Gilding and miniature are visual arts, the original and traditional art of the Eastern world that has a very long history. The design of these designs has principles and formulas that are executed and each design has 12 stages of painting, engraving and gilding. In some of my works, I use 24 carat original gold. I use other materials such as watercolor, ink, gouache, acrylic, and a very thin brush and magnifying glass. In the pen stage, I have to hold my breath to do the pen with a magnifying glass. I perform these paintings on cardboard, paper, wood, leather, etc. Each panel at 50 by 70 cm takes about a few months to complete.
Art History
I used to draw as a child, my best hobby was painting, when I was 7 years old and when I started writing and reading so I wrote a few comic books with my painting, I Painted techniques until I became acquainted with the art of gilding and miniature, I found my lost art, I painted very hard morning to night and night to morning very long time.
I learned this art from skilled masters and with the talent that I continued in painting. After a while, I decided to produce these patterns and motifs and designs not only in the form of frames , but also on antique and old furniture, and I used these designs on different materials such as wood, fabric, walls and in interior decoration.
I graduated graphic design in Tehran-Iran, I had design and publishing company in Iran until when I migrated to Vancouver, I am still graphic designer, being a painter.
History of International Exhibition Participation
Joint Exhibition in the cities of Berlin & Frankfurt, Germany (2004)
Solo Exhibition in the city of Strasbourg, France – Twice (2005 & 2006)
Exhibition on the historical connection between Islamic Art & Christianity at the Samfu Halogen Church of Strasbourg, France (2005)
Iran Cultural Week Exhibition in Algeria (Elected as the Iranian Painter 2007)
International BESMELLAH Exhibition in Saudi Arabia – 2 Times (2009 &2011)
Solo Exhibition in United Arab Emirates – 3 Times (2009-2011-2012)
Solo Exhibition of 7 Iranian Wise in Germany (2011)
Exhibition of 7 Iranian Wise in Belgium (2012)
Solo Exhibition in Paris, France (2012)
Iran Cultural Week Exhibition in Moscow, Russia (Elected as the Iranian Painter2015)
Frankfurt Book fair 2017 Exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany (2017)
Solo & Joint Exhibitions in number of cities around Persian Gulf
A lot of Exhibition solo and group in Iran.
Interviews & Press / Media Reports
Press Conference with ETEMAD Newspaper
Press Conference with SHATGH Newspaper
Press Conference with ALVAFAGH Newspaper
Press Conference with French Newspaper DNA
Solo Exhibition Notices in HAMSHAHRI, SHARGH, JAME JAM, IRAN, SYASATEROUZ Newspapers
Press Conference with Honarmand Newspaper
Television Reports on channels 1, 2, 4 of the IRI state TV
Television Report on AL ALAM satellite TV station
Television Report on AL ALAM satellite TV station
Television Report on SAHAR satellite TV station
Television Report on JAME JAM satellite TV station
Television Report on CHANNEL 1 Russia satellite TV station
Sandeep Johal is a Canadian visual artist whose practice engages drawing, collage, textiles, and large-scale murals. Through her Indo-folk feminine aesthetic, she confronts themes of bleakness, despair and ugliness with their dissonant opposites: brightness, hope and beauty. Johal’s work typically centers around the stories of women and while she highlights female suffering in its many forms, these are ultimately stories of resistance and resilience.
Johal has worked on a number of notable site-specific commissions including a recent mural for the Vancouver Art Gallery’s inaugural #SpotlightVanArtRental project (2021), a digital projection mapping for Facade Festival produced by Burrard Arts Foundation (For Jyoti, 2019), and a 4,000 sf collaborative mural project for Vancouver Mural Festival, which centred around the Komagata Maru Episode and involved the denaming of the federal building it was painted on (Taike-Sye’y?, 2019). Her work was part of the group exhibition In/Visible: Body as Reflective Site through the McClure Gallery and Visual Arts Centre in Montreal in partnership with the IMPACTS Project (2019).
Johal’s clients include the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Holt Renfrew, Lululemon, and Earls Restaurant Group as well as the University of British Columbia’s Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies and Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. She has been an artist-in-residence at Burrard Arts Foundation (2021) and Indian Summer Festival (2018) and is the 2019 recipient of the Darpan Magazine Artistic Visionary Award.
