHMS and enjoy video performances from Kardias Quing, Bero, and the Academy of Middle Eastern Dance.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Allan Cho is a second generation Canadian Canadian, whose research and literary interests are in Asian Canadian arts, history and culture. Allan has been involved in several community organizations including the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia, the Roedde House Museum, and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. He is the Executive Director of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop, Festival Director of LiterASIAN Writers Festival, and Editor-in-Chief of Ricepaper Magazine.
Allan has published his work in the Georgia Straight, Ricepaper Magazine, Diverse Magazine, and short stories in the anthologies The Strangers and Eating Stories’, A Chinese Canadian & Aboriginal Potluck, and has edited a number of anthologies, including AlliterAsian: Twenty Years of Ricepaper Magazine (2016), Immersion: An Asian Anthology of Love, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction (2019), and Belief (2021). Having discovered in his research that his great-great-grandfather had arrived in Vancouver on March 11, 1899 at age 30 and great-grandfather in Vancouver on April 12, 1912 at age 24, Allan is currently working on a family genealogy project on the transnational journey of his family within the context of global migration in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is an academic librarian at the University of British Columbia Library. Allan has served on the Board of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society and the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society. In addition to being the Executive Director of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop, he is a published writer and nurtures youth writers through the national Ricepaper Magazine which recently has morphed into a more dynamic digital publication. Allan spearheads the annual LiterASIAN festival, which is the only Asian Canadian Writers’ Festival in North America. He consults on a variety of projects, and one called the Early Hong Kong-Canada Connections: An Exhibition-Oriented research Project to Uncover Historical Facts and Artefacts on Chinese Migration to the “New Gold Mountain” of Canada. He volunteers in the museum sector, serving as a tour docent at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and at the Roedde House Museum.
The Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration
The Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration Society (PCHC) is a non-profit society established in 2011 to build a wider and improved understanding of Canada’s history and growth through intercultural explorations of historic and current trans-Pacific immigration.
Its mission is to establish a Museum of Migration at a site of historical significance for Canadians whose families first arrived in Canada through its western portals, and create a supporting national research network for an interdisciplinary and more inclusive interpretation of Canada’s history.
Before a physical Museum can be constructed in Metro Vancouver, we have been functioning as a “museum without walls”. By building meaningful relationships with diverse cultural and ethnic groups, we engage participants in our programs to understand past and current relationships between immigrants and host communities, including their interaction with Indigenous peoples. We endeavour to nurture the general public’s interest and ability to research and share their own family/migration stories.
Huma Shoaib
Huma Shoaib is an educator and a Behavioral Specialist. She has worked in the field of education for fifteen years as a behavioral therapist. She works with children with special needs, specifically those with autism spectrum disorder, dealing with behavioral challenges, social-emotional difficulties, mental health concerns and safety issues that these children face. Working with children who do not normally respond to general classroom or school environments has been a rewarding and fulfilling role for Huma. Her passion and dedication have driven her to work beyond the school system as a behavioral therapist consultant. She is also founder of a startup that works with families and children to empower them with coping mechanisms and skills to deal with autism and other disabilities.
Along with her professional roles, Huma is an active participant in her local community, involved with organizations that work in being a positive and constructive force in society. She is president of The Canada Urdu Association, a BC registered society that brings together a wide swath of the Indian and Pakistani community in the lower mainland and beyond, who share a love for the Urdu language. She also serves on the organizing committee for the Vancouver chapter of The Citizen Foundation Canada, a registered charity that works to raise funds for educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Pakistan. Huma is also an active member of the Pakistani Canadian Women’s Society and The Global Peace Alliance, both BC based societies.
The Canada Urdu Association: Honourable Mention Award
The Canada Urdu Association (CUA) is a registered society based in Surrey, British Columbia. Founded in 1997 the organization has worked towards learning, education, promotion, and celebration of the Urdu language in the local region and beyond.
