Category Archives: Upcoming Events

Hip, hapa and Happening…. July 24 to 31

Hip, hapa and Happening…. July 24 to 31

I am back from a weekend in Victoria celebrating Chinese-Canadian and Scottish-Canadian activities such as the Victoria dragon boat races, visiting Craigdarroch castle, a Chinese banquet in Chinatown with a Portland dragon boat team, and kilt wearing in the Irish Time Pub.

see my pictures on flickr
http://flickr.com/photos/53803790@N00/sets/72157601627492033/

But for Vancouver this weekend…
check out:

Enchanted Evening series
Sunny and FriendsAn ecclectic blend of India's finest sounds
Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens
doors open 7 pm
concert starts 7:30pm

image

These events almost always sell out.  Get there early.  Sunny has performed at Gung Haggis Fat Choy events with Joe McDonald's musical group Brave Waves.  I have also crossed paths with him many times for the group Vishwa, which he formed with his sister and celtic violinist Max Ngan.

ANNIVERSARIES '07 FILM FESTIVAL


FRIDAY NIGHT (AUG 24TH) 
AT KEEFER AND COLUMBIA. 
VIDEO PROJECTIONS STARTING AT 8:30 PM
on the Sun Yat Sen Park wall.  

CURATED BY KAMALA TODD, THIS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS THE 60th ANNIVERSARY OF 1947 AND LOOKS AT ISSUES OF CITIZENSHIP IN CANADA. 

1947
Citizenship Ltd.
A
lot of gains were made in 1947, including voting rights for Canadians
of Chinese and Indian descent, and the eradication of many race-based
legislations and social exclusions. Hard fought victories worth
celebrating for sure. But do voting rights mean equality? This program
explores the complexities of citizenship and belonging—from Aboriginal
people’s struggles with colonial policies, to Japanese-Canadians
experiences of internment, to Chinese-Canadian veterans fighting for
recognition.

THE PROGRAM:
1.  Michael Fukushima, Minoru: Memory of Exile, 1992, 15:00 
2.  Stephen Foster, X-Patriotism, 2001, 6:00. 
3.  Jari Osborne, 1999, Unwanted Soldiers, 48:48. 
4.  Cherie Valentina Stocken, A Fine Line, 2005, 4:43. 
5.  Rick Shiomi/Powell Street Revue, Images of the First Hundred Years, 1980, 11:00 


VANCOUVER KILTS NIGHT
imageimageimage

Date:
Friday, August 24, 2007
Time:
7:00pm – 11:55pm
Location:
Wolf and Hound Irish Bar
Street:
3617 West Broadway

For the first time we are going to Kitsilano.  Somehow we always get a group of Asian-Canadians wearing kilts and speaking in the best (or worst) Scottish brogues… and then there are the “hangers-on” a bunch of Scottish-Canadians trying to pick up the Asians because they think our kilts are sexy.

Scripting Aloud Summer Sipper… Monday August 13

Scripting Aloud Summer Sipper… Monday August 13

Scripting Aloud is organized by film-maker Kathy Leung and writer/actor Grace Chin, two friends that originally met in my dragonboat and Ricepaper circles.  It is a fun event that encourages both writers to bring developing scripts and actors to come help read them… a fine collaboration that helps build community.

This event really helped to develop Twisting Fortunes, the play that Grace wrote with fellow writer Charlie Cho.  I reviewed it and really enjoyed attending the performance.

The following is the latest message from Kathy and Grace:

Hi All,

It's getting a little too hot…not! But summer's still
got some post-Celebration of Light sparkle with a few events in August.
VAFF's Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (the evocatively abbreviated
MAMM) returns for a threepeat, this time with a new genre requirement.
As always, the winning teams share $5,000 in prize money
(mmmm…money).


Put your scripting hat on, crew up and find your cast for MAMM 2007, if you haven't already, at the Scripting Aloud Summer Sipper
this coming Monday! Or show up just for an excuse to party on a weekday
– yes, the cafe is licensed. 🙂
Snoozers lose – this year there's a MAMM registration cutoff of 15
teams, and to date seven have already confirmed participation.


WHAT: Summer Sipper
WHEN: Monday, August 13, 2007, 6:30 pm – 9 pm
WHERE: Our Town Café, 245 E. Broadway (at Kingsway) in Vancouver


Scripting Aloud is now on Facebook!
Rather than spam everyone with Facebook invites, and knowing many of
you may already be on – we thought we'd build it and let y'all come. 🙂
Find us and join the group today!


This weekend's Chinatown Festival features two sketch groups
from SKETCHOFF!#$%!! in May – prepare to be disorientaled and licked.
And if a Vietnamese accent is in your voice repertoire – there may be a
gig for you.


