 MAY 29-30, 20210, 2021RICHARDFUNGSHELLIEZHANGMONIKAKINGAGNONROBERTDIAZMINSOOKLEEBEVERLYBAINMEICHIUMARIBETHTABENERALUXUWINNIENGDEENALADDLARISSALAIELENELAMMINADOMERCEDESENGTAKASHIFUJITANICHRISTINEKIMALLANPUNZALANISAACCASEYMECIJALUCYMAESANPABLOBURNSJINMEYOONPATRICKSALVANIIMMONYMÈNAMYLAMHARSHAWALIAROBYNMAYNARDERICAVIOLETLEELIUJIANIANTIANJAQSGALLOSAQUINESJACQUELINEHOÀNGNGUYỄNKIRSTENEMIKOMCALLISTERJAYALCHUNG Points of DepartureAsians in the diaspora are being scapegoated for COVID-19, and as a byproduct of economic and geopolitical competition between China and Western powers. People who are read as Chinese are being physically attacked, verbally assaulted and stigmatized, even killed. We need a response that understands these current violences within a history of anti-Asian racism in Canada, in which we are pegged as perpetual foreigners: The Chinese head tax and exclusion act, the internment of Japanese Canadians, the Komagata Maru incident and the war on terror, to name some. The backdrop for these racist measures is Western colonialism and imperialism in Asia premised on the expendability of Asian lives.
Anti-Asian racism in Canada and Asia is rooted in white supremacy linked to the enslavement of Africans and to European settler colonialism in Canada and elsewhere. Nevertheless, Asians are often positioned as a wedge against Black and Indigenous people, framed as a model minority and simultaneously celebrated and resented for it. To effectively counter anti-Asian racism we reject racial hierarchies that serve colonial and capitalist interests and invest in a profound transformation of society: disrupting white supremacy in all its guises, settler colonialism, ethnic and religious nationalisms, capitalism, patriarchy and heteronormativity. Refusing the model minority and its appeal to conservative values of respectability, we advocate for gender equity, sexual liberation and body autonomy including the rights of sex workers. We acknowledge and address the inequities between and within Asian ethnic groups and call for economic justice. We challenge racist immigration laws that produce precarity, poverty, risk and anguish. In responding to anti-Asian violence, we reject calls to increase criminalization, policing and state surveillance, which are always deployed against the most marginal: Indigenous, Black and brown people, the undocumented, sex workers, trans people, the poor, the homeless and those managing mental health issues. We need to defund policing and invest in our communities. We dream of a better world for ourselves and each other. To unleash our collective ambitions, we need the means to create and share our narratives, in classrooms, cinemas, theatres, libraries, on television and on the Internet. We need to talk with each other. With this event we continue the conversation. The AARU Programming Collective: Richard Fung, Shellie Zhang, Monika Kin Gagnon, Robert Diaz and Min Sook Lee
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 Juan Ortiz-ApuyThe Virtual GardenMarch 2021 Online ExhibitionCurated and Designed by Yasmeen Kanaan In collaboration with Sarah Piché (EAHR) In a high-key critique of fetishistic commodity culture, Juan Ortiz-Apuy amplifies the addictive and trapping sensation of instant gratification associated with junk-commodity culture through his vibrant and dynamic hand-cut collages. Costa Rica–born Juan Ortiz-Apuy has lived and worked in Montreal since 2003. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Studio Arts at Concordia University. Working in his favored techniques of collage and assemblage, he makes art driven by thinking around consumer goods, often employing humor to explore the advertising and media strategies associated with them. His works—which he presents in the form of multimedia installations—draw inspiration from design, art history, and pop culture. His work has been shown in several museums and art centers across Canada as well as abroad, including the Fondation Phi pour l’art contemporain (Montreal), Birch Contemporary Gallery (Toronto), OPTICA, centre