The association works with literary, cultural, and social organizations across Canada and internationally to support and facilitate education and learning in general, and especially in support and promotion of the Urdu language. A fundamental goal of the organization is to cultivate harmony, peace, tolerance and understanding in local, national, and international communities by promoting the value of oral and written communication with special importance to native languages. This is pursued through curated content, dialogue through events and programs; exploring and sharing the beauty and creativity found in Urdu poetry and prose. Equally important for the association is involvement of youth. Youngsters speaking Urdu, writing Urdu poetry and prose, exploring and expressing Urdu through song and art, are all integral to CUA’s objectives and purpose. In pursuit of these aims the society has for years held bimonthly poetry programs, annual poetry events, literary programs, conferences, outdoor family events, youth plays, and live music concerts. The Canada Urdu Association has further been involved in printing and publishing Urdu magazines and Urdu books, to encourage local Urdu writers and poets whose writings deserve the spotlight and attention of a wider audience.
The Canada Urdu Association focuses on promoting the Urdu language and preserving its cultural and literary heritage, especially amongst immigrant Urdu speaking communities. CUA has been working with teachers and educators to get Urdu as a secondary language to learn on the syllabus in the local district. The association consistently looks to provide a platform for local writers and poets to help facilitate their literary efforts. This support is open to writers and poets across Canada and North America in particular, but also to writers and poets internationally seeking to have their work recognized and acknowledged.
The Canada Urdu Association celebrates its 25th Anniversary on Sept 17, 2022.
Hayne Wai: : Honourable Mention Award
Hayne has been a long-time advocate for multiculturalism, human rights and anti-racism through his work and community involvement. He has served on civic, provincial and national committees on these issues. Hayne has been an Advisor to VAHMS for the last several years and has appreciated the sharing of cultural heritage amongst members.
Born in Hong Kong, Hayne arrived in Canada at a young age and grew up in Vancouver. He is a graduate of UBC, Queen’s University and Simon Fraser University. A researcher and advocate for Chinatown for over 50 years, Hayne is a founding member and past president of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC. He has worked with community organizations, the Provincial Ministry of Multiculturalism, the Canadian Human rights Commission, and more recently was a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education at UBC. Hayne is a past board member of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and continues as a docent.
Hayne is a recipient of the Government of Canada, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012 and the Government of Canada, Commemorative Medal, 125th Anniversary of Canada, 1994.
Kelly Ip: 25th Anniversary Award
Kelly Ip was born and raised in Hong Kong and came to Canada in 1961. Following his graduation from the University of Ottawa in 1965 with a B.A. degree he joined the Ottawa YM-YWCA first as the Assistant Youth Program Director and then the Associate Adult Education Director.
In 1969 he was recruited by the Public Service of Canada in Ottawa as a Social Development Officer for the Department of Secretary of State and subsequently he was transferred to Vancouver in 1970 to assume the post of Regional Liaison Officer. He worked for a number of Departments such as Secretary of State, Multiculturalism and Citizenship, Canadian Heritage and Citizenship and Immigration until he took early retirement from the Public Service in 1997.
The position he held the longest was the Regional Manager of Citizenship Court for the Pacific Region. During this period, Kelly was responsible for the implementation of the new Citizenship Act, which was proclaimed in 1977 and the expansion of citizenship services in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. He was also instrumental in initiating citizenship outreach services in ethnic communities and neighborhood centres where citizenship application services and education programs were made readily available to those who needed them.
Since his retirement from the Public Service of Canada, Kelly has been actively involved in a number of voluntary and community organizations. He continues to work hard and diligently in promoting good citizenship in the community and raise the public’s awareness on the values of citizenship, multiculturalism and voluntarism. His knowledge and experience in these areas give him an opportunity to serve many organizations which seek his advice and expertise. (See attached)
One of the achievements he is most proud of was the completion of the Vancouver Chinatown Millennium Gate which was inaugurated on August 1, 2002 by the Prime Minister of Canada. He was instrumental in planning and fundraising and building this landmark which welcomes tourists and residents alike to Vancouver’s historic Chinatown.
