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Asian Heritage Month Festival 2016 presented by the Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.


May 13 to June 7, 2016

Events Index Quick Links

Please also see Other Events for Asian Canadian heritage events that are
not part of the Asian Heritage Month Festival 2016 presented by CFACI.

Click here for our list of Sponsors

1. OPENING CEREMONY OF ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH FESTIVAL 2016 &
Asian Heritage Month Art and Photo Exhibitions
at City Hall Rotunda
THEME: CANADA'S MULTICULTURALISM AND PEACE

FEATURED EXHIBITION:
An Eclectic Display of Photographic Images by Dr Neville Poy 
Photographs by Mr. Stephen Siu, Chair of Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto
Photographs by Award-Winning Photographer Mr. Tam Kam Chiu
FREE ADMISSION
Date: Friday May 13 - Thursday May 19, 2016
Venue: City Hall Rotunda

Opening Ceremony on Friday May 13 at 7pm
RECEPTION FOLLOWS - Sponsored by Mr. Justin Poy
Event Poster
Please register for the Opening Ceremony on Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/asian-heritage-month-opening-ceremony-tickets-25127518083

Description:
The Featured Exhibitions are -
An Eclectic Display of Photographic Images by Dr Neville Poy
Photographs by Mr. Stephen Siu, Chair of Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto
Photographs by Award-Winning Photographer Mr. Tam Kam Chiu

This event will explore the fusion of two types of visual art: painting as an imaginative reproduction of reality, and photography as a realistic representation of life. In juxtaposing these two visual art forms, the innovative ways Asian artists manipulate the multicultural setting of Canada can be seen, such as applying oil painting techniques on Chinese themes, or using Chinese brush painting to show Canadian themes. How photography aspires to be a verisimilitude of life and an imaginative interpretation informed by Asian philosophy will also be shown. Dr. Lien Chao will work with the Artists Association, and the Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto will feature their members' works. During the festival weekend, the artists and photographers will be present to talk about Asian art media and demonstrate their techniques; these educational activities aim at helping the public to develop necessary knowledge and critical skills to appreciate Asian art.

OPENING EVENT
Welcome Address
by Mr. Justin Poy, Patron, Asian Heritage Month-CFACI

Live Creation of Artwork Celebrating Multiculturalism

Featured talks by Chinese Canadian Legend Award Recipients
*Mr. Justin Poy on “Millennials and Diversity”
Millennials in Canada make up roughly 37% of our workforce. Defined as those between the ages of 13 to 34, they are far more diverse than previous groups before them such as GenX, Baby Boomers and earlier. We have all heard the stereotypes — that they’re lazy, entitled and narcissistic. But does any of this ring true with Millennials from Asian Canadian communities?
*Mr. Justin Poy (on behalf of Dr. Neville Poy)
Dr. Neville Poy’s collection reflects the diversity and range of colours from around the world. His son, Justin Poy, will speak about Dr. Poy’s philosophy of capturing culture, landscapes and mood through an artistic lens.
*Mr. Stephen Siu
Mr Stephen Siu will talk about how Chinese philosophical thinking is employed in photography to meet with the challenges in a new country and to achieve the peace of mind. When he talks about the philosophical thinking, he'll cite some poems as examples as well.

Featured Performance
/Our Land of Canada: Diversity and Peace/is a poetic, conceptual, installation art/performance on the stage involving multi-media devices of video, sound, music, poetry, art, Taichi, meditation, and potential audience participation.
Written and produced by Moon Pointer Productions Inc.; performed by the following artists: painter/calligrapher/Taichi brushwork artist Henry Ho , poet Lien Chao, meditative artist Ashley Poy, and painter/musician Brian Lau.

Click here for the proposed events.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; ORBIS; Social Services Network
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Departments of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

 

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2. Asian Heritage Month Education Roundtable
at Vari Hall A, York University

FREE ADMISSION

Please register by e-mail: ycar@yorku.ca
Date: May 16, 2016
Time: 12:30 pm - 3 pm
Venue: Vari Hall A, York University, 4700 Keele Street
Map: Building 30 on the Map at http://maps.info.yorku.ca/files/2013/02/Colour-Map- pdf.pdf (Downsview Subway Station to the 196 Express: York University)
Event Poster

Description:
I. ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH LECTURE
Shirley Camia

II. ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE
Panelists
1. Professor Philip Kelly
2. Jennilee Austria
3. Mrs. Jodelyn Huang
Mrs. Jodelyn Huang is Community Relations Officer (Areas 7 and 8), Toronto Catholic District School Board
4. Professor Patrick Alcedo
5. Larissa Largo
Mrs. Marissa Largo is Secondary School Teacher and doctoral candidate, Toronto Catholic District School Board
6. Dr. Ethel Tungohan
7. Conely de Leon