Sandeep Johal
Johal holds a Diploma in Fine Arts (honours) from Langara College (2007) and a Degree in Education from the University of British Columbia (2002). She lives and works in Vancouver, BC.
When asked what art is, not all will first say food, cuisine and cookery. But, food and cookery is an art form like many others. It plays with your senses, maybe even more senses than any other kind of art. On top of that, food just like art has the ability to communicate the values and culture of the people who create it.
VAHMS had the honour of indulging in Kameron Sun’s food during our Community Awards Ceremony in May and we wish we had more! Kam is a Private chef and owns Sun Catering located at Coho Commissary on Georgia Street in Vancouver. We caught up with him after the Ceremony to learn more about his food and journey:
Can you share some of your influences?
I was very inspired by my parents as they are very good home cooks and my grandmother also loved making food as all grandmothers do. Seeing my parents in the kitchen cooking wonderful food was my inspiration to be a chef. From a young age I always wanted to be a chef, being as cliche as this watching the food network and cooking shows on the travel channel.
With your parents from Fiji and Trinidad and your grandmother from Guangzhou, how has this influenced your cooking style?
I had a lot of different ethnic food I can pull inspiration and creativity from. As I am trained classically in French, and working in all aspects of back of house environments, I love baking and cooking. I love to create new dishes that take influences from where I’m born (Vancouver) to my Asian heritage, to my parents island background. I only found my cooking style while working for myself and developing myself as a chef and a person. I love fusing Asian dishes with different Asian dishes and adding an island spin to things.
How do you define success?
I define success as someone who can branch off on their own and build themselves as a brand. Someone who is not afraid of anyone judging what they have done. As this comes from my Asian background, you are your harshest critic and you never think you are worthy of being good at something. But cooking has influenced my whole life, from the people I’ve met to the people I will meet. Someone that is successful is someone that is proud to be themselves and happy living the life they built, and not worrying about the naysayers.
Tell us about Sun Catering and how it came about.
Sun Catering began when I was tired of working for someone else and my fiancée knew that my food is good. I needed someone to give me a push into that direction, so I started Sun Catering while I was helping run a film catering business. While my old boss would let me use their kitchen for events on top of my full time job and friends believed that I would do a great job, my first event was from one of my co workers/friends that referred me to do a catering event. And it was a huge success. As I did more events, more people referred me to their friends and it snowballed. Most of my clients are from referrals and I do not do much marketing, just making the best possible food and experience I can do everyday.
If a client has no idea what food to serve at an event, what is your strategy for achieving a customized menu that will serve their needs?
I usually start off with asking questions on what kind of food or cuisine you are looking for. I am well versed in most cuisines that I can make it at least taste good. As I learned from most chefs, what comes down to the food is if it tastes good. I know some people want traditional food, but my philosophy is to always make it tasty.
What is the most surprising thing you have learned after starting a business during the pandemic?
How much blood, sweat and tears there are. You have to open your own business to know how much work it is, especially if you are building it from the ground up without any financial backers. Especially growing a catering company in a commissary, that is probably the most difficult part. People don’t know I basically create everything off one table sometimes two, from 200 people events to 10 people dinner parties. Most people that do know are surprised how much we can do in that space. It is a lot different than being an employee: you are always on, you are constantly checking emails, working on menus, shopping and the list goes on.
What would be your ideal schedule? 4 events every weekend? To have a brick and mortar presence?
I have given a lot to the industry, I would like to have a regular schedule of 3-5 days working. I work almost everyday in my business during the busy season and I usually work 10-18 hours a day. I have managed my time more where I value family, so I take events that would be worth more of my time. I’ve learnt about self-worth during my time of owning a business. I thought about opening a restaurant, cafe or a brick and mortar but I thought about the stress, mental state and physical state working as a chef/owner. I may down the line open something with a team, where I can live a more normal schedule.
Do you have any other collaborations or projects coming up that you could share?
I will be doing more collaborations coming soon as I will be thinking about downsizing and doing private events and more pop ups. I will be potentially doing two pop ups in August which will feature well known chefs in the city.
Where can people follow you and your food?