Kathy & Grace
Producers, Scripting Aloud

CALL FOR POEMS: “SEVEN FOR '07”

CALL FOR
POEMS: “
SEVEN FOR '07

Chris Lee of the UBC English Department is heading up the call for poems to help recognize the Anniversaries of Change project that is drawing attention to significant events in Asian Canadian history from 1907, 1947, 1967 and 1997.  The catalyst for these historic events is the 100th anniversary of the September 8th, Chinatown Riots by the Anti-Asiatic League.

Vancouver has come a long way from a small pioneer town on the edge of civilization, to become a bustling global city that celebrates ethnic and cultural diversity that no other city in Canada can match.  Vancouver was one of the entry points for Asian immigration to Canada, and thus was also a lightning rod for Anti-Asian or anti-immigration sentiment.

A call for poetry to celebrate the historic event, and to recognize how far we have come, is a worthy project that will help bring contemporary insight to historical hindsight, combined with artistic creativity.  Okay… I admit… I had a hand  (or rather some brain cells) in helping to spark this creative project.  Hope you can help out… write a poem… tell you poet friends…

CALL FOR POEMS: “SEVEN FOR '07”

2007
Anniversaries of Change is a broad-based coalition of
institutions and
organizations that have come together to mark 2007 as
an anniversary year in
the quest for equality and justice in
Canada.
The years 1907, 1947, 1967, and 1997 each mark a watershed moment
in
the history of Asian migrants in Canada and their struggles to
fight
discrimination and oppression. These anniversaries not only call for
historical reflection, but also offer
opportunities to renew ongoing
efforts in anti-racism.

On September 8,
2007, there will be an all-day public event at the
Vancouver Public Library
Central Branch that will include panels,
displays, multimedia, and performing
arts. We are currently soliciting
short poems (maximum 20 lines) from local
writers addressing the
themes of this year of anniversaries. Please note:
Writers do not have
be of Asian descent and submissions do not have to
directly address
the historical events being commemorated. We are seeking
entries that
can, in conjunction with other community events, creatively
provoke
reflection on the current state of diversity and justice in
Vancouver
and British Columbia.

Seven poems will be chosen and circulated in the following
ways: (1)
large wall-size posters of each poem will be produced and displayed
in
the VPL atrium on September 8; (2) smaller posters with all seven
poems will be printed and widely distributed as
part of commemorative
activities in the fall. We will extend a token
honorarium to each
writer chosen to participate in Seven for '07.

Please email entries to
instrcc.events@gmail.com by August 9,
2007.
Please attach entries in either .pdf or .rtf formats and ensure
that
no identifying notes or markers are included in the file. In the
body
of the email, please provide the following information: name,
address,
telephone number, contact email, and a short (maximum 40 words)
biographical
statement. After a blind review process, chosen writers
will be contacted in
order to arrange publication details.

For more information about Seven for '
07
please contact Chris Lee (UBC
Department of
English) at leechr@interchange.ubc.ca. More
information
about the Anniversaries of Change can be found on
www.anniversaries07.ca.
Thank you for your interest!


Redress Express comes to Centre A – bringing art and examination about Canada's racist past

Redress Express comes to Centre A – bringing art and examination about Canada's racist past

What is the Redress Express, and what does it have to do with racism?

2007 is a significant year for anniversaries in Asian-Canadian history:

1907 – 100 year anniversary of the Chinatown riots by the Anti-Asiatic League

1947 – the end of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the beginning of franchise rights including voting for Canadians of Chinese ancestry.

1957 – Canada's first Chinese-Canadian MP elected to Parliament – Douglas Jung

1967 – Changes in immigration law, making it more fair and accessible for Chinese immigrants.

1997 – Hong Kong turnover to China

1996 – 1st year anniversary of federal apology and promise of redress payments for the Chinese Head Tax.

Centre A, brings together an exciting program working with community groups and artists.  Here is what Ron Mah had to say about the weekend's events.

Redress Express Symposium ( 01 & 02 August )

– Sid Chow Tan  is now an “Artist” after his brief 5 minute talk & 10 minute video presentatsion of the journey of Head Tax Redress;  Hank Bull (curator plus) stated that “If Sid's  video isn't art, then I don't know what is!”

– Victor Wong
had an excellent talk on Head Tax & Redress


  titled “True Grits, Kwan Gung and Luck:
The Inside Stories of the Head Tax Redress Campaign”

– Many excellent national speakers
of academia and the arts provided


  varied views from many perspectives providing an
interesting program.


– filming of the first day
was done by both ACCESS, FEARLESS TV


  and also by the Symposium.


-Henry Yu,
graciously, organized a delicious 10 course Retro period


 Chinese Canadian Restaurant Dinner.  Fortunately, I was sitting next to Henry
and Karin Tam who were also at the same table.  They had both researched and provided  the chefs with the specific customized dishes that is not normally on their menus.  It was fun, filling and informative.

-Centre A
is now transformed into a retro Chinese Canadian Restaurant for


 the next 5 weeks by Karen Tam but no food is served.  This is a must see


 free installation.


