Asian Heritage Month logo, click here to return to the home page

Virtual Asian Heritage Month Festival 2020


presented by
The Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc. in partnership with Toronto Public Library


2019 GREETINGS FROM HIS WORSHIP JOHN TORY, MAYOR, CITY OF TORONTO

A Welcome Message from Mr. Justin Poy, Honourary Patron, Asian Heritage Month-Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture
Mr. Justin PoyMr. Poy at the Asian Heritage Month Reception held by the Minister of Canadian Heritage in Ottawa, 2019

2019 Canadian Heritage | Celebrate Canada's Asian Heritage - Asian Heritage Month

2020 to 2021

***Events Index Quick Links***

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

Click here for our list of Sponsors

1.Wednesday September 2, 2020 | 7 PM
Launch of Asian Heritage Virtual Series at Toronto Public Library
Title of Presentation: Asian Heritage: Art and Haiku In the Time of COVID
Presenters: Patria Rivera (writer) and Joe Rivera (painter)

FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
Event Poster with bios of writer and artist

WELCOME: Mr. Gregory McCormick, Toronto Public Library
OPENING REMARKS: Mr. Justin Poy, Honorary Patron, Asian Heritage Month-CFACI; Professor Leslie Sanders, University Professor, York University & Co-lead of project

DESCRIPTION: Poet Patria Rivera and artist Joe Rivera share their art through poetry and paintings. Patria Rivera will read from haiku written before the Covid-19 pandemic and revised during the months of lockdown, while Joe Rivera will share the artwork he has painted to counter months of self-quarantine. Their hope is that transcendent sketching from life can bring heightened awareness or capture the sublime even in uncertain times.
As Patria Rivera notes: “The haiku in this collection aim to bring old forms with new aesthetics, to limn from ordinary life moments that pierce and captivate, that probe and question the self against forces—living and nonliving, both visible and invisible—that surround us.”

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 

Back to top

2.Monday September 28, 2020 | 7 PM
Title of Presentation: Chinese Festivals and Food - Mid-Autumn Festival
Presenter: Professor Chef Leo Chan

FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
Event Poster with bios


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

DESCRIPTION: The Mid-Autumn Festival is a signature celebration that showcases the culinary and cultural traditions of the Chinese community. Celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, it is sometimes called the Moon Festival.
This happy festival coincides with the harvest thanksgiving season in China. Join Professor Chef Leo Chan and share food memories about the origin, folklore and history of this celebration. Find out how to enjoy the Mooncakes and seasonal fruits. Experience the other activities, such as the joy and fun of Chinese poetry, songs, and seeing the beautiful lanterns.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 



Back to top

3. Wednesday October 14, 2020 | 7 PM
Title of Presentation: Asian Heritage: A Spiritual Quest through the Creation of Poetry
Presenter: Dr. Lien Chao

FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
Event Poster with bios


WELCOME: Mr. Gregory McCormick, Toronto Public Library
OPENING REMARKS: Mr. Justin Poy, Honorary Patron, Asian Heritage Month-CFACI, Professor Leslie Sanders, University Professor, York University

Lien Chao (poet and author) reads from her latest collection of bilingual poetry Salt in My Life published by Mawenzi House Publishers in December 2019. Lien shares the process of creating poetry as a spiritual quest for inner peace. Bilingual poetry in English and Chinese broadens cultural sharing and encourages inter-art collaborations among fellow Asian Canadian artists in joint projects. Lien talks about the spiritual quest of the poet with York University Professor of Humanities, Leslie Sanders.

About this event's guest: Lien Chao, Leslie Sanders

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 

Back to top

4. Saturday November 7, 2020 | 2 PM
Title of Presentation: Strange Luminescence: Music Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night
Presenters: Alice Ping Yee Ho, Composer | Claudia Chan, Pianist

FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT https://tinyurl.com/ahm2020-talk4
(Meeting ID: 822 4203 4793 Passcode: 486990)
Event Poster with bios