You can follow me on Instagram @sun_catering_ as I post most of what I do when I can. I do not do many photo shoots as I like to do posts about what I make and what guests can expect to get when I cook for them. All of the photos are from events that I was cooking at.
About Kameron Sun
Kameron Sun was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. Kam is of Chinese descent, family originating from Taishan, China. Kam’s father grew up in Trinidad, and his mother in Fiji before immigrating to Canada. Kam’s interest in Western and Chinese cooking, paired with his parent’s multicultural influence has shaped Kam’s diverse cooking style. Growing up, Kam was surrounded by a big family of home cooks who love to celebrate and gather around home cooked meals. He took interest in cooking at the age of eight and continued to work hard in Culinary School. He attended Vancouver Community College (VCC) for Culinary Arts after high school and continued working in many different restaurants and hotels to improve his culinary skills and knowledge. Today, Kam is a Private chef and owns Sun Catering located at Coho Commissary on Georgia Street in Vancouver. His dream to open his own business has been a long and rewarding journey. Kam started Sun Catering in 2019 as a side business and eventually made the leap to open full time in 2020.
From everyone here at the explorASIAN team, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of our partners, supporters, attendees, and contributors who made our 2022 festival such a success. This year was the first time since 2019 that we were able to safely offer in-person programming, and it was such a delight to see you and share space with you all once again.
In case you missed any of our in-house programming, here is a recap of what was on offer this year from the VAHMS team.
explorASIAN Opening Ceremony
A recap of our 2022 Festival Opening Ceremony, directed by Isabel Espinosa.
Some great coverage of our Opening Ceremony courtesy of Shaw Multicultural TV.
Mozaico Flamenco performing at explorASIAN 2022 Opening Ceremony.
Community Awards Celebration
This year’s awards were a bit of a departure from previous years. We celebrated our three honourees on the rooftop of the beautiful PAL Studio Theatre in downtown Vancouver before enjoying a performance of Co.ERASGA’sPassages of Rhythms.
Congratulations to Winnie Cheung, Esmie Gayo Mclaren and Lam Wong!
This year’s honourees from left to right: Winnie Cheung with Clara Lo, Esmie Gayo Mclaren with Jessica Lam, and Lam Wong with Leticia Sanchez.
Interconnected
The Interconnected project showcases artists year-round, but this year fro explorASIAN Festival, Shaw Multicultural caught up with three of of our spotlight artists to produce these short video features.
Then and Now: A look at the experiences of Asian-Canadian members from British Columbia who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces serves all Canadians and the members in uniform reflect the diversity that exists in Canada. Learn about the experiences of four distinguished military representatives of the army, navy and air force based in British Columbia who have Asian-Canadian heritage. Hear how Canada continues to build a military workforce that leverages the diversity of Canadian society, and will help enhance military operational effectiveness by drawing on all the strengths of Canada’s population.
Stronger Together: Exploring the U.S. and Canada’s Shared Asian Heritage
Asian communities in North America have played vital roles in shaping Canada and the United States – from building both countries’ transcontinental railways to fighting for civil rights. Today they continue to contribute to advancements in science, literature, politics and beyond; as well as impact North America’s rich multicultural societies. In celebration of May’s Asian Canadian and Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, explorASIAN and the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver are proud to bring together trailblazing Asian Americans and Asian Canadians to discuss their journeys in the fields of space, diplomacy and acting.
The Truth of Yoga
Yoga has become the fastest growing body-mind practice in the world today, but is it more than just an exercise class? In this webinar, Zamir Dhanji provides a 10,000 foot view of yoga’s origins through a decolonized lens and explains yoga’s core philosophy and metaphysics and how it evolved into the practices we know today. This powerful introduction will not only change the way you see yoga, but also explain the meaning of different yogic paths. In particular, you will learn about the Yoga of Patanjali – proponent of classical yoga and author of the yoga sutras – which presents yoga as a systemic path of conscious evolution.
Amanda Sum’s Music Video Premiere: “Different Than Before”
explorASIAN Festival was proud to be one of the presenting partners of local musician Amanda’s Sum’s music video world premiere “Different Than Before”. Here is a conversation with “Different Than Before” creators and performers, Tzi Ma, Olivia Cheng, Mayumi Yoshida, and Amanda Sum, facilitated by Sabrina Rani Furminger.
