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EVENTS INDEX
| Harbourfront Programs Tickets: $5 members and seniors $8 advance $10 at the door |
Harbourfront Festival Passes: $30 members $40 non-members |
Opening Gala Program at Harbourfront "Art for the Senses" Tickets: $15 advance $20 at the door |
Harbourfront Centre 235 Queens Quay West Toronto, Ontario, Canada Studio Theatre Tickets: (416) 973-4000 All other events: (416) 598-7993 |
Thursday, May 2
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Water's Edge Cafe
Taking Asian Canadian art out of the margins and into the mainstream. Asian Heritage Month provides Asian artists with mainstream venues to express a variety of voices from many cultures. As a festival featuring music, dance, readings, films, videos, visual arts, workshops, panels and multidisciplinary events, we provide Toronto's public with critical and informative programming. The result is an inside look at what's on the minds and in the hearts of Asian-Canadian artists today.
Thursday, May 2A Song of Exile - World Premiere
8:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $15 advance, $20 at the door
The artists featured in this program form an eclectic assemblage that electrifies the senses and incites the mind. Despite funding cuts, artistic expressions continue to flourish in the nineties. As a young and evolving nation, we cannot afford to silence our artists; their contributions give voice to our aspirations and mirror our visions of how we locate ourselves. Through artists, we are given the gift of sight to look back, to look at where we are now, and to envision our future, and we begin defining an identity that reflects our differences and our common bonds. Showcasing artists whose works have contributed to our culture and who have individually achieved a standard of excellence in their respective fields, this gala is a celebration of the human spirit and its potential to move and transform.
Choreographed and performed by Rina SinghaLoveruage
A Song of Exile is part of Portrait of An Immigrant Woman, an upcoming dance work by Rina Singha. Based on a well-known Thumri (a poem composed especially for Kathak dance) by Nawab Wajid Ali Khan of Lucknow – who was exiled by the British because of his extravagant patronage of the arts – Singha transposes Khan's imagery to reflect the loneliness and estrangement felt by an immigrant woman and the growing alienations that develop within her family through intergenerational and other conflicts. Elements of Lucknow style of Kathak such as Thaat (poses in slow tempo with subtle movements of the wrist, neck and eyes), Gath Nikas (the depiction of characters through stylized walks) and the intricate rhythmic variations and footwork are all woven into the piece.
A reading by author Ashok MathurMerging Colours - Toronto Premiere
Ashok Mathur's first book, Loveruage, was published by Wolsak and Wynn in 1994
Music by Iranian Santour player Pirouz Yousefian
Directed by Belle WongVoices Found
Montreal, 1995, 29 min, Film
Print Source: Cinema Libre
Three painters of Chinese origin, whose art ranges from classical Chinese to Western-style oil painting, are the focus of this film. Belle Wong takes a personal and poignant look at her relationship with the three artists, whom she met at different stages of her life in Montreal. This visual and aesthetic journey, with candid commentaries by each artist, reveals the attempts of each to merge East and West in their art and their lives. Having had to struggle herself to come to terms with the influence of her Chinese heritage and culture and the meaning of integration, Ms. Wong has a particular interest in examining how this is reflected in artistic expression.
Choreographed and performed by Mariko TanabeThe Jade Peony
Voices Found is a metaphorical journey of discovery that explores personal history through the idea of the umbilical language – the unspoken yet profoundly powerful communication that is shared between a mother and her unborn child. Through this connection Ms. Tanabe has extracted deep-rooted images from her past as well as from her mother's and grandfather's past that she feels are an integral part of her being. The dance unfolds by exploring images of the past, then receiving their impact as they echo into consciousness. A ritualistic ceremony that embraces past with present leads this journey of self-discovery to a benediction and completion.
A reading by author Wayson Choy
Mr. Choy has been recently nominated for the Trillium First Novel Award and the Chapters Award.