Kelly was appointed by the Government of B.C. & Volunteer BC as an Ambassador for the International Year of Volunteers, 2001. In 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his community service by the Government of Canada. In 2004, the Vancouver Multicultural Society awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award for his contributions to multiculturalism in the community.
Kelly was appointed a Provincial Marriage Commissioner in 1998.
Kelly is married to Maggie for 40 years and they have two children and three grandchildren who all reside in Vancouver.
Bev Nann: 25th Anniversary Legacy Award
Beverly Nann
Beverly Nann, MSW, is a recipient of the Order of BC in recognition of a commitment of over 30 years to providing leadership in pioneering the development of organisations, programs and services in the multicultural and immigrant service sector including the Laurier Institution and the Vancouver and Burnaby School District Multicultural Home-School Liaison Workers. She has served on many national, provincial and local multicultural advisory bodies including the Immigration and Refugee Advisory Panel, the Provincial Advisory Council for Multiculturalism for the Minister of Multiculturalism and Immigration and the United Way. She is the Past Executive Director of the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC and she served as the first president of Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society. She is currently a Senior Advisor of VAHMS.
Zainub Verjee: 25th Anniversary Recognition
Zainub Verjee, currently the Executive Director of Ontario Association of Art Galleries, Toronto, is an accomplished leader in the art and culture sector and over four decades has shaped culture policy at all levels of governments and contributed to building of cultural institutions and organizations in Canada and internationally.
A trailblazer, she was directly instrumental in the founding of these cultural institutions (In Visible Colours; B.C.Arts Council; Vancouver Asian Heritage Month; Racial Equity Office in Canada Council for the Arts) and developed policy initiatives, advanced vital interests of artists, and created spaces and access for artists across different disciplines in Canada.
As Senior Policy Advisor, Department of Canadian Heritage and Program Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts, she served on cross-sectoral portfolios. Almost for a decade, she was the Executive Director of Western Front. Prior to that she Co-Directed/Founded InVisible Colours, a widely and critically recognized and impactful International film and video festival of its kind in Vancouver and in Canada.
Zainub is an accomplished writer, critic, curator, contemporary artist and public intellectual. At the forefront of the two decades of cultural politics of the 1980s and 1990s in Canada, Zainub was the co-founder and Festival director of the critically acclaimed In Visible Colours: An International Film/Video Festival & Symposium for Third World Women and Women of Colour (1988-90). She was co-guest editor of The Capilano Review and has published in numerous academic, cultural and critical fora including, Leonardo Journal (MIT), Kinesis, Parallelogram, Fuse, Horizon, Canadian Art Magazine, Journal of Art and the Public Sphere etc. She is invited to speak nationally and internationally, on cultural policy, contemporary art and cultural diplomacy.
During the 2nd National Asian Heritage Month Symposium, many participants expressed their desire to develop a national network of collaboration and exchange to strengthen unity between Asian artistic organizations and artists across Canada.
Festival Accès Asie, explorASIAN and Asian Heritage Manitoba responded to this call by launching On the Move: National Asian Heritage Celebration based on a collective program bringing together three Canadian cities to celebrate Asian Heritage Month in May 2021. This event brought together artists from Montreal, Vancouver, and Winnipeg working in the dance, music, and multidisciplinary fields.
On the Move: National Asian Heritage Celebration was broadcast live on Saturday, May 29 at 5pm PST and was moderated by Karine Kerr-Gillespie, General Manager of Festival Accès Asie and Jasper Sloan Yip, Coordinator at the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society.
Program
Vi An |World Music Recording Artist and Film Music Composer
Vi An specializes in spontaneous and intuitive compositions on various Asian long-plucked zithers, including the Japanese koto, Vietnamese ?àn tranh, and Chinese zheng instruments. Vi An is self-taught, making her debut in music when she was six years old. Since the age of ten, Vi An has independently produced 25 solo albums, including numerous collaborations with artists, musicians, and theater companies around the world.