Filipino Fridays Live Music Lounge
In collaboration with Filipino Fridays Podcast, youbloom and CiTR 101.9 FM, explorASIAN Festival was proud to present this sprawling series of intimate audio and video performances from some of Vancouver’s brightest Filipinx Artists. This series produced a whopping sixteen exclusive performance videos, as well as four exclusive podcasts. You can find the entire video playlist through the link below, and catch a few highlights right here.
Filipino Fridays capped off their live music lounge series with an in-studio concert at CiTR 101.9 FM! The event featured seven artists, including Later Days, Romeo Ryu Reyes, Jaenna Cali, Argel MDR, Tayler Jade & Kyra Dae, Chris Franco and Renzo. You can hear then entire podcast through the link below.
Dr. Avril Wang of the Thangka Art Center of Shanghai walks us through the history of Thangka painting and its elements, features and characteristics. Dr. Wang also shares the new developments and academic findings in many fields of Thangka and Tibetan culture research and collection.
Etsu began studying traditional Japanese monochrome brushwork at age of eight. In high school she began studying with a famous calligrapher and continues till today.
Along the way she discovered that she could marry traditional and contemporary art by adding colour to the monochrome style, which led to creating her own painting style.
Because she focuses on nature, all of Etsu’s art materials are made by nature. Her art is expressed on Washi paper (traditional Japanese paper), with black ink stick and natural powder pigments. These pigments are made of fine sand or clay, rock and have a history that goes back more than two thousand years.
Etsu’s modern motifs are based on the style of Japanese antique folding screens, with gold leaf and gold powder used on the base. Now she lives in Japan. She continues to explore own new art forms while also spreading the charm of Japanese traditional culture.
Calligrapher
Etsu Essence Inoue
Etsu moved to Vancouver 1989. She has been working to spread the art of Japanese calligraphy and Japanese watercolour painting in Canada and Stats. She met famous Shakuhachi (Bamboo flute) player Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos in Sakura Festival in Vancouver 2012. She began collaborating with his music
In her performances, she expresses how the music makes her feel in the moment. Her desire is to continue spreading the art of Japanese calligraphy in Canada, and collaborate with artists of other genres, and to share the art educate the public about the spirituality and beauty of traditional Japanese calligraphy and paintings.
Ain’t no party like a 5X Blockparty! This festival is back on June 11th with some of the hottest, boldest, most fiercest names in the game. Featuring Jasmine Sandlas, The PropheC, Khanvict, AR Paisley, Robyn Sandhu, Gurtêj, Aanam, REHMA, Shreea Kaul, TBM, Ikky and so much more.
Check out our conversation with Harpo Mander, the General Manager of 5x Festival.
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How and when did your relationship with Brown Girl Guilt happen?
Brown Girl Guilt has been a long time in the making. It started in 2019 as an Instagram post that I shared after having realized that guilt drove a lot of the decisions in my life — or prevented them. Upon sharing, the post was received so widely and wildly by brown girls everywhere because it gave them language to express an important part of their identities for the first time. Since then, Brown Girl Guilt has transformed into a podcast, online community and in-person community. Among all of it, Brown Girl Guilt continues to provide that language to express our experiences, understand them, and try to build a life that is rooted in the possibility of being different.
Where did the vision for Brown Girl Guilt come from and how did the project come together?
Initially, I always thought Brown Girl Guilt would be a one-time project. I thought I would write a book titled, “Brown Girl Guilt” that would be a collection of essays, but I felt called to stretch it beyond that. The desire to do so came from the realization that guilt as an emotion is incredibly deep and can be explored endlessly. Now, it’s become a part of my everyday life and something that I work on consistently.
Can you share some of your influences?
My biggest influence is my city– Surrey. I love Surrey with all my heart and it’s a primary driving force behind all the work that I do. There are so many beautiful stories in the streets and homes of Surrey and I want nothing more than to be someone who helps share them.
How do you define success?
Success to me is synonymous with the word joy. If you can find joy in the most mundane of items, in the work that you do, and the relationships that you maintain, then you are successful. If the way that I experience the world is rooted in pure, unfiltered, authentic joy, then I am successful.
How do you feel your sense of identity influences your work?