Friday, May 3Jeet K da Tripmaster
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
A playful medley of energy, funk, post-modern, new wave – wacky women with big guns, cross dressers, rappers -- all defiant young Asian artists. Breaking stereotypes and redefining themselves to assert and discover alternative identities, fusing forms, creating new mythologies and defying easy interpretation, audiences are challenged to re-examine their notion of "Asian-ness". This multidisciplinary program features artists who have developed unique voices and modes of expression that are both celebratory and thought provoking. They're hot, cool and full of colour.
Innovative Chinese rapper's Toronto debutReading by Larissa Lai Spotted Puppets
Directed by Simi NallesethRebel
USA, 1994, 5 min, Film
Print Source: V Tape
Spotted Puppets is a short surrealistic fantasy on the topic of racism. An African-American, a Latino and an Asian are attacked by an animalistic society represented by chameleons, snakes, lions and leopards. The animals hiss and growl at the people to change their colour, accents and names, just as society asks us to conform and change our spots. Spotted Puppets is about looking inward and being yourself and not dancing to the tune of authority. The film has a very positive message for a multi-cultured society and is entertaining at the same time.
Directed by Troy SuzukiPrey
Canada, 1990, 5 min, Film
Print Source: Artist
A grandfather routine is punctuated by his quiet rebellion.
Directed by Helen LeeAmethyst Universe - Toronto Premiere
Canada, 1996, 25 min, Film
Print Source: Canadian Film Centre
Dad's convenience store. Overnight break-in. Next morning, you catch a shoplifter - and fall in love. Trust and desire strike a balance when Il Bae's family routine collides with new-world romance.
Co-choreographed and performed by Atif SiddiqiOmit Your Own Being - Toronto Premiere
The Ring - The ancient Greek myth of Hermaphroditus is conjured up to drape Amethyst as an androgynous being who is both male/female, yin/yang, masculine/feminine. The ring is a symbol of one that oneness that gets lost through time.
The Vision - Awakening in the present fantasy world of a parallel universe. A journey of self discovery begins through the interrogation of many contradictory ideas and ideals of being oneself.
Directed by Kevin d'Souza
Canada, 1996, 13 min, Video
Print Source: Canadian Film Centre
A reflection on some of the issues that the Of Colour collective encountered during its inception. Of Colour is a Calgary-based collective of queers of colour who have come together to address issues of sexism/racism/homophobia in Alberta. Created during a weekend workshop, this video examines the politics of colourism, colonialism and queer youth.
Friday, May 3Rasa #2: Forward...leaving nothing behind (excerpts)
9:30 - 11:15 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
A showcase of a new generation of Asian-Canadian choreographers and dancers. Bold and uncompromising, these artists struggle to emerge from the recognizable genres of classical, folk, ballet and modern, moving towards expressions that are individualistic and developing styles that are original in an effort to re-affirm their cultural identity within the Asian-Canadian context.
Performed by Yvonne NgSelf-Portrait - World Premiere
This work explores how one carries memories of personal history through the present and into the future. Images have been built from the personal experiences of the Ms. Ng and choreographer Maxine Heppner. "Rasa" means spirit. (This work was commissioned by Yvonne Ng, supported by the Ontario Arts Council and The Laidlaw Foundation.)
Choreographed by Rochelle HumThe Three Journeys of Chinese Dance - World Premiere
An array of transcendental thought. Part II. Self-Portrait is the second piece about a character turned inside-out. Four performers representing facets of the self are blended into a dream-reality. They are vulnerable, mysterious, bold and intuitive. Self-Portrait is a moment in a different time and place within.
Choreographed and performed by Nie Ruo-Chun, Elena Quah and Aminurta KangMermaid Dancing
A story of three dancers migrating from China to Canada.
Performed by Mara KhenTracings
Once upon a time, a pretty mermaid became tired of living in the deep ocean, and decided to go to a riverfront. While she amuses herself in this new habitat, a monkey browsing around the riverfront sees her and falls in love with her. He tries to impress her and gain her attention, but she rejects him because he's different.
Choreographed and performed by Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Agnes and Eugene Neyer Foundation
This solo is part of an evening of dance that explores the natural forces of wood, fire, water, and earth.
Saturday, May 4Community Dance Program
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Locations: Brigantine Room, Celebration Theatre, Community Gallery, Loft, Outdoor Tent.