d’art contemporain (Montréal), ARTSPACE (Peterborough), the Carleton University Art Gallery (Ottawa), the IKEA Museum (Älmhult, Sweden), as well as at MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image in Montreal and Manif d’art 7 in Quebec City. In 2011 he was the beneficiary of the Halifax Regional Municipality Contemporary Visual Art Purchase Program. Upcoming projects include a solo show at Open Space (Victoria), and residencies at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA, USA) and the Zentrum Für Keramik (Berlin). Ortiz-Apuy holds a BFA from Concordia University, where he now teaches, along with a postgraduate diploma from the Glasgow School of Art and an MFA from NSCAD University. Presented in conjunction EAHR’s third annual Diversifying Academia Library Research Residency, focusing on bibligraphical sources of recent new BIPOC faculty in the Faculty of Fine Arts of Concordia University. Presented by the Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group (EAHR) with the support of EAHR|Media and the Concordia University Research Chair in Ethnocultural Art Histories. The EAHR Diversifying Academia Library Research Residency is organized in partnership with Concordia Libraries and supported by the Department of Art History. EAHR’s activities are made possible with the support of The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art and the Department of Art History. Poster Design: Sarah Piché Editing: Alice Ming Wai Jim Platform: www.artsteps.com Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters of Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal
 Michèle Pearson Clarke | Michaëlle Sergile | Ashley Raghubir
15 October 2020, 1:30–3:00pm Presented in collaboration with EAHR | Media (Ethnocultural Art Histories Research in Media) All CICA 2020/21 events will take place online in collaboration with 4th SPACE. Zoom links via: concordia.ca/cica FEATURING RAJNI SHAH EAHR|MEDIA MEMBER What does it mean to come together as exhausted ones?
How does exhaustion already sit in our bodies as BIPOC activists? What are the relationships between resistance, exhaustion, and structural oppression? This workshop-gathering is inspired by Akwugo Emejulu & Leah Bassel’s recent article, ‘The politics of exhaustion’ which proposes, among other things, the notion of ‘structural exhaustion’. Rather than simply discussing these themes, Rajni invites those who are exhausted to come together and experience solidarity, respite, and reflection. There is no required reading for the session, and you will be welcome to participate in any way you need, including remaining camera-off if this is most comfortable for you. Rajni will share the article that inspired the session with everyone after we meet. In order to create a safer space, Rajni has requested that this online gathering is restricted to people who identify as BIPOC* (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour). Please register in advance so that we can send you details nearer to the time. The form to register is here: https://forms.gle/QDVEi5mgHtonZtt57 * These terms can feel clumsy, but are helpful in the work of decentering whiteness. If you self-identify as BIPOC you are welcome here, no questions asked. POSTPONED DUE COVID-19 - MORE INFORMATION TO COME  In 2019, the University of Alberta Botanic Garden completed its new Aga Khan Garden, a contemporary design inspired by historical gardens of the Islamic World. Dr. Keshani will present critical rwww.concordia.ca/research/jarislowsky/events/afternoons/afternoons-at-the-institute-archives/2019-2020/afternoons-at-the-institute-keshani.htmleflections on the cultural politics of the project, exploring whether museums for nature can also become places that further explore and enhance social cohesion, intercultural perspectives, and knowledge of the natural world through the thoughtful and appropriate use of digital media and mobile technology. He will also explore the role of digital art history and the implications of the digital turn for the discipline of art history.