3. Asian Heritage Month Gala Performance
of Asian Canadian Artists:

"ASIAN FESTIVALS"

FREE ADMISSION

Please register on Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/asian-heritage-month-gala-concert-performance-of-asian-canadian-artists-2016-tickets-25140044550

Event Poster

Keynote Address and Performance:
Professor Chan Ka Nin, composer of IRON ROAD, on "DRAGON BOAT: FROM MYTH TO MUSIC"
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2016
Time: 7 PM PLEASE BE SEATED BY 6:45 PM
Venue: Innis Town Hall, University of Toronto, 2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto
Map at http://www.utoronto.ca/townhall/contact.html
RECEPTION FOLLOWS - Sponsored by Mr. Justin Poy


OPENING ADDRESS: Mr. Justin Poy, Honorary Patron, Asian Heritage Month-CFACI

PLENARY TALK: “DRAGON BOAT: FROM MYTH TO MUSIC”
by Professor Chan Ka Nin (composer) and Mark Brownell (librettist)

PERFORMANCES: A CELEBRATION OF ASIAN FESTIVALS
MUSIC ON PIPA: “DRAGON BOAT RACE” Traditional
Wen Zhao
MOON’S LAMENT (MOON FESTIVAL) BY
Vania Chan, soprano, Wen Zhao, pipa
MUSIC ON FLUTES BY & ENSEMBLE
Ron Korb, dizi | Wen Zhao, pipa | Xiaoqiu Lin, erhu | Alice Ho, piano | Chan Ka Nin, guitar | Anson Wong percussion
WORLD PREMIERE: "DRAGON’S TALE" BY CHAN KA NIN & MARK BROWNELL
Vania Chan, soprano |Gene Wu, baritone| Alice Ho, keyboard| Chan Ka Nin, guitar| Anson Wong, percussion
SOUTH ASIAN LIGHT CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH GAURI GUHA: DIWALI & HOLI
Gauri Guha, vocal | Dylan Bisnauth, tabla
CONTEMPORARY DANCE: “ZHONG XIN” (AN EXCERPT)
Yvonne Ng/ tiger princess dance projects
TRADITIONAL DANCE:
Chi Ping Dance Group & dancers of Chinese Collective Arts Association
MIDDLE EASTERN MUSIC ON 3 DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS: BOUZOUKI, OUD AND SAZ
Yiannis Kapoulas, with keyboardist, percussionist and vocalist

RECEPTION FOLLOWS (sponsored by Mr. Justin Poy)


Co-organizers:
Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc., Bata Shoe Museum; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Canadian Studies Program, University College, University of Toronto; Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, Social Services Network
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Departments of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Acknowledgements:
Mr. Justin Poy for sponsoring the Reception
Steinway Piano sponsored by Steinway Piano Gallery, Toronto

 

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4. Asian Heritage Month Art and Photo Exhibitions at Metro Hall Rotunda

Featured Exhibitions:
An Eclectic Display of Photographic Images by Dr Neville Poy
Photographs by Mr. Stephen Siu, Chair of Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto
Photographs by Award-Winning Photographer Mr. Tam Kam Chiu

FREE ADMISSION
Date: Saturday, May 21 to Thursday, May 26, 2016
Venue: Metro Hall Rotunda
Event Poster

Description:
The Featured Exhibitions are-
An Eclectic Display of Photographic Images by Dr Neville Poy
Photographs by Mr. Stephen Siu, Chair of Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto
Photographs by Award-Winning Photographer Mr. Tam Kam Chiu

This event will explore the fusion of two types of visual art: painting as an imaginative reproduction of reality, and photography as a realistic representation of life. In juxtaposing these two visual art forms, the innovative ways Asian artists manipulate the multicultural setting of Canada can be seen, such as applying oil painting techniques on Chinese themes, or using Chinese brush painting to show Canadian themes. How photography aspires to be a verisimilitude of life and an imaginative interpretation informed by Asian philosophy will also be shown. Dr. Lien Chao will work with the Artists Association, and the Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto will feature their members' works. During the festival weekend, the artists and photographers will be present to talk about Asian art media and demonstrate their techniques; these educational activities aim at helping the public to develop necessary knowledge and critical skills to appreciate Asian art.
Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; ORBIS; Social Services Network
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Departments of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

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5. Asian Canadian Authors' Panel: "The Japanese Canadian Experience in Literature" @ Metro Hall Art and Photo Exhibitions