Free Admission
storytelling, shadow puppets, arts and crafts demonstrations, children's workshops and food from various Asian cultures.
Saturday, May 4Breaking the Taboo: Asian Performers Against AIDS
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Free Admission
A lively and colourful display by community-based groups performing dances from various cultural traditions featuring the Toronto Chinese Dance Academy Performing Troupe and the Miyoung Kim Dance.
Saturday, May 4My Grandmother and I (excerpts)
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Free Admission
Location: Studio Theatre
For Asians, AIDS is the culmination of everything that is unspeakable in Asian traditions: illness, sex, sexuality and death. Showcasing Asian artists and performers who attempt to break the AIDS taboo through song, dance and theatrical performance, Breaking the Taboo is a trilogy of variety shows, followed by a panel discussion to facilitate audience interaction and discussion with those who work in the AIDS movement. Presented by the Asian Community AIDS Services, Pinoy Sa Canada, and the Alliance of South Asians for AIDS Prevention, community-based organizations that provide AIDS education and support for the diverse Asian communities.
Presented by the Pinoy Sa CanadaOut of the AIDS Closet
Featuring Yvette Leano (grandmother), Edwin Rodriguez (Dino, grandson), Alma Ramos (mother), Alex Camayang (father) and Linelle Mogado (Marissa, daughter).
Presented by Asian Community AIDS ServicesAsian Women Music & Storytelling
A variety performance in a talk show format, which interviews Asians infected and affected with HIV and AIDS. A medley of emotions, memories and hopes blended into songs written, directed and performed by Shelon Ho, Xiaoping Li, Due Nguyen and Eva Sin.
Saturday, May 4
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
A rare opportunity to pay tribute to celebrated and accomplished female musicians and story-tellers, Asians from different classical traditions perform alongside one another to create a powerful blend of instrument and voice. Featuring Kim Le, Kazuko Furuya, Gauri Guha, and Fan Shang-E.
Saturday, May 4Leftovers
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $6 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
In trying to accommodate our families and Canadian culture, Asians often reflect the expectations of others. This program is what you don't see on TV: a behind-the-scenes look at women, men and sexuality in the context of our families. Family Snapshots initiates a re-examination of the Asian family. Family photos offer clues to our histories, simultaneously revealing and concealing. They speak of the silences, what is left unsaid or left behind. Inside the frame, the picture fades, leaving traces to be decoded and translated, exposing familial bonds, signifying those ties and traditions that define family. The artists attempt to peel back the layers of emulsion and time to reveal their own place and identity inside the frame. (Parental Guidance Advised)
Directed by Janine FungThese Shoes Weren't Made for Walking - Toronto Premiere
Canada, 1994, 8 min, Film
Print Source: CFMDC
Leftovers is a wild narration about misunderstandings within a traditional Chinese family. In this decidedly quirky short drama, emerging filmmaker Janine Fung has captured the hypocrisy and the hardships of living an alien existence in one's own family. Featuring wonderful silent performances by Fung's real-life siblings and mother (wielding a carving knife), Leftovers touches on larger issues surrounding intolerance, homophobia and the complex realm of identity construction.
Directed by Paul LeeBlending Water & Milk: Sex In The New World - Toronto Premiere
Canada, 1995, 27 min, Film
Print Source: CFMDC
This film explores the roles and aspirations of four generations of Chinese women in the director's family. Using their shoes as a common reference and spring board for thoughtful and proactive contemplation about their experiences, these women (paternal grandmother, mother, paternal aunt, sister) recount and discuss the cultural and socio-economic forces that shaped their lives.
Directed by Paul WongHeartlands and Journeys Home
Canada, 1996, 27 min, Video
Print Source: V Tape
An experimental cross-cultural documentary, this video explores the diverse views of 22 subjects in this engaging story about sex. The opinions of young people, professionals, health workers, educators, artists, community activists, singles, couples, parents, grandparents, gays, lesbians, heterosexuals and people living with AIDS are vividly mixed in this graphically stylish and accessible tape about wanting it, doing it and talking about it. This is a trilingual program in Cantonese, English and Mandarin featuring a pallette of fresh faces who are mostly full or part Chinese.
