Conference/Workshop
Asian Canadians in Visual Culture
March 2-4, 2017, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV Building)
1515 St. Catherine West (Metro Guy-Concordia)
Wheelchair accessible
PROGRAM-AT-A-GLANCE
March 2
2:30pm-4:00pm: RECEPTION: Asian Canadian Visual Culture Studies Network (EV Atrium, 2F)
4:00pm-5:30pm: KEYNOTE: Roland Sintos Coloma, “Queering Asian Canada” (EV-1.615)
5:30pm-7:00pm: VERNISSAGE: Surabhi Ghosh: Ananta Undone (PARALLEL EVENT: fofa gallery, GF)
March 3
9:00am-5:00pm: WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS & DISCUSSION (EV-3.725)
6:00pm-8:30pm: KEYNOTE: Deanna Bowen, “Shame”, followed by PANEL DISCUSSION with
Dylan Miner, Gordon Pon, and Doret Phillips (EV-1.1615) – Co-presented by EAHR & IARG
March 4
10:00am-12:30pm: WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS & PLENARY (EV-3.725)
2:00pm: SCREENING: MEDIAQUEER.CA + Festival Massimadi present Iconic Black Canadian 90s
Films: Rude (Clement Virgo, 1994, 89 min) & Welcome to Africville (Dana Inkster, 1999, 14 min)
(PARALLEL EVENT: different building: Visual Arts Building, Room VA 114, 1395 René Lévesque Ouest)
All events are free and open to the public.
For program updates: http://www.ethnoculturalarts.com/
Asian Canadians in Visual Culture Conference | March 2-4, 2017| Montreal
Bienvenue | Welcome
Many of us are settlers, immigrants, or descendants of those forcefully brought to this land. We would
like to begin by paying respect and acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional
territory of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk), a place which has long served as a site of meeting and
exchange amongst nations.
Welcome to the Asian Canadians in Visual Culture conference. This three-day meeting takes Canada’s
150th anniversary of Confederation as a key moment to address the representation of Asian
Canadians in visual culture—their presence, visibility, contributions and challenges—through
interdisciplinary dialogue across the visual arts, film and cinema, journalism, politics, and popular
culture as well as community-based initiatives. We define the term “Asian” broadly to refer to people
of East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, West Asian, and Central Asian backgrounds.
Our proceedings start with the firm acknowledgement of the history of engagements between
Indigenous peoples, racialized settler immigrants, and European settlers from contact to present-day.
The two evening public keynotes and panel—focusing on experiences and representations of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender Asians in Canada, and cross-cultural anti-oppression alliances and
practices between African and Asian Canadians and Indigenous peoples in light of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action—set the tone and provide the critical
frameworks for the conference.
Over the next three days, our aim is to examine current pedagogical approaches and research
methods that take into account the intersectionality of Asian Canadian, Indigenous and queer studies;
situate visual cultural studies of Asian Canadians within wider ethnocultural and national narratives in
Canada and particularly in Quebec; and foster the co-production of knowledge through workshop
discussions and networking activities. We hope you will take this opportunity to meet and connect with
members of a vibrant Asian Canadian visual culture studies community and, of course, that you enjoy
the conference and find the keynotes, panels, and workshops informative, valuable, and empowering.
Bonne conference!
This conference is organized as a part of the SSHRC-funded Connections project, Canada 150: Asian
Canadians in Visual Culture, initiated by Alice Ming Wai Jim (Concordia University), Ming Tiampo
(Carleton University), Christopher Lee (University of British Columbia), and Alexandra Chang (New York
University). The project brings together researchers, cultural practitioners, and community organizers
through a series of workshops, conferences, and public lectures in New York, Montreal, and Ottawa.
The Montreal conference is made possible with the generous support of the Ethnocultural Art Histories
Research Group (EAHR), the Indigenous Art Research Group (IARG), the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky
Institute for Studies in Canadian Art, the Department of Art History, and the CANADA 150: Asian
Canadians in Visual Culture Project. The project organizers thank the staff of Concordia University and our
many volunteers for their devoted assistance. http://www.ethnoculturalarts.com/
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Asian Canadians in Visual Culture Conference | March 2-4, 2017| Montreal
PROGRAM
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Friday, March 3, 2017
DAY 1
DAY 2
2:30pm-4:00pm
Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for
Studies in Canadian Art | Concordia
University
EV Building, EV-3.725
No registration necessary but seating limited.