ASIAN CANADIAN AUTHORS’ PANEL
“THE JAPANESE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE IN LITERATURE” with Ted Goossen, Jim Wong Chu, Lynne Kutsukake, Terry Watada, Kerri Sakamoto and Leslie Shimotakahara

PLUS Launch of Video: Our Land of Canada: Diversity and Peace, with Lien Chao and Ashley Poy

FREE ADMISSION
Date and Time: Wednesday May 25, 7 pm
Venue: Room 309, Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Map at http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=991f957970422410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=68f2590dd3412410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD Details and poster at http://www.vmacch.ca/alpha/events/index.html
ADMISSION FREE Please RSVP on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/asian-canadian-authors-panel-tickets-25239128914
Event Poster

An evening with famous Asian Canadian authors to explore the Japanese Canadian experience in Literature
Introduction: Jim Wong Chu
Moderator: Professor Ted Goossen (Humanities, York University)
Panelists:
Lynne Kutsukake
Terry Watada
Kerri Sakamoto
Leslie Shimotakahara

Description

Introduction: Jim Wong Chu
Moderator: Professor Ted Goossen (Humanities, York University)
Panel: Lynne Kutsukake, Terry Watada, Kerri Sakamoto and Leslie Shimotakahara

Jim Wong Chu, a published poet, author, editor, and historian, is well- known as a co-founder of the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, Ricepaper Magazine, Pender Guy Radio Program, Asia Canadian Performing Arts Resource (ACPAR), literASIAN: A Festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian Writing, and the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Festival. He has also co-edited several anthologies of Asian Canadian writers.
Lynne Kutsukake's debut novel, The Translation of Love, an emotionally gripping portrait of postwar Japan, where a newly repatriated girl must help a classmate find her missing sister is published by Penguin Random House Canada.
Terry Watada has written in all genres including fiction (Daruma Days: A Collection of Fictionalised Biography, Kuroshio: The Blood of Foxes), poetry (A Thousand Homes, Ten Thousand Views of Rain, Obon: The Festival of the Dead and The Game of 100 Ghosts) and edited Collected Voices: An Anthology of Asian North American Periodical Writing anthology.
Kerri Sakamoto's debut novel, The Electrical Field (1998), won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. It also won the Canada-Japan Literary Award and was a finalist for a Governor General's Award. Her second novel, One Hundred Million Hearts was published in 2003. Both books have been published in translation internationally.
Leslie Shimotakahara is the author of The Reading List: Literature, Love and Back Again, a memoir (Variety Crossing Press) and the winner of the 2012 Canada-Japan Literary Award.

Launch of Video: Our Land of Canada: Diversity and Peace
This is a poetic, conceptual, installation art/performance on the stage involving multi-media devices of video, sound, music, poetry, art, Taichi, meditation, and potential audience participation. Written and produced by Moon Pointer Productions Inc.; performed by the following artists: painter/calligrapher/Taichi brushwork artist Henry Ho, poet Lien Chao, meditative artist Ashley Poy, and painter/musician Brian Lau.

AUTHORS’ PANEL | Wednesday May 25, 7 pm | Room 309, Metro Hall ASIAN CANADIAN ART AND PHOTO EXHIBITION | Friday, May 20, 2016 to Thursday, May 26, 2016 | Metro Hall Rotunda Map at http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=991f957970422410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=68f2590dd3412410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

FEATURED EXHIBITION:
• An Eclectic Display of Photographic Images by Dr. Neville Poy
• Photographs by Mr. Stephen Siu, Chair of Chinese Canadian Photographic Society of Toronto
• Photographs by Award-Winning Photographer Mr. Tam Kam Chiu
• Works by renowned Asian Canadian Photographers and Visual Artists
• Artists and photographers will be on site doing demonstrations and workshops

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Justin Poy Agency; Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, University of Toronto; Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists’ Group; literASIAN; Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Social Services Network Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Departments of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

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6. Asian Heritage Month Film Festival

Date: Sunday, May 22, 2016
Time: 2pm to 6pm
Venue: Innis Town Hall, University of Toronto, 2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto
Map at http://www.utoronto.ca/townhall/contact.html
FREE ADMISSION: Please register on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/asian-heritage-month-film-festival-at-innis-town-hall-university-of-toronto-tickets-25417254693
Details and poster at: http://www.vmacch.ca/alpha/events/index.html
Asian Heritage Month--Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc., Social Services Network in partnership with ReelWorld Film Festival present:

EXPLORING THE THEMES OF “HOME” THROUGH ASIAN CANADIAN FILMS
SPECIAL FEATURES:
*SCREENINGS OF ASIAN CANADIAN FILMS
*PANEL DISCUSSIONS WITH ASIAN CANADIAN FILMMAKERS, CAST AND CREW
*GAURI GUHA SINGING FAMOUS THEME SONGS FROM SOUTH ASIAN FILMS
Programmed by ReelWorld Film Festival
Event Poster
,