Alcvin Ry?zen | Bamboo Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) & Related Arts
Alcvin Ry?zen Ramos lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada, where he teaches, performs, and makes precision jinashi shakuhachi flutes. Born and trained in Japan in the classical Zen Shakuhachi tradition, Alcvin is a genre-bridging artist who transitions between musical genres. He is also a composer and multi-instrumentalist (shamisen, shinobue, shinkin). He is also a recording artist with several traditional and contemporary music CDs to his name. He performs throughout Canada and internationally, and leads the Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage to Japan every few years.
Yemaya is one of the most intelligent and powerful orisha deities. She is the maternal force of life and creation. Can we reduce sexual violence by instilling the characteristics of Yemaya across genders? By projecting four males onto a female deity we find Yemayo. Yemaya masculinized or “Yo” meaning “I” in Spanish.
This subversive group dance performance arose from a contemporary choreography filtered through ballet and traditional dance, music, religion, and daily rituals, Julio Hong questions pervasive notions of masculinity and the contradictions of metro-sexual man. A mutual understanding and shaping of a new equilibrium materialize within this intercultural and intergenerational duality of the sexes.
Indivisible | Nadia Chaney/Le Groupe Herencias
Indivisible is an interdisciplinary interactive performance that arises from stylized animations, neo-traditional musical compositions, contemporary dance, and spoken word poetry. The concept, developed by Nadia Chaney, expresses the theme of an inherent relationship between opposites in a quest for transformation and intimacy. Audiences write or text their impressions during the performance for Nadia, in real time, to remix into lyrical spoken word poetry. Indivisible is a surreal, sublime, and intimate journey that makes transparent the fallacy of irreconcilable differences. We may be broken, torn, and alienated from each other. Indivisible is a testament that we are never apart, never alone, and even our most private dreams matter.
Panj | Himmat Singh Shinhat/Le Groupe Herencias
PANJ is the Punjabi word for five. Punjab means the land of five rivers. The origin of these words is Persian.
PANJ is an interdisciplinary performance that includes original live music, spoken word, text-based narratives, as well as family and archival sound and video recordings and images.
PANJ follows Himmat’s journey to accept the sudden and premature death of his father and the resulting loss of connections to history, culture and identity. In the absence of his father, he turns to his mother, sharing memories to help reconstruct the family history, including the Great Partition of 1947 and its impact on her family.
PANJ explores the connection between water and stillness; unlocking body memories perceived through the five senses, enabling the power to process suffering and trauma to healing. Its deeply personal narrative brings the audience to a place where artistic and therapeutic processes work hand in hand.
PANJ takes the audience through five “movements” in time and space, exploring themes of dislocation, separation and loss, tracing the path of a Punjabi Sikh family through the aftermath of the decolonisation of the British Empire. From the rivers of Punjab, to the banks of Kaniatarowanenneh (the St-Lawrence river), water is the silent witness.
This piece is composed of movements from Kathak, an Indian classical dance form. It depicts the relationship between the mischievous Lord Krishna and his love interest Radha. The lyrics describe how Lord Krishna sneaks up on Radha and taunts and teases her, breaking her Matka (water jug) and embarrassing her in front of onlookers.
Dancers Shavira Narrandes and Brittany Young Tenn | Song Bhari Bhari | Singer Shreya Ghoshal | Music Rajeev Mahavir | Lyrics Pt.Birju Maharaj, Tabla Sanjeev Sen, Jeetu Shankar, Hitesh Prasad, Rupak Desai, Malhar Mahavir | Mandolin U-Rajesh | Programmed by Shivam Bagchi | Recorded by Aamair Shaikh-Krishna Studio Mumbai | Mixed and Mastered by Vijay Dayal At Yashraj Studios | Music Label T-Series
My New Swag | Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada
My New Swag combine Chinese culture and model dance together. Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada (GWDAC) is an affiliate of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc. GWDAC was established March 2007 and has always been enthusiastic in promoting Chinese culture.
