Category: 2024

These are some of the pieces of visual art submitted by the 2024 cohort, with contributions from:

Jessica Liu
Aiko Webb
Megan Kadzirange

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Cultural (Re)connection

[W]hat does it mean to have a seat at the table, when the table itself is on unceded land?

Creators:
Julianna Yue 余美鳳 (she/hers)

Identity, when achieved, gives us a sense of self; a sense of wholeness. Sometimes we are given an identity; but sometimes we have to find it, and other times still we need to reconnect with it. The process of finding/reconnecting with that identity can be a messy, clumsy, brave, and beautiful process all in one because along the way, we learn things, meet people, and emerge with a sense of ourselves that we never could have imagined before. Across two pieces, Julianna opens up about her continuing journey of reconnecting with her Métis-Cree heritage, discovering things about her Chinese heritage, and figuring out what it means to be Chinese-Indigenous in the context of so-called Canada – whether it’s through beautiful Métis beadwork, or an honest self-reflection. What activities would you do to try to learn more about your cultural identity/identities?

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Flavours of Home

“Good luck with that!”

Creators:
Megan Kadzirange (she/hers)

One of the biggest tasks that anyone has when leaving home is to find food that reminds one of home – sometimes it’s not an easy task (see the number of Hong Kong-style cafés or Indian restaurants around Vancouver); but sometimes it’s a monumental task. Megan, whose heritage home is in Zimbabwe, created this food journal to document her arduous journey of thinking about what food from home means, and, most importantly, figuring out where to even find the ingredients needed to make all the hometown delicacies so she can feel that warmth and comfort again. From tapping into others in the diasporic Zimbabwean community to using her own resourcefulness, she ultimately succeeds in her plans and cooks up some amazing offerings. What you are craving for something from home, how do you go about getting it?

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My Culture Book

I should be proud of being a little different

Creators:
Aiko Webb ウェブ愛子 (she/hers)

As racialized diasporic children grow up, the one struggle that they will undoubtedly have is thinking about their identity. They may think that they do, and ought to be able to, identify as someone from the mainstream culture; but that choice may be rejected for them. To compound this, they also need to figure out where they stand in terms of heritage identity – especially for people who have multiple heritage identities. Aiko’s book is an amazingly creative way of getting young children to start thinking about their cultural identities at an early age. Through various stories, activities, and prompts, Aiko gets children to think about how to navigate difficult questions around identity, and how to be comfortable with the inevitable uncertainty of discovering one’s identity. What else would you like to see included in a book like this, and how might it be different if the book were for an adult?

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But it’s too bitter! 可是太苦了!

[I]t gives them a sense of security and comfort…

Creators:
Jessica Liu 刘润芃 (she/hers)

People who grow up as Asian diasporic children likely have one unifying experience – having their parents push traditional medicine onto them (whether Japanese, Mongolian, Chinese, Indian, Persian, or others), and then having the children subsequently get annoyed, deciding to disavow traditional medicine. Regardless of one’s stance on these traditional forms of medicine, and regardless of the their validity, they all rest on consistent sets of principles. In this booklet, Jessica describes some of the principles underlying traditional Chinese medicine, and shares her personal connections to this ancient form of healthcare by tracing its practice through her family history. Traditional medicines play a huge role in the lives of diasporic folks – what kind of role has it potentially played in yours?

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Depression & Suicide

“[K]eep it in the family”

Creators:
Reeva Bhandal ਰੀਵਾ (she/hers)
Tracy Ngo 吴雯娜 (she/hers)

It is not a secret that Asian diaspora face particular challenges when it comes to mental health, particularly dealing with depression and suicide – both from within their cultures, and outside their cultures. From outside their cultures, they have to deal with a lot of racism, prejudice, and discrimination. Within their cultures, there is also a lot of conservatism and misunderstanding about mental health that prevents effective usage of mental health support. These complex problems require multi-faceted solutions – solutions that can greatly benefit from enough State-level financial support. In this letter to their Member of Parliament, Reeva and Tracy lay out the problems in detail, followed by impressively in-depth and well-researched solutions that they request from the government. Are there any other solutions not on the list that you’d like to see – whether from the government or from Asian diasporic communities?

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