We have some exciting announcements to pass along!

This year marks the exciting 50th anniversary of the oldest Punjabi Market in North America – and last year, City Council passed a unanimous motion declaring May 31, 2020 as the celebration date. 

To honour this significant anniversary, City Hall will be illuminated in orange tonight, and a webpage to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Punjabi Market has just gone live. To add a new splash of colour to the Market, a mural by local artist Jag Nagra has also been commissioned by the City.

Also tonight, the Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective (PMRC) will be hosting a virtual variety show and celebration called PM50 across a number of social media platforms, including Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Starting at 7:10pm, the event will be hosted by Hockey Night in Punjabi’s Amrit Gill and have interviews with prominent figures in the community including broadcast pioneer Sushma Datt, owner of Punjab Foods Harjinder Singh Toor, and the first shop owner Sucha Singh and Harbans Kaur Claire. There will be live performances, poetry and exciting information on the new Punjabi E-market. 

The PMRC is will also be launching the PunjabiMarket.ca e-commerce portal. The Virtual Punjabi Market will help local business owners/entrepreneurs by expanding their reach, and will create a vehicle for patrons to shop in the Punjabi Market from their homes. Proceeds collected by the PMRC — through the shopping portal — will be used to fund the arts, culture, and social sectors for the benefit of residents in this neighbourhood, and South Asians at large. 
You can find out more about the Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective, the virtual celebration, and the virtual Punjabi Market/e-commerce portal at www.PunjabiMarket.ca

On behalf of the City of Vancouver, we wish all friends and supporters of the Punjabi Market a very happy 50th Anniversary Celebration!

More information:
Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective / Virtual Punjabi Market – www.punjabimarket.caCity of Vancouver – Punjabi Market 50th Anniversary WebpageCity of Vancouver – Punjabi Market Planning Webpage

As part of Virtual explorASIAN 2020, the Interconnected Project continues its celebration of Asian Heritage Month online, casting a light on art that focus on Pan-Asian heritage and culture. In this article we feature the work of photographer Gloria King.

The confluence of two cultures implied by the identity to which Gloria King willingly ascribes – “Chinese Canadian photographer” – breathes interest into the work of the artist. Add to that an upbringing in Apartheid South Africa, and it would be a missed opportunity not to find out more about the artist.

Gloria now lives in Burnaby, British Columbia and for many years has focused on nature and garden photography. However, she is currently expanding her repertoire to include images of cities and people. She credits her interest in photography to her father. She says, “My Dad was a good photographer and I learnt a lot from him.” Coupled with this inherited curiosity, Gloria also enjoys travel and is a keen observer of the world.

Let us get to know Gloria King, this week’s featured VAHMS artist, as she answers some of our questions.

Why did you choose nature photography?

I focused on Nature photography as I wanted to capture the joy and magic of the natural world that surrounds us.

I notice that where you were born and raised – South Africa during the Apartheid – figures prominently in your profile as an artist. What impacts do these factors have on your art? 

Perhaps focussing on the beauty of nature was a distraction to the ugliness of apartheid that we had to deal with. I do not have a single picture of the signs and situations of apartheid. I guess just ignoring it was my way of coping with it. I now wish I had some pictures for historical records.

My career in South Africa was that of a Social Anthropologist, so my focus was very different.  When I took photographs during those years, it was mainly documentary – recording events, travels etc.  Beautiful scenery had my attention, but it was usually the backdrop rather than the main subject.

As you have travelled widely to capture some of the most amazing images, what are your favourite locations to photograph? 

Trees have been one of my favourite subjects to photograph. Trees, large and small, trees in a forests and landscapes, trees in different seasons and  different countries, and close up of beautiful tree bark and leaves.

In my travels, I try to capture the essence of the place I am travelling through.  

My favourites locations include the misty mountains of Huang Shan, China.  Locally, Burnaby Mountain is one of my favourite places. Difficult to select one favourite, as I really enjoyed my recent trips to Botswana, in particular Chobi Game Park, and Namibia with its sand dunes and abundance of wild life.

What are some of the most important lessons that your work has taught you?

I think as a photographer, you become a keen observer, always looking out for that special scene or moment.  You also learn patience and perseverance.  Nowadays, you also you have to embrace technology.