Saturday, May 4The Concubine's Children
8:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
A program of works that investigate the way image inscribes memory and speak of journeys back and through histories. Some are extremely personal, exploring the human psyche. Others make the physical journey back to the point of origin and discover different interpretations of the historical text. Together they move toward an investigation and rewriting of suppressed histories, toward release and transcendence. Ultimately the gathering of fragments translate into a document of self. (Parental Guidance Advised)
A reading by author Denise ChongBook of Me
Shortlisted for a 1994 Governor General's Award, The Concubine's Children centres on the tragic tale of May-Ying, Ms. Chong's maternal grandmother, who at seventeen was shocked to learn that she had been sold as a concubine to Chan Sam, a homesick and lonely peasant seeking his fortune in Gold Mountain (North America). This is a gripping story of a family divided between war-torn China during the times of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, and the insular but vibrant Chinatowns of Canada.
Performed by Romeo CandidoDirty Laundry
Tonight's presentation is a portion of a one man show entitled Book of Me based on the book Ugly Flower. Here, a young man talks on the wake of his fathers funeral of his fathers death, Filipino food, and Jesus resurrection in the form of a Filipino nanny.
Directed by Richard Fung
Canada, 1996, 27 min, Video
Print Source: V Tape
Roger Kwong is on a trip across the Canadian Rockies, travelling on railway tracks laid by immigrant Chinese workers that included his great-grandfather. Roger's reading into the documents of his history contain surprising accusations. These, combined with the discovery of an inexplicable photograph and fateful encounters with a spirited, tree-planting dyke and a hunky Chinese attendant, raise unsettling questions about Roger's great-grandfather and Roger's own connection to the past. In the 1800s, Chinese communities in Canada consisted mainly of "bachelor" workers, often married men separated from their wives and children in China. Anti-Chinese rhetoric of the time reviled these men as sodomites. The few Chinese women were assumed to be prostitutes. Later accounts of the period, however, cleansed sexuality from this history altogether. Infiltrating its framing narrative with archival material, interviews and stylized re-creations, Dirty Laundry excavates the historical representation of outlaw sexuality in nineteenth-century Chinese Canada.
Sunday, May 5
10:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Free Admission
Locations: Brigantine Room, Celebration Theatre, Community Gallery, Loft, Waters Edge Cafe, Outdoor Tent.
storytelling, shadow puppets, arts and crafts demonstrations, children's workshops and food from various Asian cultures.
Sunday, May 5
10:30 - 6:00 p.m.
The mixed race events have been programmed with the interests of both inter-racial couples and mixed-race individuals of all ages in mind. Highlighting works by flutist/composer Ron Korb and writer Fred Wah, there will also be a documentary on inter-racial couples and mixed-race individuals by director Fuad Chowdhury, and a panel discussion. The aim of these events is to present positive, creative mixed-race role models, and an opportunity to meet and discuss our unique but frequently shared experiences.
10:30 - 11:30 a.m.Mixed Reactions and Border Crossings
Location: The Loft
Free Admission
This family event features music, storytelling, and shadow puppets focusing on the theme of identity by using the analogy of the mask. Featuring Ron Korb.
12:00 - 5:00 p.m.Mixed Reactions
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
Location: Studio Theatre
Host: Lisa LaCroixDiamond Grill
12:00 - 2:15 p.m.
A reading by author Fred WahIntimate Encounters - World Premiere
Directed by Fuad ChowdhuryPanel Discussion
Canada, 1996, 60 min, Video
Print Source: Self Distributed
A one-hour documentary explores the experiences and perspectives of inter-racial couples and mixed-race individuals.
Location: Studio TheatreBorder Crossings
Exploring the issues of mixed-race identity and the viability/desirability of establishing a mixed-race community, the panelists representing diverse experiences and perspectives will include Jocelyn Hublau (playwright), Fred Wah (writer), Daniel John (Human Rights Commission lawyer), and Kay Ray (M.A. student).