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

Alice Ho’s Strange Luminescence, an 18’ work for solo piano and chamber orchestra, was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting “Starry Night”. This evocative composition is a psychedelic depiction of the images in the painting and beyond. The title “Strange Luminescence” is identified with a prominent piano figure which symbolizes the central entity of an infinite glow through darkness, casting different reflections or influences on its surroundings. The woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion represent the broad bands of shadowy colors of a distorted nature, reacting to the moon’s struck. Both soloist and accompanying ensemble play equal partners engaging intense musical dialogues, fusing and unraveling of contrasting textures and instrumental colors to create idiosyncratic chemistry. Strange Luminescence is commissioned and written especially for the Glenn Gould Music School New Music Ensemble and their distinguished graduate, pianist Claudia Chan (winner of 2010 Eckhardt-Gramatte National Piano Competition), through the support of Ontario Arts Council.
About this event's guest: Alice Ping Yee Ho (http://www.alicepyho.com/)
Works by Alice Ho: New opera: CHINATOWN: https://cityoperavancouver.com
Venom of Love -new release on Leaf Music: ttps://www.leaf-music.ca/2020/09/11/alice-ping-yee-ho-venom-of-love/
The Monkiest King short documentary film (children's opera)- https://vimeo.com/442986080

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 



Back to top

5. Saturday November 21, 2020 | 2 PM
Title of Presentation: Tales of Two Cities: Wuhan & Honolulu
Presenters: Photography: Edwin Ho and Weiping Lu | Poetry: Weiping Lu | Moderator: Lien Chao

FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT http://tinyurl.com/ahm2020-talk9
(Meeting ID: 860 4628 7692, Passcode: 6Xd3bh)
Event Poster with bios


A Toronto couple departed for holidays in Honolulu on January 24th, 2020, coincidentally, on the same day, the city of Wuhan in China was shut down because of a novel coronavirus outbreak. Retired English teacher Weiping Lu has woven her travelogue and snap-shots with photographs contributed by photographer Edwin Ho to create “Tales of Two Cities: Wuhan & Honolulu.” As personal and social records, this joint project helps the public keep our collective memories alive of the unprecedented suffering, deaths and economic loss worldwide caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bilingual poetry will be presented in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 

Back to top

6. Sunday December 20, 2020 | 2 PM
Title of Presentation: Encountering Pines and Mountains
Presenters: Painting: Sharon Cook | Poetry: Lien Chao


FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT http://tinyurl.com/ahm2020-talk10
(Meeting ID: 839 3534 4275, Passcode: 818643)
Event Poster with bios

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

Encountering Pines and Mountains
Chinese Brush Painting on Paper and Rock, Installation Artwork, Bilingual Poetry in English & Chinese, Original Music Composed and Performed.
Sharon Cook/柯雪倫: Sharon’s portfolio spans contemporary art disciplines including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, music, film-making, and performance art. Since the early ‘90s, she has been pursuing Classic Chinese ink painting. She has developed a body of new work that bridges contemporary art with Chinese Ink painting mediums and techniques. She exhibits her artwork annually with AHM.
Lien Chao/趙廉: Lien is a bilingual poet and an award-winning Canadian author. Her publications include Beyond Silence: Chinese Canadian Literature in English (1997), winner of the Gabrielle Roy Prize for Canadian Criticism. Tiger Girl: Hu Nü (2001); The Chinese Knot and other Stories (2008); and three collections of bilingual poetry: Maples and the Stream (1999), More Than Skin Deep (2004), and Salt in My Life (2019). She has also published bilingual art books on sculpture and Chinese brush painting.
As interdisciplinary artists, Sharon and Lien will bring an artistic feast they have been working for months to the audience on the AHM digital platform. This virtual gathering will also be an end-of-year rendezvous and celebration for all AHM artists and friends before the holiday season.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 

Back to top

7. Friday May 29, 2020 | 2 PM
Title of Presentation: How to Stay Safe in the Online World
Presenters: Avianna Chao and Lien Chao

FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73390128214?pwd=dTFDZ0NGQjdpZERsR2JSbjQ4eTFVZz09
Event Poster with bios

Back to top

8. Friday May 31, 2020 | 2 PM
Launch of AHM Virtual Digital Workshop Series
Title of Presentation: How to Stay Safe in the Online World
Presenters: Toronto Catholic District School Board, Dora Nipp, Hilary Chang, Avianna Chao and Lien Chao
FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
Event Poster ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT https://tinyurl.com/ahm2020-talk1
Event Poster with bios