Necessity is…the Mother. As BC restarts, join Scripting Aloud for their first #covidlife online edition and last reading until the fall! Whether you want to read, or watch/listen and give feedback afterward – we’d love you to be with us. Short and sweet – Scripting Aloud’s next event on Saturday, May 30 reads THE FOURTH ANGEL (short, comedy) by Henry J Mah, along with a guided vocal warm-up for all participants from our community partner for this event, ACTg Vancouver.

SIGN UP to get the private Zoom meeting link: https://forms.gle/tN6N9qQjpZ7NCJqc6

— Interested to read? Sign up at the link above! PERFORMERS WILL BE PRE-CAST FROM THE SIGN-UP LIST and contacted the Thursday before the reading, for a 15 minute pre-call on the day from 2:15 pm. Event starts with intro and vocal warm-up, from 2:30 pm.

The Vancouver Public library is offering two virtual events this week as part of their special Asian Heritage Month programming.

First up: From Du Fu to Bai Juyi: Scholars’ Spirit – ??????:??????????. The An Lushan Rebellion (755-763) changed Ancient Chinese Culture dramatically. Join the VPL for an introduction to the two greatest Chinese poets of that era, Du Fu and Bai Juyi whose lives and work embody the Chinese ideal of scholars’ spirit.

Xin Shangye is a Vancouver based author and freelance writer whose PhD is in Classical Chinese Literature. She will talk about Chinese ancient traditions, culture, and scholars’ spirit through the two poets’ poems and life stories. This will be conducted in Mandarin.

Second, the VPL presents: Asian Heritage Month: Experience Classic Chinese Comedy.

Villains and hoarders and landlords, oh my! Screen the classic Chinese comedy Crows and Sparrows (1949) and then join UBC professor Christopher Rea for a discussion of this film about ordinary people at home coping with extraordinary times. 

Before the event, please click here to watch Crows and Sparrows (1949) at your convenience. The film is available in Mandarin with English subtitles.

REPOST FROM: Fuyubi Nakamura, Curator, Asia, Museum of Anthropology, May 20, 2020

LINK TO ORIGINAL POST: https://moa.ubc.ca/2020/05/viruses-have-no-nationality-images-of-asia-during-the-pandemic/

“Be kind, be calm, be safe.” With these words, Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s health officer, ends her daily COVID-19 update. Have we all been kind to each other? The COVID-19 virus poses a risk to all of us, but the pandemic does not affect all of us the same way. As we have seen in Europe, the US and here in Canada, anti-Asian hate crime is increasing. Among the recent crimes was the vandalization of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Chinatown in Vancouver. Reported cases, however, do not fully represent the reality, as people of Asian descent may feel uncomfortable speaking publicly about being the target of discrimination. In response to the need to document Anti-Asian racism incidents, a group of volunteers in Vancouver created the COVID-19 Racism Incident Report Form (Canada), available in several Asian languages with the option of anonymous contributions. Within two weeks of its launch, they received eighty responses.

As UNESCO reminds us, viruses have no nationality. But we see narratives based on bigotry and ignorance that link the current pandemic to a country, people and culture. The president of the United States has publicly referred to the pandemic as the “Chinese” or “Wuhan” virus. As if to side with him, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Emerging Infectious Diseases May 2020 issue featured a cover image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) collection of a Chinese textile known as rank badge, which depicts a leopard and bats. MOA has many Chinese rank badges in its collection too. This stunning textile work is in no way related to the contents of the CDC journal issue, which focused on respiratory diseases in diverse geographic locales. On April 23, the Met wrote the CDC Director to express the Museum’s strong objection to the use of this work on the periodical cover. The selection of this work as a cover image distorts the meaning and context of the art and supports prejudiced implications about China by linking the virus to animals, disease and China. As of May 12, the Met has not received a response to their letter.

The visual image, whether a work of art, or an object of daily life, is a powerful tool that communicates a message and creates an impression. We can see this in the changing status of face masks as objects. Back in March, I felt self-conscious about wearing a mask commuting via public transit. I began to wear one only recently as a shift in the perception of masks seemed to take place in Vancouver with the importance of masks, in combination with other measures, affirmed in health advisories and media. We are encouraged to wear one where necessary and face masks are now worn by people of any background while noting the cultural implications of masks.