2:30 - 5:00 p.m.Beyond the Red Line - Toronto Premiere
What happens when one crosses the line? As new Canadians, we often find ourselves having to accommodate and acculturate to an evershifting environment: cultural, social, economic. The challenge of positioning and re-positioning ourselves – of placement after displacement – creates unique opportunities to establish our commitment to a new life in Canada.
Directed by Farzad SadrianDreams of the Night Cleaner
Canada, 1995, 26 min, Film
Print Source: CFMDC
A friendship develops between David, an unemployed English-Canadian computer analyst, and Nima, a newly arrived Iranian immigrant. The basic premise is that both men have to live fabricated lives in order to gain accommodation in a rooming house. "No job, no room," is the landlady's policy. Both David and Nima have to lie about having a job, and their individual circumstances remain unknown to each other until the day they literally come face to face on their respective balconies as each tries to elude the landlady.
Directed by Leila Sujir
Canada, 1995, 45 min, Video
Print Source: Video Pool
Dreams of the Night Cleaner uses storytelling, humour, magic and history to sweep away the misconceptions that haunt the lives of its characters. Jeanne, an archivist, researches the racist policies during the time of MacKenzie King, uncovering the secrets of family history as well as Canadian history. Her daughters – Usha, an airline crew scheduler and Devika, a night cleaner – slowly overcome their suspicions and share their secret stories. Incorporating issues of identity and loss, racism and sexism, immigration, unemployment, poverty, and the devastation of what are now called southern countries by northern policies, Dreams unfolds a fable for our time. By meshing elements of her life story with elements of world and Canadian history as well as current events, Ms. Sujir brings together the personal and the political in a refreshing and innovative way.
Sunday, May 5
Location: Water's Edge Cafe
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Free Admission
Sunday, May 5
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
Featuring Ron Korb, Donald Quan, George Gao, Gary Kiyoshi Nagata, and Chiyoko Szlavnics.
Sunday, May 5
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30)
Tickets: $2 at door
Location: Another Story, 164 Danforth Ave. (at Broadview Ave.), 416/462-1104
In these diverse fictional worlds, vibrant characters and fresh poetic voices speak, whisper, shout, and celebrate the truth of their stories. With Veena Gokhale, Winston Kam, Edward Lee and Fred Wah.
Wednesday, May 15
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30)
Tickets: $5 members and seniors, $8 advance, $10 at the door
Location: Nicholas Hoare, 45 Front St. East, 416/777-BOOK
Families. Rich cultural mythologies. The grip of state control. And the raw stuff of personal experience. Through words, these compelling themes are transformed into an intimate space, where both writers and audience discover a new order and clarity in life. With Denise Chong, David Fujino, Yan Li, Sasenarine Persaud, Thuong-Vuong Riddick, Patty Rivera.
Thursday, May 23
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30)
Location: Another Story, 164 Danforth Ave. (at Broadview Ave.), 416/462-1104
Tickets: $2 at door
From bandit queens to mothers, our dreams are born and spun onto the landscape. Visionaries recreate our passages. With Judy Fong Bates, Jean Eng, Sheila Ramdass, and Rina Singh.
Wednesday, May 29
The Rivoli, 334 Queen St. West
Curated by: Ann Shin
Tickets: $5 advance/members, $7 at door
Featuring Excalceolators, Jin Han of Jin's Banana House, Sook-Yin Lee, Ann Suni Shin and Venus Cures All
It's not a question of whether you're a 'banana' or a 'coconut'. Identity politics is dead, but cultural identities have been flourishing in these past two decades of world music and cultural fusion. For Asian-Canadian and other hyphenated artists, art is a juicy squeeze of where you're from, where you're at, and how you want to say it. The artists this evening all perform in one or more media not usually considered Asian: pop and experimental music, performance art and spoken word. Squeeze in.