Hussein Keshani is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator in Art History and Visual Culture in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. He leads darc (digital art history collective), which operates out of the CFI funded AMP (Audio, Media, Poetry) lab. As of July, he will also be the Coordinator of the Digital Arts and Humanities interdisciplinary graduate theme of which he is currently a member. He formerly served as the interim head of the Centre for Culture and Technology. He is a specialist in Delhi Sultanates, Mughal, and late-Mughal visual cultures as well as digital art history. He teaches courses in art history and digital humanities and is the recipient of multiple SSHRC grants. Presented by EAHR | Media (Ethnocultural Art Histories Research in Media), a new working group at CISSC (Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture), for faculty and graduate students at the intersections of ethnocultural art research, media, and digital art history. The event is co-sponsored by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art and the Concordia University Research Chair in Ethnocultural Art Histories. In 2019, the University of Alberta Botanic Garden completed its new Aga Khan Garden, a contemporary design inspired by historical gardens of the Islamic World. Dr. Keshani will present critical reflections on the cultural politics of the project, exploring whether museums for nature can also become places that further explore and enhance social cohesion, intercultural perspectives, and knowledge of the natural world through the thoughtful and appropriate use of digital media and mobile technology. He will also explore the role of digital art history and the implications of the digital turn for the discipline of art history. Hussein Keshani is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator in Art History and Visual Culture in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. He leads darc (digital art history collective), which operates out of the CFI funded AMP (Audio, Media, Poetry) lab. As of July, he will also be the Coordinator of the Digital Arts and Humanities interdisciplinary graduate theme of which he is currently a member. He formerly served as the interim head of the Centre for Culture and Technology. He is a specialist in Delhi Sultanates, Mughal, and late-Mughal visual cultures as well as digital art history. He teaches courses in art history and digital humanities and is the recipient of multiple SSHRC grants. Presented by EAHR | Media (Ethnocultural Art Histories Research in Media), a new working group at CISSC (Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture), for faculty and graduate students at the intersections of ethnocultural art research, media, and digital art history. The event is co-sponsored by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art and the Concordia University Research Chair in Ethnocultural Art Histories. Inaugural EAHR|Media WORKSHOPArt History & Locative Media: A Beginner’s Guide Friday, March 27th, 10am-noon Location: LB 207, J.W. McConnell Bldg. 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd W. Wheelchair accessible This workshop will demonstrate how web-based locative media is used in the Web App prototype for the Aga Khan Garden in Edmonton. It is aimed at beginners and those with rudimentary knowledge of web programming. The workshop is open to all graduate students and faculty. The workshop is free and open to all graduate students and faculty. Limited seats; register at: ethnoculturalarts@gmail.com: ethnoculturalarts@gmail.com  Co-presented by SAVAC and Cinema Politica
In partnership with the EAHR Concordia (Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group) and EAHR|Media CISSC Working Group, Concordia University. A discussion will follow the screening with curator Sharlene Bamboat and artists Swapnaa Tamhane (August Fröhls) and Oliver Husain. Moderated by Ronald Rose-Antoinette. MONITOR 13 invites the viewer to consider the indecipherable traces and charges of the past. It is an invitation to dance to the meditative, moving images in the program. Through letters, biographies, surfaces, sounds and architectures, the curators have assembled the films to gesture not only towards things lost and hidden along the way, but their connections to living and renewal. MONITOR is SAVAC’s longstanding experimental South Asian film and video program that holds steady engagement with an international community of artists, curators and critics, initiating dialogues around the shifting nature of South Asian politics, economies and landscapes through artists’ film. Curators: Priya Sen, Sharlene Bamboat Artists: Faraz Anoushahpour & Parastoo Anoushahpour, Rehana Zaman, Nazli Dinçel, Michelle Williams Gamaker, August Fröhls, Weeda Azim, Oliver Husain  For more information: http://storytelling.concordia.ca/events/powerful-wind-turtle-island
 The Sunflower Man: Performance, screening and conversation with Heryka Miranda and Luis Mendoza on dance, migration and healing