Many, including myself, have made cloth face masks for our own use out of necessity. They even provide a venue for some artists to respond creatively to the pandemic. However, masks are often racialized, as they connote comfort and safety in one context and a sense of threat, fear and medical intervention in another. Whether you wear a mask or not, if you are Asian you are still more likely to feel and experience an increased risk of stigmatization as demonstrated by the recent anti-Asian racism incidents.

People in parts of Asia, especially East Asia, have a cultural habit of wearing masks when they feel unwell or have cold or allergy symptoms, largely out of courtesy for those around them. In Japan, we say “the eyes are as eloquent as the mouth,” emphasizing the importance of the eyes in conveying facial expressions. However, the mouth is seen as playing an important role in offering emotional cues in Western societies and thus hiding the mouth has been seen as a challenge. But, now, despite initial resistance to wearing masks, other parts of the world are perhaps fast catching up on this “courteous” habit from Asia. Or, perhaps we are all just trying to be kind to each other. As we celebrate Asian Heritage Month in Canada during this challenging time, it is also time to respect and learn from each other, rather than ignite the flames of xenophobia. Viruses have no nationality.

Have you checked out all the free webinars on offer from the Vancouver Art Gallery? If not, you should take a look because there is a lot of great content happening this month, including this talk with Steven Dragonn who explores how modern Chinese art lost its global connections during the end of the Qing dynasty, which continued into the late 1970s. With the liberalization and opening up of the economy in the 1980s, how did art in China develop outside of the established traditional Chinese art system? Contemporary artists in China grappled with this question for decades. Following on 30 years after the ’85 New Wave art movement, we look back at the rise of Chinese contemporary art and the recent history of globalization in the Chinese art ecology. The talk will be moderated by Diana Freundl, Interim Chief Curator / Associate Director, and Lynn Chen, Institute of Asian Art Programming Assistant.

The Lorita Leung Dance Academy ??????? was established in 1970 and is one of North America’s oldest Chinese dance schools. They offer the complete Beijing Dance Academy Chinese Dance Examination Syllabus and repertoire in Chinese Classical, Folk and Ethnic dance. We had planned to present their performance as part of our Recognition Awards Gala this year. Instead, we are thrilled to present their performance “Embroidery of Spring” as part of #virtualexplorASIAN! Click the banner to stream it now!

Uzume Taiko Drum Group and Silk Road Music have a new musical collaboration featuring cross-cultural repertoire, “Silk & Skins” that we are thrilled to present as part of #virtualexplorASIAN!

Silk and Skins embodies this year’s explorASIAN Festival theme “Pan-Asian Cultural Connections” which celebrates our diverse multicultural Canadian identity with stronger efforts to increase cross-cultural integration. The Japanese taiko drums are dynamic percussion instruments that emit powerful resonance and energy. Silk Road Music features traditional instrumental pieces, original compositions and Chinese folk songs performed on the pipa, a Chinese lute, with many world instruments, arranged for cross-cultural instrumentation. The combination and energies of both troupes performing original and traditional repertoire is unique and reflects the growth of Metro Vancouver’s artistic diaspora. Through this musical collaboration, we hope you will experience the energy that results when cultures eagerly try to learn from one another.

Please enjoy this virtual performance recorded at the the Uzume Taiko Studio in Richmond, BC.

You can learn more about Silk Road Music and Uzume Taiko by visiting their websites, linked here.

In response to the rise of acts of racism against Asian communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, local musician Son of James has written and recorded a song called “I Found It All Inside,” featuring musicians from all across the Lower Mainland.

The song, which has been pieced together from contributions recorded while the musicians practised social distancing, blends Chinese instrumentation with the soulful sounds of rock, and stands as an rallying call against racism.

#Elimin8hate

For the next four weeks you can find our beautiful explorASIAN posters on various transit shelters around metro Vancouver. This year’s poster was designed by our previous festival coordinator Martin Prijatna and features Sujit Vaidya, one of Vancouver’s leading exponents of the classical Indian style of bharata natyam. Sujit was booked to perform at our opening ceremony at the beautiful Fei & Milton Wong Theatre, but sadly, we’ll have to wait until next year when we return for the 25th Year of explorASIAN.

In the meantime, we would love it if you found the poster closest to you and posted a selfie with it using the hashtag #virtualexplorASIAN! Click on the map to find the exact location of each poster, and track one down on your next walk!

We would like to thank the City of Vancouver for their generous support of virtual explorASIAN.