NETWORKING RECEPTION
Asian Canadian Visual Cultures Studies
Network | Conference Registration |Free
8:30am–9:00am
Connecting scholars, students, artists, and cultural
workers engaged in Asian Canadian Visual
Culture Studies research, creation, and cultural
engagement.
Coffee | New Releases & Publications Table
9:00am–12:00pm
All welcome.
WORKSHOP I
EV Junction | Concordia University
EV Building, 2nd Floor Atrium
Intercultural, intersectional, and interdisciplinary
approaches to the study of Asian Canadians in
visual culture across diverse identity categories
4:00pm-5:30pm
9:00am Opening Remarks (Alice Ming Wai Jim,
Ming Tiampo, and Chris Lee)
9:15am Workshop I – aims and scopes
(Moderator: Chris Lee)
9:30am Diasporic Visual Cultures (Alice Jim)
9:45am Roland Sintos Coloma, co-editor with
Gordon Pon of the forthcoming Asian
Canadian Studies Reader (UTP, 2017)
10:00am Alan Wong
10:15am Karen Tam, "Acheter un petit
Québecois"
10:30am Victoria Nolte
10:45am Shawn Jones
11:00am Group Discussion (30 mins)
11:30am Janet Lumb, The Indigenous
Knowledge Sharing Project
11:45pm Food for Thought
KEYNOTE
Roland Sintos Coloma
(Please see poster attached for full details)
York Auditorium | Concordia University
EV Building, EV-1.615
5:30pm-7:00pm (PARALLEL EVENT)
EXHIBITION OPENING
Surabhi Ghosh
Ananta Undone
fofa Gallery | Concordia University
EV Building, in front of EV-1.615
http://www.concordia.ca/fofa
12:00am–2:00pm
LUNCH: EV Junction (2nd floor atrium)
* Special organized exhibition tour begins at:
12:45pm FOFA Gallery, “Ananta Undone” by
Surabhi Ghosh (artist presentation)
1:15pm
2
Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery,
“Sovereign Acts II,” curated by
Wanda Nanibush (introduction by
Gallery Director Michèle Thériault)
Asian Canadians in Visual Culture Conference | March 2-4, 2017| Montreal
2:00pm–5:00pm
Saturday, March 4, 2017
WORKSHOP 2
DAY 3
Pedagogical and ethical issues regarding
controversial topics in Canadian and Quebec
visual culture concerning Asian Canadians
2:00am
2:15pm
2:30pm
2:45pm
3:00pm
3:15pm
3:30pm
3:45pm
4:00pm
Jarislowsky Institute | Concordia University
EV Building, EV-3.725
9:30am–10:00am
Workshop 2 (Moderators: Monika Kin
Gagnon and Yasmin Jiwani)
Gregorio Arbolay Rodriguez
Sarah Fox | (tbc)
Nima Esmailpour, Taklif ‫تكلي ف‬
Monia Abdallah
Edward Ou Jin Lee
Joanne Hui
June Pak
Group Discussion (1 hour)
Coffee | New Releases & Publications Table
10:00am–10:45pm
WORKSHOP: OPEN MIC
10:00am
10:10am
10:20am
10:30am
5:00pm–6:00pm
NEED A SPACE TO CHILL before the second
keynote? Room EV.3-760
Gordon Pon and Doret Phillips
Gada Mahrouse
Cheryl Sim
ADVA Journal CfP for special double
issue on Asian Canadian, spring 2018
(Chris Lee, Glenn Deer & Marissa
Largo)
10:45am–12:30pm
6:00pm-8:30pm
PLENARY
A co-presentation by EAHR (Ethnocultural Art
Histories Research Group) & IARG (Indigenous
Art Research Group)
5 Key Questions, Takeaways, and Next Steps
10:45am
11:00am
11:30am
11:45am
KEYNOTE & PANEL
Deanna Bowen
Dylan Miner
Gordon Pon
Doret Phillips
5 Key Questions (Buzz Groups)
Debrief
Next Steps: Ottawa (Victoria Nolte)
Open Discussion (45 mins)
2:00pm-4:00pm (PARALLEL EVENT)
FILM SCREENINGS
MEDIAQUEER.CA + Festival Massimadi
(Please see poster attached for full details)
Iconic Black Canadian 90s Films
York Auditorium | Concordia University
EV Building, EV-1.615
: Rude (Clement Virgo, 1994)
: Welcome to Africville (Dana Inkster, 1999)
Chair: Victoria Nolte (Carleton University)