I’m a self-proclaimed third culture kid who has navigated multiple competing components of her identity for years. As someone who is born in Canada to parents who were born elsewhere, I’ve always found myself looking for home. In some spaces, I felt too brown, while in others, I felt like I was too Western for my Eastern roots. After years of bouncing between these two spaces, I finally feel rooted and grounded in my identity now. I feel like I have built a home within myself. This identity navigation has immensely influenced the work that I do, as I now dedicate my life to building spaces that others like me can come and find solace in, form their identities in, and have fun in.
You’re also the GM for 5xfest. How did this come about?
I joined 5X as a volunteer writer for our digital magazine 5X Press back in 2020. After a couple of months, there was an opening for the role of General Manager and I stepped in. I’ve been in this position ever since. Although this is when my formal placement with 5X began, I’ve been involved with the organization for a very long time. I used to volunteer for the organization as a high school student back in 2011 and 2012 and to be in a leadership position in the organization is such a full circle experience.
Why do you think 5xfest is important in today’s society?
Organizations like 5X are the beating hearts of community. They really act as cultural producers by cultivating community and are safe spaces for people to explore their identities. An organization like 5X is doing so much grassroots work — it’s helping artists further refine their craft, make their art a full-time job, financially support artists and creatives, actively fight against discrimination and prejudice, and create more opportunities for South Asians and people of colour to work in arts and culture roles. It’s also providing a home where those who have often felt lost, outcasted, or judged to feel safe and free to be themselves.
What do you think are the must-see events at 5xfest?
All of them! Each event offers something so unique and different. Whether you like the loud energy of a music festival or strolling through an art gallery solo, there is something for everyone.
What is a dream project you would like to take on?
I would love to create a docu-series on what I call “pockets of community” in Surrey. These are all the spaces in Surrey where people experience a deep connection of community, love, and generosity. The reason I want to do so is because having access to spaces like these can be so important in your journey of learning more about yourself. I’d love to write, narrate, and host the series one day.
What are your upcoming plans?
Currently, I’m working on establishing my new media company titled Itsharpo Collaborations. I’d like to tell the stories of other third-culture kids through words, audio, and video. Brown Girl Guilt is one project under the umbrella of Itsharpo Collaborations. I’d like to start exploring other projects, too.
There is a great contrast in the experience of being in a city – between those who have a home, and those who don’t. For most people, there is always the luxury of relaxing in the park or taking a stroll down the block, enjoying the city. However, for some, like those in need of housing, those luxuries don’t exist – even their existence in the physical and social context is on the brink of non-existence. How can architecture facilitate the integration of social disparities through the built context?
In this series, Bridge, I explore speculative interventions that aim to act ambiguously to different users in various city contexts. Through the superimposition of models and photographs from Hong Kong to Spain, to the UK, this project proposes several strategies in which the city can be designed to accommodate for all. Can architecture exist for everyone to use and enjoy?
About Rachelle Yau:
Rachelle Yau is a London-based visual artist specializing in architectural space and graphic design. Raised in Vancouver, Canada, Rachelle’s early interest in drawing and painting especially architecture and landscapes led to her fascination with the built environment. Her exhibition – The Chinese Garden – held at the Dr. Sun Yet Sen Classical Chinese Garden in 2011, attempts to encapsulate the Chinese landscape and architecture through painting.
Her journey has now evolved into an exploration of 2D, and 3D design, particularly within architecture. Working with various media – painting, photography, digital and physical modelling – her interest revolves around humanitarian architecture from emergency to social housing. She graduated from the AA with RIBA Part I Qualification in 2021.
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 responded to this call by launching a National Showcase 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.
Asian Heritage Society of Manitoba is proud to lead this program this year, working along with the Festival Accès Asie (Montreal), Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society (Vancouver), and artists based in Edmonton for the second national program. Working in collaboration, these three organizations dedicated to Asian Canadian heritage will present The National Showcase / La Vitrine Nationale online on Saturday May 28 at 7 PM CST(5 PM PST), followed by a discussion period with the artists and will be graciously moderated by Dr. Art Miki, founder and Jié Yang, board member of Asian Heritage Society of Manitoba.