This free event is organised by the DSA and the CUJAH and will take place in studio 7.255 of Concordia's Dance Department (7th floor of JMSB) right before the final Studio 7 of the semester! It will open with the presentation of The Sunflower Man dance, a screening of a short documentary film by the same name and close with a Q&A with the artists. The Sunflower Man is a collaborative duet created by Heryka Miranda and Luis Mendoza (bios listed below). It explores the life-cycle of sunflowers and its interrelationship to the elements - sun, wind, rain and earth - as witnessed by a migrant farm worker through dance and storytelling. Through the method of land dance and creative expression, Mexican migrant farm worker Luis was able to find his voice and use dance rehearsals and public performance opportunities as forms to resist precarious working conditions and as a platform to increase migrant worker visibility and advocate for migrant justice. JUAN 'LUIS' MENDOZA DE LA CRUZ is a Mexican migrant farm worker who has been working on Canadian farms for 29-years. For the past 12-years he has been working in St. Catharines, Ontario in the flower industry. He is a musician, visual artist, storyteller and emerging dancer who uses the arts as a tool to resist against precarious working conditions. He is known as 'The Sunflower Man' because of the respect, love and admiration that he has for the sunflowers and the knowledge that he has gained over the years being their caretaker. He collaborated with Heryka Miranda on co-creating a 15-minute dance honouring the sunflowers. He is featured in the short film 'The Sunflower Man' by Toronto-based, Colombian filmmaker Monica Gutierrez. A film that depicts the journey of taking 'The Sunflower Man' dance piece to Parliament Hill to bring visibility to migrant farm workers as a plea for migrant justice. HERYKA MIRANDA is a Guatemalan US-American Mestiza (who lives and works in Ontario, Canada), a social change dance artist and cultural worker who uses Indigenous land dance methods and expressive arts therapeutic approaches in her work with vulnerable communities. Her graduate research study at Brock University in the Niagara Region explored the experiences of Mexican and Guatemalan migrant farm workers’ participation in experiential 'dance for relaxation' community art sessions. The aim of her study was to provide relief and comfort to feelings of isolation and homesickness - often experienced by the precariousness of migrant farm workers’ employment. Her work using land dance practices with Juan ‘Luis’ Mendoza de la Cruz, migrant farm worker is featured in ‘The Sunflower Man’a short documentary by Toronto-based, Colombian filmmaker Monica Gutierrez. MONICA GUTIERREZ is a Toronto-based, Colombian director and visual artist. Monica’s work explores stories between people, the arts, social justice and the environment through documentary and experimental videos. She has directed Crude Gold (2015), Poetry Saved Our Lives (2016) and Raptors Amongst Us (2016), a TVO Short Doc semi-finalist broadcasted in 2016. Thank you to FASA, LePARC, EAHR|Media and the Department of Art History for making this event possible!  In collaboration with EAHR/Media (Ethnocultural Art Histories Research in Media) and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture (CISSC)
February 15, 2019, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. In this artist talk and conversation, Jaret Vadera will discuss key arcs, propositions, and questions guiding his multifarious practice. Bio Jaret Vadera is a transdisciplinary artist whose work explores how different social, technological, and cognitive processes shape and control the ways that we understand the world around and within us. Vadera's practice is influenced by cognitive science, post/de-colonial theory, science fiction, Buddhist philosophy, and the study of impossible objects. Vadera's paintings, prints, photographs, videos, and installations have been exhibited widely at venues such as: the Queens Museum, MoMA, the Smithsonian APAC, Asia Society Museum, Aga Khan Museum, Maraya Art Centre, and the Bhau Daji Lad Museum. Vadera completed his undergraduate education at OCAD University and Cooper Union School of Art. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Art in New Haven. - Jaret Vadera discutera des principales démarches, propositions et questions qui orientent sa pratique éclectique. Biographie Jaret Vadera est un artiste interdisciplinaire dont le travail explore comment différents processus sociaux, technologiques et cognitifs façonnent et dominent les manières dont nous comprenons le monde qui nous entoure et se trouve en nous. Sa pratique est influencée par les sciences cognitives, les théories postcoloniales et décoloniales, la science-fiction, la philosophie bouddhiste et l’étude des objets impossibles. L’artiste a présenté ses tableaux, impressions, photographies, vidéos et installations dans de nombreux lieux d’exposition, notamment au Queens Museum, au MoMA, au Smithsonian APAC, à l’Asia Society Museum, à l’Aga Khan Museum, au Maraya Art Centre et au Bhau Daji Lad Museum. Jaret Vadera a effectué ses études de premier cycle à l’Université de l’École d’art et de design de l’Ontario et à la Cooper Union School of Art. Il est titulaire d’une maîtrise ès beaux-arts de la Yale School of Art, à New Haven. |
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Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.
For more information, please visit: https://www.concordia.ca/about/indigenous/territorial-acknowledgement.html
Credits: EAHR's logo was created and designed by Adrienne Johnson, co-founder of EAHR / notre logo a été créé par Adrienne Johnson, co-fondatrice de EAHR.
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