Shelly Bahl: The (Big) Miniature Paintings
Ed Pien: Columns of Strength
May 1 - 31
Tuesdays and Fridays, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Opening: Wednesday, May 1, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Multicultural History Society of Ontario
43 Queen's Park Crescent East (North of Wellesley, West of Bay)
For more info call 416/979-2973 or 416/516-0287
The (Big) Miniature Paintings: Noble Women Smoking the Hookah, # 1, # 2, # 3 by Shelly Bahl is a body of work based on the tradition of Indian miniature paintings. Ms. Bahl's interest in the history of Indian art, especially the period of Mughul court paintings, has resulted in images showing royal women pursuing leisure activities in the Mughul courts. Juxtaposing and intertwining these images with playful images of dancing figures derived from Hindu temple sculptures, Ms. Bahl re-interprets the miniature painting artform, creating narratives that bring women from different worlds together. Images and materials are used out of context to question notions of authenticity, giving these works new meanings through technical manipulation.
Columns of Strength and Mom's Left Leg by Ed Pien pays homage to Asian immigrant women who stand on their feet all day working in small assembly-line types of work. Columns of Strength has been shown at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Vancouver. It was initially conceived as a site-specific work for the Scholar Study room in the garden. While his work celebrates Chinese culture and heritage within the context of a traditional Chinese garden, it also addresses the artist's interests in empowerment, assimilation, and the affirmation of one's Asian identity.
The Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario celebrates, preserves and documents Ontario's multi-ethnic heritage and culture. Their educational programs and publications, exhibits and celebratory events enliven the history of the many ethnocultural groups who make this province unique.
Millie Chen, Sarindar Dhaliwal and Louise Noguchi
May 2 - June 1
Thursday - Saturday, 12:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Opening: Thursday, May 2, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Paul Petro Contemporary Art
100 Yonge Street at 21 Adelaide Street West
For more info call 416/979-7874
Titles & Other Tigers brings together three artists of Asian heritage presently living in Toronto. The works of Millie Chen, Sarindar Dhaliwal, and Louise Noguchi incorporate a variety of materials within their installation-based practices.
Ingrid Chu, Ronman Ng, Vince Noguchi
May 3 - 31
Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Opening: Friday, May 3, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
AREA, 401 Richmond Street West, 4th floor
For more information call 416/516-0287
Cultural diversity is an essential characteristic of the Canadian landscape. Within this diversity lies the development of contemporary art practices that, over time, express different realities. One's cultural heritage is but one of the sites of personal location, that is, a statement of the self contextualized and shaped by the society we live in. Other sites of personal location become familiar when we discover and find ourselves in different terrains, whether here on the Canadian landscape or elsewhere.
Art for the Senses brings together artists of Asian heritage who deal with aspects of their culture. The works of these artists incorporate a variety of materials within their art practices, reflecting cultural, social, political and ideological concerns that intersect in contemporary Canadian reality. To be Asian in contemporary Canada is to inhabit a territory of ever-increasing complexity, arising from multiple differences imbedded in ethnic backgrounds, conceptions of race, gender, generation and class, and regional and urban circumstances.
May 3 - 31
Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Opening: Friday, May 3, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Gallery 401, 401 Richmond Street West, 2nd Floor, Studio 240
For more info call 416/506-9595
Yam Lau and Edward Aoki present their individual interpretations and interventions of the given space through a combination of paintings, reflective surfaces and wall drawings. These individual perspectives are orchestrated to generate new experiences of spatial possibilities.
May 10 - 21
Opening: Friday, May 10, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
The Rotunda Metro Hall, 55 John Street (at King St., 2 blks west of University Ave.)
For more info call 416/392-4273
Artist Statement: The themes of identity and home are the impetus of my work and I mostly work site specifically, embracing the viewer in a space of fiction. Threshold engages the house and the doorway. The house, as Bachelard says, "is our first universe, a real cosmos in every sense of the word". The house shelters us, our dreams, and our memories. The doorway is the moment of transition between the inside and the outside, fiction and reality, as the mouth is the moment of transition when thoughts become words. The mouth is the threshold to our house, the body. This piece is an assemblage, architectural fragments evoking memory, dream and body.
Kai Chan, Joni Moriyama
May 13 - 20
Harbourfront Centre Community Gallery at York Quay Centre
231 Queens Quay
Milk International Children's Festival
For more info call 416/973-4231
This exhibition would not have been possible without the assistance of Suzanne Gerhardt, Artistic Director, Milk International Children's Festival; Jane Howard Baker, Director, Inner City Angels; Kathryn Brown, Arts Liaison Officer, Toronto Board of Education; Lisa Sasaki and Alice Te, Lord Dufferin Public School; Angela Zekkou, Regal Road Public School; and Harbourfront Centre.