Showcasing Artists: Anjalica Solomon and Merissa Victor | Vancouver Soni Dasmohapatra and Shrina Patel | Edmonton Fubuki Daiko | Winnipeg Huu Bac Quach | Montreal
Anjalica Solomon is a genderfluid Desi poet, spoken word artist, organiser and multi-disciplinary performer based in what is colonially known as Vancouver, BC on the stolen and unsurrendered territories of the Coast Salish, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations. You can watch their most recent poetry film production “Honey Queen” and “Fruiticana On Fraser Street” which recently premiered on YouTube and all streaming platforms! Their poetic work often seeks to proclaim the possibilities of love and resilience. Anjalica is a poet of startling emotional intellect and candour whose work testifies to a deep faith in beauty, the power of nature, and ultimately, the human capacity to salvage integrity, radiance and joy from moments of struggle. In this way, Anjalica Solomon’s poems and performancees offer robust visions of hope, tenacity, and love.
Merissa Victor
Merissa Victor is a filmmaker, animator and illustrator. Driven to craft engaging, meaningful stories that connect, inspire change, and uplift, her work primarily revolves around the subjects of identity, community and place. She is a 2019 Adobe Creativity Scholar and a 2020 graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Media Studies program. Her work in film, animation and illustration has led to collaborations with artists and brands in Malaysia and Canada. Her 2020 animated film, Electric City, exhibited at the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen, curated by the Grunt Gallery in Vancouver, Canada. Her 2018 spoken word film, The Entropy of Forgiveness has been screened in festivals in Germany, Ireland and California and was chosen as a winner of the #KindArt Challenge hosted by Adobe Project 1324 and the Born This Way Foundation.
Soni Dasmohapatra
Soni, has been involved in the Alberta cultural sector since she was a child. She is a trained classical Indian Kathak dancer. Soni is a choreographer of dances from India such as bhangra, Bengali and Odia folk, as well as Bollywood. She has been a cultural administrator in the areas of Canadian Heritage and Arts in Alberta and Ontario. Most recently she has collaborated with Skirts Afire to be a story teller in the documentary “Covid Collections” that was featured during the month of October 2021 in the Edmonton International Film Festival. As part of her community work in Edmonton she is a board member of two cultural organizations, Azimuth Theater and Litfest. She is a member of Thirdspace Playback Company. In 2021 she attended the Postmarginal Edmonton theater forum. Soni is a passionate consultant, educator and arts practitioner who uses yoga and somatics as pathways of self-discovery, healing and artistic creation.
Shrina Patel
Shrina Patel has dedicated her life to dance and theatre ever since her first trip to India. Dance became a way to advocate for equality, women’s rights and justice. She resides in Edmonton where she directs shows in collaboration with local artists. Throughout the year she travels around Canada collaborating with studios, teaching dance and yoga workshops and performing. In 2015, Shrina founded Shaktiflow, a dance and theatre company, which aligned me to and afforded the opportunity to communicate and bring awareness for non-profits such as Girls International to end the trafficking of girls in Asian countries, WIN HOUSE to raise awareness and funds to support women escaping abusive relationships and marriages, Canadian Red Cross bringing an exploration of light-hearted fun to the organizers and workers working tirelessly to bring aid in times of emergency, and gracing the stage at SkirtsAfire to illustrate, teach, and bring to action the now-common phrase “women supporting women” thereby creating a connection of sisterhood.
Fubuki Daiko
Fubuki Daiko reinvents traditional Japanese drumming with their eclectic and energetic performances that are part martial arts athleticism, part meditation, and all rhythm. For over twenty years, they have performed at festivals, concert halls, and schools across North America. Collaborations with a wide range of groups including the Winnipeg Singers, Moses Mayes Family Funk Band, the Northern Plains Ballet, and Ron Paley’s Big Band, have continued to fuel their pursuit of excellence and innovation in this ancient art form. The core members of the group each have over 25 years of taiko experience and received their formative training from the founder of North American Taiko, Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka. After performing at Carnegie Hall with the San Francisco Taiko Dojo and leaving with Tanaka’s blessing, they relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba where they expanded into the current professional touring ensemble. The group’s self-titled CD received a Prairie Music Award for Outstanding Instrumental Recording.