Performers Winnie Pam, Lynn Qiu, Yijie Wang, Zunsheng Yang, Yan Zhang, Lavenia Yuan, Bowen Chen, Carson Chen, Ray Wu, Gary Liu and Julia Zhu | Director and editor Julia Zhu | Videographers Julia Zhu and Carson Chen
“Your mind is like a beautiful pool of water reflecting the world around it.”– Hugh Kidd
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Although art is her passion and painting is her meditation, June Yun considers herself a mixed media artist. Besides painting and drawing, she works with printmaking, video and installation.
During the past decade, water and clouds are the other predominant subjects of her art. She uses them as metaphors conveying aesthetics of her Chinese background: simplicity, tranquility, and solitary. Oriental people’s perception and admiration of water have informed the wisdom of the East. That is also why traditional Chinese art assumed ink and water as the medium and the language of landscape paintings. The mercurial forms of water and its reflections build a dreamlike mirage on June Yun’s canvases. Floating clouds are another form of water. They seem vague, unreachable, ethereal and even intangible for some humans, yet June Yun can transcribe her fleeing memories through the water, clouds and mist in her art.
In the springtime of 2021, June Yun started a new series of paintings called Spring Series 2021 that extends the subject from water to the ubiquitous tender green that is reflected in water.
“With brilliant colours, the lonely and poetic life has continued through two consecutive spring seasons. Time flies, like a dream, yet the flowers are still blooming quietly. Because of the epidemic, the world seemed to have pressed the pause button, and it seemed that the sudden braking awoke me from the gray-blue ‘water’ (Water that has been the subject of my painting for nearly ten years.) I began to see and respond to flowers, pink, purple, and yellow colours. Maybe flowers are not what they seem. I am painting quietly as usual, but it seems that I really cannot paint anymore, in other words, painting is not the painting as usual anymore. Painting has become less rational and more intuitive, unintentional, and ‘speechless’. Painting does not require any concepts, meanings, or techniques, but rather just a wordless process.”
To see more of June Yun’s beautiful work, make an appointment at Lipont Gallery + YKLM Auctions. May 4 – 31, Monday – Friday 10am-5pm, free admission. Click below:
Have you checked out the Vancouver Ikebana Association’s 2021 Virtual Show yet? Every year the VIA annual Spring Show showcases their organization and introduces Vancouver to the art of flower arrangement. This year, despite the pandemic halting most (if not all) of their in-person activities, shows, and exhibitions, they still wanted to showcase their members’ talents and flower arrangements. Enjoy!
Last year due to COVID restrictions the annual trans-Pacific Cantonese opera project — Multi Voices Once Heart (MVOH ????????) — went virtual and viral. Over two days during Asian Heritage Month, that marathon concert was live-streamed from a studio, reaching over 200,000 viewers globally!
Encouraged by the response from fans around the world, an even richer program – 25 songs by 13 professionals and 12 seasoned amateurs from both sides of the Pacific – will be offered in front of a limited audience in a theatre in Hong Kong, from where it will be live-streamed to the world in May again. PCHC is delighted to be the co-presenter of such a popular program in North America, where Cantonese opera has taken deep roots, as this beloved performance art has migrated along with the people from South China since the 19th century. It has spread from the West Coast, and across the continent to the East Coast, as well as South to countries such as Cuba, Panama and Mexico.
Included as part of the 25th explorASIAN festival in Vancouver to mark Asian Heritage Month, the MVOH 2021 Cantonese Opera Online & Offline Benefit Concert will be live-streamed as four shows over two days (May 22 & 23, HK time). PCHC-MoM Society will be providing information in English about the artists and songs closer to the time of the concert. Meanwhile, we are recruiting youth volunteer leaders to help us get this free gift of music to as many seniors as possible.
