From everyone here at the explorASIAN team, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of our partners, supporters, attendees, and contributors who made our 2022 festival such a success. This year was the first time since 2019 that we were able to safely offer in-person programming, and it was such a delight to see you and share space with you all once again.
In case you missed any of our in-house programming, here is a recap of what was on offer this year from the VAHMS team.
explorASIAN Opening Ceremony
Community Awards Celebration
This year’s awards were a bit of a departure from previous years. We celebrated our three honourees on the rooftop of the beautiful PAL Studio Theatre in downtown Vancouver before enjoying a performance of Co.ERASGA’s Passages of Rhythms.
Congratulations to Winnie Cheung, Esmie Gayo Mclaren and Lam Wong!
Interconnected
The Interconnected project showcases artists year-round, but this year fro explorASIAN Festival, Shaw Multicultural caught up with three of of our spotlight artists to produce these short video features.
Then and Now: A look at the experiences of Asian-Canadian members from British Columbia who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces serves all Canadians and the members in uniform reflect the diversity that exists in Canada. Learn about the experiences of four distinguished military representatives of the army, navy and air force based in British Columbia who have Asian-Canadian heritage. Hear how Canada continues to build a military workforce that leverages the diversity of Canadian society, and will help enhance military operational effectiveness by drawing on all the strengths of Canada’s population.
Stronger Together: Exploring the U.S. and Canada’s Shared Asian Heritage
Asian communities in North America have played vital roles in shaping Canada and the United States – from building both countries’ transcontinental railways to fighting for civil rights. Today they continue to contribute to advancements in science, literature, politics and beyond; as well as impact North America’s rich multicultural societies. In celebration of May’s Asian Canadian and Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, explorASIAN and the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver are proud to bring together trailblazing Asian Americans and Asian Canadians to discuss their journeys in the fields of space, diplomacy and acting.
The Truth of Yoga
Yoga has become the fastest growing body-mind practice in the world today, but is it more than just an exercise class? In this webinar, Zamir Dhanji provides a 10,000 foot view of yoga’s origins through a decolonized lens and explains yoga’s core philosophy and metaphysics and how it evolved into the practices we know today. This powerful introduction will not only change the way you see yoga, but also explain the meaning of different yogic paths. In particular, you will learn about the Yoga of Patanjali – proponent of classical yoga and author of the yoga sutras – which presents yoga as a systemic path of conscious evolution.
Amanda Sum’s Music Video Premiere: “Different Than Before”
explorASIAN Festival was proud to be one of the presenting partners of local musician Amanda’s Sum’s music video world premiere “Different Than Before”. Here is a conversation with “Different Than Before” creators and performers, Tzi Ma, Olivia Cheng, Mayumi Yoshida, and Amanda Sum, facilitated by Sabrina Rani Furminger.
Filipino Fridays Live Music Lounge
In collaboration with Filipino Fridays Podcast, youbloom and CiTR 101.9 FM, explorASIAN Festival was proud to present this sprawling series of intimate audio and video performances from some of Vancouver’s brightest Filipinx Artists. This series produced a whopping sixteen exclusive performance videos, as well as four exclusive podcasts. You can find the entire video playlist through the link below, and catch a few highlights right here.
Filipino Fridays capped off their live music lounge series with an in-studio concert at CiTR 101.9 FM! The event featured seven artists, including Later Days, Romeo Ryu Reyes, Jaenna Cali, Argel MDR, Tayler Jade & Kyra Dae, Chris Franco and Renzo. You can hear then entire podcast through the link below.
Thangka Art
Dr. Avril Wang of the Thangka Art Center of Shanghai walks us through the history of Thangka painting and its elements, features and characteristics. Dr. Wang also shares the new developments and academic findings in many fields of Thangka and Tibetan culture research and collection.