Huu Bac Quach & Huu Bac Quintet
Composer and multi-instrumentalist, Huu Bac Quach founded his quintet in Montreal, skillfully combining his Vietnamese and Chinese heritages to North American Jazz music. Backed by a solid team of some of the most prominent musicians on the up-and-coming Montreal jazz scene, Huu Bac performs his compositions inspired by his numerous travels in Asia, Europe and South America. In concert, he charms a large public through the beauty and intensity of his musical pieces as well as through his impressive mastery of the dan bau (Vietnamese monochord), the erhu (Chinese fiddle), the quena (andean flute) and the jazz guitar. The Huu Bac Quintet delivers a true dialogue between Asian, North, and South American cultures in a contemporary, original, and unique way.
Yoga has become the fastest growing body-mind practice in the world today, but is it more than just an exercise class? On May 26 at 6:30pm, you will soar into a 10,000 foot view of yoga’s origins and look at it from a decolonized lens. The speaker, Zamir Dhanji, will explain yoga’s core philosophy and metaphysics and how it evolved into the practices we know today.
This powerful introduction will not only change the way you see yoga, but also explain the meaning of different yogic paths. In particular, you will learn about the Yoga of Patanjali – proponent of classical yoga and author of the yoga sutras – which presents yoga as a systemic path of conscious evolution.
Zamir completed his 500 hour Teacher Training with David Goulet in Chakra Yoga, who learned from the late Swami Gitananda, founder of the Ananda Ashram and proponent of yoga science and tradition.
He is also an initiate of Ati-yoga under the guidance of Wisdom Master Maticintin, founder of HÜMÜH Clear-Mind Buddhism, with whom he has discipled for eight years in the practice and study of meditation and Buddhist logic.
He served as a lead instructor for Langara College’s Yoga Teacher Training program, now teaches on Salt Spring Island, and offers workshops and classes in Canada and beyond.
The below piece was written by Valerie Sing Turner. Valerie is a multidisciplinary artist, founding Artistic Producer of Visceral Visions, and Creative Director of CultureBrew.Art. She is currently working on the animated film adaptation of Did I Just Say That?, co-directing the project with Debi Wong.
I’m an artist and a member of the westcoast Chinese diaspora that in 2008, celebrated 150 years of our presence and achievements on Turtle Island with the Gold Mountain Awards – nearly a decade before Canada marked the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017.
A lot has happened since 1858, especially in British Columbia, when the first major wave of Asians arrived for the gold rush. (Hence the Chinese community’s nickname for Canada: gum san or Gold Mountain.) A $50 head tax levied only on Chinese immigrants was enacted in 1885; by the time Chinese immigration was completely banned with the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, the head tax had been raised to a whopping $500. People desperate to escape grinding poverty contributed nearly $23 million to Canadian government coffers; most never lived to receive the apology and redress offered belatedly in 2006.
Systemic disenfranchisement further marginalized our voices. The 1920 Dominion Elections Act meant that Chinese, Japanese, and South Asians lost the right to vote in national elections in order to be consistent with BC’s white supremacist ideals. Chinese WWII veterans lobbied for and regained the vote in 1947, after risking their lives fighting in Europe and Asia; Japanese and South Asians had to wait another two years before being able to exercise basic democratic rights. In contrast, white women got the federal vote in 1918, while Indigenous peoples had to wait until 1960 to be able to vote without losing their status.
My father encouraged me to vote as soon as I turned 18, and I’ve never missed voting in any election since. Too many people fought too hard to ensure I had a voice in Canadian society.
All of my grandparents paid the head tax; none of them lived to receive redress. (Redress payments were only offered to head tax survivors, not their descendents who also suffered intergenerational poverty and injustice.) Five hundred dollars is a lot of money even in 2022, so I have no idea how poor peasant farmers from southern China managed it. I often think about how they would not be accepted as immigrants today, with perhaps their only option being Canada’s racist and long-running Temporary Foreign Workers program, which denies predominantly people of colour the right to build their lives here, while fostering egregious economic exploitation, and sexual and physical abuse. I wasn’t the first to notice that Ukrainian refugees are being offered far more favourable treatment than Afghan and other racialized refugees. To be clear, I’m not advocating for Ukrainian refugees to be treated like POC refugees, but for POC to be offered the same opportunities, dignity, and respect afforded to Ukrainians.