For now, please subscribe to either the MVOH Facebook page or YouTube channel below to ensure you won’t miss the concert: MVOH ????????
Tragically, 2020 & 2021 saw a dramatic increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and assaults against Asian women, men, children, and elders. In Canada, there was a 714% increase in hate crimes against Asian community members in Vancouver. The Atlanta City Shootings on March 16, 2021 where 6 Asian women were killed by a White gunman was the culmination of years of anti-Asian rhetoric, discriminatory practices, stereotypes, and dehumanization, particularly online during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
We are convening youth groups, faith-based organizations, government representatives, advocacy organizations, and community leaders to join together on May 30th to denounce Asian Hate, promote solutions, and highlight the staunch allyship that exists to support the Asian community.
There is no registration link, the event will be simulcasted to YouTube live:bit.ly/IslamUnravelled
Alireza Ahmadian was an Iranian-Canadian socio-political activist, journalist, researcher and opinion leader working in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A close friend of VAHMS, Alireza organized events and discussions around the issues of democracy, immigration, anti-racism and empowerment for immigrant communities. Alireza’s dream was for all humans with diverse beliefs and interests to converse respectfully and constructively, and to seek peace and unity instead of war and destruction. In this event we will learn more about Alireza’s ideals around diversity, dialogue, unity, integration and inclusion of immigrant communities.
Asian or Not, We Are All in This Together: Canada Benefits from the Heritage Maintenance of All Groups
More than ever, amid this pandemic and growing anti-Asian sentiment, Asian Canadians are struggling to sustain their heritage and cultural identity. We face enormous challenges. With the detrimental perceptions imposed on us, these is no easy fix, nor even a straightforward question to address. In need of immigrants due to an aging population, Canada is a migrant-infused society. British Columbia has been witnessing an influx of diverse ethnicities for decades. Asian immigrants, or people with Asian ancestry, have comprised the largest inbound group to British Columbia since 1980. While integrating into Canadian dominant culture, first-generation immigrants and Canadian-born Asians negotiate who they are, whether or not to preserve their heritage, and how. Since the observable integration pressures and heritage maintenance struggles are numerous, it is imperative for us and our multicultural host society to grasp how these populations negotiate heritage maintenance for the communal benefit of societal harmony, liberty, and unity.
The heritage maintenance efforts of Asians in BC have never been a single dimensional struggle. It involves the many aspects of compromise, resilience, desire, aspiration, and ideology at individual and family levels. It is also influenced by the intertwining and multiple facets of dominant ideology and power relations at large. Some driving factors are our desires and struggles for our children’s culture and heritage language maintenance, self-perceptions of being Asian, hardships of passing down our heritage language while strengthening a dominant language, and negative societal attitudes toward Asians as a whole. We, as Asians, often wonder how to maintain our heritage in an Anglocentric context, amid these obstacles and challenges.
Achieving heritage maintenance relies not solely on the desires and persistent efforts of one individual or a group of individuals; to grapple with the scope of Asian heritage maintenance challenges, Asians and non-Asians alike must acknowledge the monumental and entrenched hurdles that exist in an Anglocentric and western dominant society. In a micro landscape, one may cultivate a positive sense of cultural identity by passing down one’s heritage language as a medium for cultural knowledge transmission, communicating in the heritage language at home and with relatives, and engaging in cultural traditions and festival occasions. That being said, no one lives in a vacuum; we live in a society with social norms defined by dominant structures. Our sense of personal identity is not only how we see ourselves, but is also shaped by how others perceive us. Dominant culture does not only define who we should be— It has the power to alter who we believe we are.
The above is an extract from Dr. Caroline Chung-Hsuan Locher-Lo’s talk during Exploring Asian Heritage in Vancouver, hosted by the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society (VAHMS) and the Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia (UBC). To read more from her, head to our Learn section: https://explorasian.ca/exploring-asian-heritage-in-vancouver/