EXPLORING THE THEMES OF “HOME” THROUGH ASIAN CANADIAN FILMS
Programmed by Gave Lindo, Executive Director, ReelWorld Film Festival

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Artists Panel: Karen Shaw, Jeanette Kong, Gauri Guha, and Dr. Keith Lowe

Short Film #1 and #2
Film 1: The Chiney Shop
This documentary explores the complex relationship and social interaction between the Chinese shopkeepers and their Jamaican customers. Although the Chinese were an insular group, The Chiney Shop explores the myriad ways, in which this ethnic minority contributed to Jamaican society. Drawing from interviews by members of the Jamaican-Chinese community and prominent Jamaicans from the diaspora and using archival footage and photos, the film attempts to illustrate the deeply-rooted connection between Chinese shopkeepers and Jamaicans not usually portrayed in mainstream media.

Film 2: Half
“HALF is a moving story of diaspora, trauma, survival and, ultimately, love. The documentary gently unfolds the narrative of Vincent Lee, a man born in Jamaica but raised in China, and four generations of a his transnational Chinese-Jamaican-North American family. Lee and his family prepare food, laugh and share memories - all the while, Lee speaks in a blend of Hakka and Jamaican Creole. Lee’s language is perhaps the most powerful symbol of his migrant itinerary as a Chinese-Jamaican for whom both countries, yet neither country, meant ‘home’. The film triumphs as a unique contribution to knowledge of Chinese Caribbean history. At the same time the compelling conversations with Lee and his family capture poignant, shared, inter-generational truths about 20th century Caribbean transnational lives. It is a film that will resonate at a profound level with anyone, but perhaps especially with Caribbean and diasporic people of any background or nationality.”
(Description written by Melanie J. Newton Director of Caribbean Studies at New College & Associate Professor of History, University of Toronto.)
Q&A with Filmmaker Jeanette Kong

Musical Performance: Guari Guha Musical Performance
Live performance of famous theme songs from South Asian Films
Gauri Guha, vocal | Dylan Bisnauth, tabla | Ravi Sookhoo, keyboard

Closing Film: Khoya
Presented by Producer of the film, Karen Shaw
Rog Moreau lives anonymously and aimlessly in a small town in Ontario. When his adopted mother unexpectedly dies, Rog loses his last tie to his Canadian upbringing and identity. Realizing he is dangerously spiraling, Rog decides to travel thousands of miles away to India to find the birth family that gave him up for adoption nearly thirty years earlier. His arrival is jarring, however, when he steps off the plane into the crowded sweaty streets of Mumbai and is confronted by his own foreignness in a strange, new land.
While eager to be reunited with his family, complications immediately threaten Rog’s search; a Catholic orphanage reveals his documents are forgeries. More desperate than ever, Rog sets out on a quest heading into Madhya Pradesh — the impoverished, rural heartland of India — to find the one local official who can help him solve the mystery surrounding his adoption. Rog’s journey takes him into the dark alleys, dusty roads and cramped train cars of India’s underclass as he tries to connect the threads of his own story. Ultimately he is pushed to his physical and emotional breaking point, forced to confront the ghosts that have been haunting him his entire life. Only then is he able to discover the truth.

Asian Heritage Month--Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc., Social Services Network in partnership with ReelWorld Film Festival
Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; ReelWorld Film Festival; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Social Services Network; Bata Shoe Museum
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

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7. Artists Workshop at School Board

Our Lady Wisdom Catholic School: 9:30am. Wed. June 1, 2016

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; ORBIS; Social Services Network
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Departments of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

 

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8. Artists Workshop at School Board


St Jane Frances: 9:15am. Thursday, June 3, 2016

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month-Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; ORBIS; Social Services Network
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Departments of Canadian Heritage, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

List of Supporters of Asian Heritage Month 2016


Asian Heritage Month supporters 2016

Canadian Heritage Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Canadian Heritage Inter-Action Program
Bata Shoe Museum
Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture
Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, University of Toronto
Chi Ping Dance Group
Chinese Canadian Photographic Association of Toronto
Chinese Collective Arts Association
City of Toronto
Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University
Justin Poy Agency
literASIAN Moon Pointer Production Inc.
Reel Asian Film Festival
ReelWorld Film Festival
Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library
Steinway Piano Gallery, Toronto
Social Services Network
tiger princess Productions
Toronto Catholic District School Board
Toronto District School Board
Toronto Public Library
WE Artists Association
York Centre for Asian Research, York University
York Centre for Education and Community, York University

 

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