Moderators: Tamara Harkness (EAHR) &
Travis Wysote (IARG)
Visual Arts Building | Concordia University
1395 René Lévesque Ouest, Room VA 114
Special thanks to all of the members of the Montreal
organizing team *, conference and workshop
presenters, note takers, videographers, EAHR and
IARG members, and volunteers: Abigail Borja
Calonga, Brittany Burdick, Tamara Harkness*, Valérie
Henault, Tiffany Le*, Samantha Merritt, Chiara
Montpetit, Victoria Nolte*, Daniel Santiago, Kanwal
Syed, Sarah Eve Tousignant, Charissa von Harringa,
Estelle Wathieu, and Tianmo Zhang.
This special two-part event seeks to examine
cross-cultural anti-oppression alliances and
practices between African and Asian Canadians
and Indigenous peoples in light of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls
to Action in its 2015 report.
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AFTERNOONS
AT THE
INSTITUTE
Queering Asian Canada:
Archives, Fantasies, and
Utopic Counterpublics
This presentation will examine the interlocking
pivots of race, sexuality, and diaspora to delineate
the conceptual and agentic possibilities of
queering Asian Canada. The notion of queering
Asian Canada refers not only to the analysis of
the experiences and representations of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender Asians in Canada,
but also to the deconstruction of normalized
discourses and structures that condition and produce
minoritized subjectivity. Analysis will include Joella
Cabalu’s documentary It Runs in the Family
, 5ichard )ung’s ȴlm Re:Orientations (2016),
and the South Asian Visual Arts Centre’s Not a
Place on a Map: The Desh Pardesh Project (2016).
Roland Sintos Coloma is professor of Cultural Studies and
chair of the Department of Teacher Education at Northern
Kentucky University (USA). Previously he was a faculty
member at the University of Toronto, where he taught
the university’s ȴrst courses on ȊAsian Canadian +istoryȋ
and ȊTheorizing Asian Canada.ȋ +is publications include
over 30 journal articles and book chapters, and two books,
including Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility (2012)
and Postcolonial Challenges in Education (200). +e is
working on two book manuscripts: Imperial Fix, a history of
empire and education; and From Grief to Grievance, a study
of social justice movements as public pedagogy in Canada,
USA, and the Philippines. Coloma is co-editor, with Gordon
Pon, of the Asian Canadian Studies Reader (University of
Toronto Press, 201), the ȴrst interdisciplinary textbook
about Canada’s largest racialized minority group.
This Asian Canadians in Visual Culture Conference Keynote
by Roland Sintos Coloma is sponsored by the Gail and Stephen
A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art. Bringing
established and emerging scholars together, Afternoons at the
Institute focuses on pressing questions and current issues in the
research and writing of art histories.
Re:Orientations. DVD. Written & Directed by Richard Fung.
Toronto: V Tape, 2016.
Roland Sintos Coloma
Senior Curator of the Canadian Photography Institute
at the National Gallery of Canada
MAR/2/2017
4:00 - 5:30pm
York Amphitheatre, EV 1.605
1515 Sainte-Catherine St. W.
H3G 2W1
Metro Guy-Concordia
The Gail and Stephen A.
Jarislowsky Institute for
Studies in Canadian Art
presents a series of
conversations entitled
Afternoons at the Institute,
now in its fourth season.
Lectures are fee and open to the public.