Canadians tend to talk about these things as singular unrelated events. But the impact is cumulative, and reflects the systemic bias baked into our colonial and white supremacist systems that treats Asians as perpetual foreigners – hence the exponential 700% rise in anti-Asian attacks and harassment reported to the Vancouver Police during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is our heritage.
But a number of Asian-led arts groups, like Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, are working hard to show that our heritage is more than enduring a century-and-a-half of hardship and discrimination. Local theatre company Boco del Lupo, headed by Artistic Director Sherry Yoon, is Celebrating Asian Excellence this month with a national campaign involving more than 200 Asians working in the Canadian performing arts sector, demonstrating the breadth of our talents and influence. Born out of last year’s #StopAsianHate initiative, Sherry recalls that “on March 21, 2021, when eight people were shot in Atlanta, most of them were Asian women. I knew that I had to do something to address the dramatic rise in Asian Hate laid bare by these racially motivated killings.”
Another Vancouver-based company taking a different tack is re:Naissance Opera, who is #CelebratingAsianJoy with their Dare to Dream campaign. Founded by Artistic Director Debi Wong, the company kicked off their campaign with the Mother’s Day release of the fabulous Dare to Dream music video, featuring an aria from the comedic chamber operetta, Did I Just Say That?, which was co-commissioned by re:Naissance and Visceral Visions. The video pays tribute to the mothers, grandmothers, matriarchs, and the ancestors who sacrificed so much, and features the talents of a slew of Asian artists. (Full disclosure: I wrote the operetta’s libretto.)
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention CultureBrew.Art, a digital platform developed by the company I founded, Visceral Visions. With its central tool of a national searchable database of Indigenous and racialized artists working in the performing, literary, and media arts, CultureBrew.Art aims to disrupt systemic racism by building connection, collaboration, and community among BIPOC artists – which should result in more Asian excellence and Asian joy for everyone to celebrate in the years to come.
Because this is also our heritage: leadership, excellence, and joy.
Bio of Valerie Sing Turner
Valerie is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist who performs, writes, directs, dramaturges, and produces. A recipient of the Enbridge playRites Award for Emerging Canadian Playwright, Gordon Armstrong Playwrights Rent Award, and John Moffat + Larry Lillo Prize, she was artist-in-residence with the National Arts Centre (Ottawa) for In the Shadow of the Mountains, her 10-actor play in development. Her writings have appeared in Canadian Theatre Review, alt.theatre, Ricepaper Magazine, various online publications, and operatic libretti. She has been artist-in-residence with the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, associate artist with Urban Ink Productions, guest artist with Canada’s National Voice Intensive, and the recipient of the 2019 UBCP/ACTRA International Women’s Day Award in recognition of her “outstanding contributions to the Union, the industry, and causes of social justice”. She performs onstage and onscreen, and has voiced animation as well as CBC radio dramas and short-story narrations. In 2014, Valerie was one of two Canadians invited to train with the Suzuki Company of Toga (Japan) as a member of their International Training Group.
Valerie started her producing career in 2000 as co-producer of the Dora-nominated premiere of Jean Yoon’s The Yoko Ono Project (Toronto), going on to produce premieres by Laurie Fyffe, Marie Clements, and her own playwriting debut, the interdisciplinary Confessions of the Other Woman, which was co-produced by the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, Urban Ink, and Visceral Visions. She also produced the 2016 Redefining Normal, a 2-day retreat for Indigenous and racialized BC-based theatre artists. In 2018, she designed and delivered “Decolonizing through Theatre”, a series of 8 workshops and associated activities for students 5 – 15; and she was honoured to be a guest artist with the Primary Colours/couleurs primaire Initiative for a 2-week residency in Banff Centre for the Arts – one of 20 Indigenous and racialized artists selected from across the country across disciplines. She is an alumnus of the Banff Centre’s Cultural Leadership Program, and a member of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, UBCP/ACTRA, and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
In 2003, Valerie founded Visceral Visions. As Artistic Producer, Valerie works to ensure that Visceral Visions consciously addresses systemic inequality in its artistic practice, using art to build awareness and empathy; the company’s latest project isCultureBrew.Art, a digital platform for Indigenous and racialized artists who work in the literary, performing, and media arts, for which Valerie is Creative Director.
The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society.
