Asian Heritage Month – Events & Resources
“Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity for us to learn more about the many achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage who, throughout our history, have done so much to make Canada the country we know and love.
The theme for Asian Heritage Month 2022 is, Continuing a legacy of greatness. This month is a reminder for all Canadians to come together to combat anti-Asian racism and discrimination in all its forms.” – Government of Canada
May is Asian Heritage Month which means there are all kinds of events going on in the Quebec arts community. Below is a list of some of the events you can check out to celebrate and discover Asian artists and arts in Quebec. As well, we have included a list of resources and organizations for Asian members of the community. If you have any events or resources you would like to see included in this list, please feel free to reach out to us at communications[at]quebec-elan.org.
Table of Contents
EVENTS
THROUGHOUT MAY
Festival Accès Asie is a Montréal-based arts festival that promotes Asian arts, cultures and histories through a diversity of artistic disciplines including the visual arts, dance, theatre, video, film, music, comedy, poetry, literature, performance, new media and culinary arts. Click here for details.
APRIL 28-MAY 7
South Asian Film Festival of Montréal (SAFFM) is committed to showcasing new artistic work that fosters discussions and explores the world we inhabit. The Festival hopes to be a platform for filmmakers worldwide whose films have a focus on South Asia and its diaspora. Click here for details.
APRIL 28-JUNE 11
Life of the Uterus- This collaborative project developed by three Iranian-born artists – Khosro Berahmandi, painter; Hadi Jamali, media artist; and Reihan Ebrahim, ceramicist – explores the correlation between the earth, death, and rebirth. Click here for details.
MAY 4
Festival Accès Asie invites you to the Conseil des arts de Montréal on Thursday, May 4 starting at 5 p.m for an opening cocktail. The evening will be hosted by activist and athlete Laëtitia Vu offering you a sneak-peek at one of the Festival performances by guest choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo and musician artists Ziya Tabassian (tombak) and Maryam Tazhdeh (târ). DJ Parker Mah will also be on hand to get you dancing! Click here for details.
MAY 4-JUNE 24
Exhibition- Bijin (artasiam)– The exhibition explores one of the major themes of Japanese art history: the bijin (美人), the essence of feminine beauty. Traditionally representing portraits of courtesans or beautiful women with standardized beauty, adorned in their finest clothes, the theme of the bijin has continued to fascinate throughout the ages. In today’s context where gender and body diversity are celebrated, where the very notion of universal beauty is questioned, what would the contemporary bijin look like? Click here for details.
MAY 6-9
CanAsian Dance’s KickStart program – in collaboration with Tangente and Festival Accès Asie, commissions Canadian choreographers, challenging them to develop and perform a short work that represents a significant new direction or constructive disruption in their approach to choreography. This year’s program features choreographers from Halifax, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal. Click here for details.
MAY 7
Bird Sanctuary is an intercultural adventure and a multi-sensory experience that will raise awareness of the ecological situation through an aesthetic and creative approach. Through three artistic disciplines, music, visual arts and video arts, the project will observe the current situation and the fundamental role of humanity in this state of affairs. Click here for details.
MAY 11
Go Fish! – On her last day, an older woman becomes a witness to her past as she prepares to let go. She separates and compartmentalizes all the women she had been with at different stages in her life. In her solitude, she imagines them as women who come together to play the card game, Go Fish. Each part of who she was, is reincarnated with the audience choosing which part of her gets to tell their story before they move on to their next life. This play will be performed as a theatrical reading by five women over 45, in English only. (Presented by Teesri Duniya Theatre and Festival Accès Asie) Click here for details.
MAY 13
the hybrid condition- explores cultural hybridity through a four-channel video and audio installation using a blend of personal, archival, and modern-day footage. By juxtaposing various moving images, the video installation reveals the complex interconnectedness of diasporic culture and cultural colonialism. Through footage emphasizing Vietnamese identity and diaspora, the hybrid condition digs into the roots of cultural, ethnic, and national identities that question Western hegemony and influence over Vietnam, and Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Canadian identity. Click here for details.