For information, contact Brenda Dionne,
Institute Administrator at:
[email protected] or
514-848-2424, ext. 4713
The Asian Canadians in Visual Culture Conference/
Workshop, March 2–4, 2017, Concordia University,
Montreal, is made possible with the generous support of
the Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group (EAHR),
the Indigenous Art Research Group (IARG), the Gail and
Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian
Art, the Department of Art History, and the SSHRCfunded CANADA 150 Asian Canadians in Visual
Culture Project.
For more program info: http://www.ethnoculturalarts.com/
DEANNA BOWEN
Shame: Notes from An Exoduster’s Archive
Friday, March 3, 2017
6:00-8:30pm
FREE ADMISSION
York Auditorium | Concordia University
EV Building, Room EV-1.615͒
1515 Saint-Catherine Street West
(Metro Guy-Concordia) Wheelchair accessible
A co-presentation by the Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group (EAHR) and
the Indigenous Art Research Group (IARG), as part of the Asian Canadians in
Visual Culture Conference/Workshop, March 2–4, 2017. This presentation has
been made possible with the generous support of The Gail and Stephen A.
Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art, the Department of Art History,
and the SSHRC-funded Asian Canadians in Visual Culture Project. For more
program info: www.ethnoculturalarts.com
Keynote Speaker Deanna Bowen will discuss the research projects and artworks that have shaped her unconscious efforts to
unburden herself of generational trauma and shame.
Deanna Bowen (b. 1969, Oakland; lives in Toronto) is a descendant of the Alabama and Kentucky born Black Prairie
pioneers of Amber Valley and Campsie, Alberta. Bowen’s family history has been the central pivot of her auto-ethnographic
interdisciplinary works since the early 1990s. Her broader artistic/educational practice examines history, historical writing and
the ways in which artistic and technological advancements impact individual and collective authorship. She has received
several awards in support of her artistic practice including a 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2014 William H. Johnson
Prize. Her work has been exhibited internationally in numerous film festivals and museums, including the Institute of
Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, the Images Festival, Flux Projects, the Kassel Documentary Film and Video
Festival, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Moderated by Tamara Harkness and Travis Wysote
Dylan Miner
Gaagegoo Dabakaanan miiniwaa Debenjigejig –
No Borders, Indigenous Sovereignty
In this provocation, I imagine non-capitalist ways of building Indigenousmigrant solidarity that seek to undermine settler-colonialism across Turtle
Island.
Dylan Miner is a Wiisaakodewinini (Métis) artist, activist, and scholar. He is
currently Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies and Associate
Professor at Michigan State University. Miner is a founding member of the
Justseeds artists collective. He holds a PhD from The University of New Mexico
and has published extensively. His book Creating Aztlán: Chicano Art,
Indigenous Sovereignty, and Lowriding Across Turtle Island was published in
2014 by the University of Arizona Press. He is presently completing a book on
Indigenous Aesthetics and writing his first book of poetry – Ikidowinan
Ninandagikendaanan (words I must learn).
Gordon Pon & Doret Phillips
A Quotidian Kindness? Reflecting on King-Kok
Cheung’s Ethic of Care and Social Work
Gordon Pon and Doret Phillips will discuss King-Kok Cheung’s notion of
an ethic of care in relation to social work practices such as antioppression, anti-racism, and anti-Black racism.
Gordon Pon (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work
at Ryerson University. He has a Master of Social Work degree and has
worked in various sectors including child welfare. His research and
teaching is focussed on anti-racism and anti-colonialism, particularly in
relation to child welfare and Asian Canadian Studies. His recent work
examines the over-representation of Black and Aboriginal children in the
care of the child welfare system. He has also recently co-edited a book
with Roland Sintos Coloma titled: Asian Canadian Studies Reader (UTP,
2017). Doret Phillips (MSW, RSW) is a Social Worker whose practice
and knowledge base is informed by critical race feminism, anti-Black
racism, and anti-colonialism. She has extensive work experience in child
welfare, anti-violence against women initiatives, and providing therapeutic
support to parents and children. She has also worked in the children and
adult mental health sector.