Eric Fong: Bodies/Images
Germaine Koh: Sightings
May 18 - June 18
Tuesday - Friday, 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Opening: Saturday, May 18, 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Inter/Access, 401 Richmond Street West, 4th Floor, Suite 444
For more info call 416/599-7206
Sightings by Germaine Koh and Body/Images by Eric Fong marks the first collaboration between the Asian Heritage Month Group and Inter/Access. In presenting works of Asian artists at this particular venue - a space that is focused on the intersection of electronic media and culture -we hope to highlight the relevance of these artists' work within a technological paradigm. Addressing issues such as the role of technology in constructing our biological body through its value systems, the meshing of photographic mediums (in this case postcards and x-rays), their modes of distribution and function within private and collective lives with the operations and discourses of art institutions, these questions alert us to the boundaries that traditionally sustain a stable structure of reality and appearance, art and life.
Inter/Access offers a community network and resource base to enable artists and the public to explore the intersection of culture and technology through the creation, exhibition, and critique of electronic art forms and new communications media.
May 17 - 31
Opening: Friday, May 17, 7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
The Toronto Chapter National Association of Japanese Canadians
382 Harbord Street (east of Ossington on the north side of Harbord)
For more information call 416/516-1375, fax 416/516-8402
Asian Open is an open, non-juried, celebrative exhibition and sales of works by Asian-Canadian artists. Works will be hung salon-style, side by side, chock-a-block. Artists are invited to submit one or two works up until Friday, May 10, and will be exhibited May 17 - 31.
Saturday, May 18The Lims Live in Ottawa - Directed by Melina Young
8:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Location: Trinity Square Video - 172 John Street, 4th Floor
Curated by Jim SheddenWednesday, May 8
In May, the AGO will present four concerts on Wednesday evenings to celebrate Asian Heritage Month, free of charge. Unless otherwise noted, concerts take place in the Walker Court of the Tanenbaum Centre of European Art.
8:00 p.m.Wednesday, May 15
Totally Free Music/Asian Heritage Month
Ritesh Das (tabla), Joanna Das (Kathak dance), and sarangi player (TBA)
A traditional performance of Kathak (North Indian classical dance) accompanied by tabla (North Indian hand drum).
8:00 p.m.Wednesday, May 22
Totally Free Music/Asian Heritage Month
Ravi Naimpally (tabla), Thomas Handy (guitars), Ernie Tollar (saxophone)
A celebration of the musical traditions of east and west through improvisation.
8:00 p.m.Wednesday, May 29
Totally Free Music/Asian Heritage Month
Cinnamon Sphere, featuring Nilan Perera (electric guitar), Sarah Peebles ("Dillpatch" sampling system), and Japanese calligraphy (TBA). Avant-jazz guitar meets electro-acoustics
8:00 p.m.
Totally Free Music/Asian Heritage Month
Chiyoko Szlavnics (saxophone), Kiki Misumi (cello), Reg Schwager (guitar). Compositions and improvisations.
Sunday, May 26
6:00p.m.
the last Sunday of every month
Call 416-598-7993 for location information
Performers:
Saeid Shanbehzadeh & Ensemble - Persian Gulf Music & Dance, Nachda Punjab - Bhangra dance, Joanna Das - Kathak dance, George Sawa & Ensemble - Arabic Music, Jeffrey Chan - Chinese/Modern dance, Arabesque Dance Co. - Egyptian Dance, Monique Romeiko - Modern dance, Roxana & Fabian - Tango dance, Kathleen Martinez - Modern dance
Friday, May 31
10:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Location: Chinatown Centre
222 Spadina (S of Dundas)
Tickets: $10 - members, $12 advance, $15 door
A multidisciplinary fashion extravaganza showcasing cutting-edge Asian Canadian talent.
Call (416) 598-7993 for more info.
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