MAY 18
From that part of Asia with LOL- Comedians will share their unique voices, perspectives, characters, and styles. Together, they will take the audience on a comedic journey visiting personal stories, challenges, culture, and identity. Click here for details.
MAY 19
alokori- The duo alokori – An Laurence, guitar and voice, and Sara Constant, flute and electronics, present a brand new acoustic, electronic, and sound art performance work of their own inspired by metaphors of distance, the fragility of belonging, and the construction of home. Part performance, part installation, alokori’s new work expresses itself through sound, narrative, and movement, using musical performance and electronic devices to create a nostalgic soundscape. Click here for details.
MAY 20
Vision 2088 – The Legacy of The Craft & A Cyberpunk Outlook- Vision 2088 is divided into two parts: The Legacy Of The Craft, an intergenerational creatives’ panel discussion followed by Vision 2088: A Cyberpunk Outlook, a futuristic party. This two-part project aims to create a space in time where individuals from historically marginalized and erased communities gather to actively remember the past and to imagine a brighter future. Click here for details.
MAY 21
Les petits monstres: Mask making workshops- For children aged 8 to 13, the Théâtre Everest offers a mask-making workshop inspired by mythological creatures of Asian culture. More than a workshop, at this magic-making event, children will learn about the history and place of mythical creatures in the Asian cultural universe. Click here for details.
MAY 26
CanAsian Arts on the Move- To showcase artists from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal, CanAsian Arts On The Move will take place on May 26. Now in its third year, this pan-Canadian celebration is a national showcase for many artists of the Asian diaspora. Click here for details.
MAY 26
The Empower Hour- This Asian Heritage Month, which celebrates the progress and challenges of Asian communities in Canada, the Regroupement Québécois de la Danse (RDQ), invited two of its members from these communities for an enriching online exchange. Sibyl Sunitha, a versatile Indian artist with a passion for Bharatnatyam, and Misheel Ganbold, who has built her identity between Mongolia and Canada, will share their unique backgrounds and experiences.
Click here for details.
MAY 26-28
ASIASIE Market– This spring, Montréal’s Time Out Market food, centrally located downtown in the Montréal Eaton Centre, will welcome guests to the first ever edition of the ASIASIE Market. Marking the annual celebration of Asian Heritage Month, this special three-day market features over 40 vendors from around all across the continent of Asia, selling goods and products. Click here for details.
MAY 27
Sit, Eat and Chew- A choreographic project rooted in social art practices, Sit, Eat and Chew 五味杂陈 will take the form of a guided tour through the heart of four sites in Montreal’s Chinatown, with an artistic performance at each venue. Click here for details.
MAY 27
The Masters of Sufi Qawwali– Enjoy a rare opportunity to see Pakistan’s famed Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad Ensemble to perform Qawwali — a form of devotional Sufi music with origins in ancient Islamic poetry and brought to the west in the 20th century by the incomparable master of Sufi singing, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Click here for details.
RESOURCES
The Kabir Centre for Arts and Culture is a multi-disciplinary arts organization based in Montreal, contributing to the vibrant pluralistic arts scene of Montreal, Quebec and Canada through its dedication to South Asian Classical arts, especially to its diverse music and dance forms.
Click here for details.
The South Asian Women’s Community Centre (SAWCC) is dedicated to the empowerment of women of South Asian origin. The organization develops programming to facilitate women of South Asian origin gaining autonomy, working collectively, making inroads into Canadian and Quebecois society and seeking redress against discrimination.
Click here for details.
Pan-Asian Colective (@pacmtl) is a group based in tiohtiá:ke (montréal) aiming to empower and grow the intersectional Asian community.
Click here for details.
Young Chinese Professionals Association (YCPA)’s vision is to unite, to empower and to propel young Asian professionals and entrepreneurs. They foster networks and create opportunities to connect, train and equip members with the tools to exceed their potential and become today’s leaders.
Click here for details.
The Rang Collective is a Tiohtià:ke/Montréal-based collective for the arts of South Asia, founded in 2021. The Collective aims to promote dialogue around and awareness of social issues affecting marginalized South Asian & South Asian-adjacent communities.
Click here for details.