Back to top

9. Saturday July 11, 2020 | 2 PM
Title of Presentation: Pink Energy Unfolds: Brush Paintings & Bilingual Poetry
Presenters: Irene Hung and Lien Chao


FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT https://tinyurl.com/ahm2020-talk2
Event Poster with bios

“This Spring Is Not Normal”
In the chilly, gloomy spring of 2020, deadly COVID-19 rapidly spread out in the world. Two Canadian artists, Lien Chao and Irene Hung, started their multi-media artistic collaboration as their way to fight COVID-19 during at-home quarantine and practising social distancing. They chose brush painting and bilingual poetry in English and Chinese. On July 11, 2020, they successfully delivered their live-streaming virtual presentation of the finished project to the public.

Irene Hung is an abstract painter with ink, oil and acrylics. She exhibits her artwork with Asian Heritage Month, local and international art events. Irene’s paintings embodied a deep joy of a creative artist who is always fascinated with vibrant, ever-changing movements in the world within and beyond the visions of our naked eyes.

Lien Chao/趙廉: Lien is a bilingual poet and an award-winning Canadian author. Her publications include Beyond Silence: Chinese Canadian Literature in English (1997), winner of the Gabrielle Roy Prize for Canadian Criticism. Tiger Girl: Hu Nü (2001); The Chinese Knot and other Stories (2008); and three collections of bilingual poetry: Maples and the Stream (1999), More Than Skin Deep (2004), and Salt in My Life (2019). She has also published bilingual art books on sculpture and Chinese brush painting.
As interdisciplinary artists, Irene and Lien will bring an artistic feast they have been working for months to the audience on the AHM digital platform. This virtual gathering will also be an end-of-year rendezvous and celebration for all AHM artists and friends before the holiday season.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 



Back to top



10. Saturday August 1, 2020 | 2 PM
Title of Presentation: Life in the time of COVID | HAIKU and Oil Paintings
Presenters: Patria Rivera, Joe Rivera | Moderator: Dr. Lien Chao


FREE ADMISSION: Please register here
ACCESS VIRTUAL EVENT AT https://tinyurl.com/ahm2020-talk3
Event Poster with bios


Patria Rivera is a Filipino-Canadian poet, writer, and editor. She is the author of four poetry books and two chapbooks, including Puti/White (2005), The Bride Anthology (2007), BE (2011), and The Time Between (2018). Her poetry collection, Puti/White, was shortlisted for the 2006 Canadian Trillium Book Award for Poetry.
Joe Rivera, a retired lawyer and blogger (An Uncomplicated Mind), turned to painting after many years of lawpractice. His works have been exhibited at the Asian Heritage Month Festival and local Toronto galleries. When not painting, Joe cooks a mean Veal a la Marengo the way Napoleon liked it.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 



Back to top

11. Ongoing
Title of Presentation: "Positive Thinking" video with seniors
Activities in collaboration with Social Services Network


FREE ADMISSION on Social Services Network Virtual Platform


The video was integrated into Social Services Network’s relaxation and mindfulness activities, including virtual programs that was supporting up to 70 seniors daily.

Co-Organizers: Asian Heritage Month—Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture (Central Ontario) Inc.; Toronto Public Library; York Centre for Asian Research, York University; Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University; Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto; Chinese Canadian Photography Society of Toronto; WE Artists' Group; Social Services Network; Cambridge Food and Wine Society
Asian Heritage Month Festival is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Asian Canadian Artists in Digital Age is funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

 



Back to top

List of Supporters of Asian Heritage Month


Main Partner: Toronto Public Library

Asian Heritage Month supporters 2017

Canada 150 Activities showcasing the works from the school workshops are sponsored by Canadian Heritage Canada 150 Fund and York University Canada 150 Fund

Canadian Heritage Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program
Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund

Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto
Cambridge Food and Wine Society
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
Moon Pointer Production Inc.
Reel Asian Film Festival
ReelWorld Film Festival
Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library
Toronto Arts Council 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
York Region District School Board

 

Back to top