-Karin Lee's
Friday evening outdoor showing at the Chinese Night  Market was
just
starting and I saw myself for a brief second in the short produced by


 the women's dragon boat team Genesis.


-Sean & I
networked and partied till  2am and 3am until  Karen Tam had to


 catch her 6am flight back home to Montreal.  The Saturday night party was


 great: lots of fun and jamming and all round opportunity for future collaboration
with the whole group.

-Thanks to Alice Ming Wai Jim, Henry Yu and Victor Wong for making this happen for us.

from the Centre A website:

REDRESS EXPRESS

In conjunction with:
2007 Anniversaries of Change (http://www.anniversaries07.ca)
Powell Street Festival (August 4-5, 2007, http://powellstfestival.shinnova.com)
explorASIAN (Vancouver Asian Heritage Month, http://www.explorasian.org).

Patron: Anndraya T. Luui

EXHIBITION
Date: August 3 to September 1, 2007
Venue: Centre A, 2 West Hastings Street
Opening: Friday, August 3, 7pm, Centre A, 2 West Hastings Street

SYMPOSIUM
Date: August 2-3, 2007, 10am to 5pm
Location: Chinese Cultural Centre, 555 Columbia Street
Co-sponsors:
Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art
at the Department of Art History, Concordia University, the University
of British Columbia, and Emily Carr Institute for Art + Design + Media
(Click here to download the symposium program and abstracts)

Free admission

The
exhibition “REDRESS EXPRESS: Chinese Restaurants and the Head Tax Issue
in Canadian Art” features recent photography, video and installations
by five Chinese-Canadian artists: Gu Xiong (Vancouver), Shelly Low
(Montreal), Ho Tam (Victoria, BC), Karen Tam (Montreal), and Kira Wu
(Vancouver). It is held in conjunction with the two-day symposium
“REDRESS EXPRESS: Current Directions in Asian Canadian Art and Culture”
which brings together over twenty scholars, community activists,
cultural organizers, and artists from many disciplines to consider
current and future directions in Asian Canadian art and culture. The
REDRESS EXPRESS project is curated by Alice Ming Wai Jim and
accompanied by a colour catalogue with additional graphic illustrations
by Joanne Hui (Montreal).

As a whole, the REDRESS EXPRESS
project is an attempt to examine the current politics of
representation, redress and recognition in Canada as they relate to
art, activism, identity and geography. The call for redress has long
been the bookends for Asian Canadian critiques of Canada's racist past.
The recent victory of the redress campaign for surviving Chinese head
tax payers and their spouses and its inevitable effects on the current
politics of reparation and representation in this country, however,
presents another challenge: to ensure an ongoing, rigorous treatment
these issues demand in political, cultural and educational sectors.
With the host of 2007 anniversaries of historical dates significant to
Canadians and Asian Canadian communities in particular celebrated this
year, this provision of critical texts in contemporary discourse and
practice and the broadening of understanding to address cross-cultural
perspectives and realities remains imperative.

Generations: 100 Years in Alberta – on CBC Newsworld

Generations: 100 Years in Alberta – on CBC Newsworld

  7:00 p.m PST. Generations: 100 Years in Alberta
– Marking the Alberta centennial through the story of a Lebanese immigrant family.
Generations: 100 Years in Alberta
  10:00 p.m.
PST
Generations: 100 Years in Alberta
– Marking the Alberta centennial through the story of a Lebanese immigrant family.
Generations: 100 Years in Alberta

It's Wednesday… and time to start another episode of CBC's new documentary series of Canadian history told through the experiences of a family's generations.  100 Years in Alberta is the 5th episode of this incredible series which started with my own family history – The Chan Legacy which began when Rev. Chan Yu Tan arrived in Canada in 1896.

You may have heard of CBC's hit show “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” a comedy about an inter-racial Muslim couple raising their inter-racial daughter in a small prairie town, where the new town doctor is a nice Muslim boy from Toronto.  That was fictional – Generations: 100 Years in Alberta is the real thing.

Check out the story from the www.cbc.ca/documentaries/generations website.

August 1, 10 pm ET/PT, August 5, 10 am ET, August 26, 7 pm ET

The Hamdon/Shaben family dates to the turn of the last century when
two Lebanese peddlers came to Alberta to seek a better life. Ali Hamdon
became a fur trader in Fort Chipewyan. Saleem Shaben opened a general
store in Endiang. Decades later, their two families became one through
a marriage, and a mosque.

The Hamdons
Hilwie and Ali Hamdon

Hilwie Hamdon, Ali Hamdon's wife, found it difficult to raise
her children as Muslims in small town where no others practiced their
faith. So, eventually, the family moved to Edmonton, and in the midst
of the Great Depression, Hilwie helped raise money from Muslims all
over Alberta and Saskatchewan, to build Canada's first mosque, in
Edmonton in 1938. The Shaben family, attracted by the mosque, also
moved to Edmonton, and when Saleem Shaben's granddaughter married Ali
Hamdon's son the families became relatives and business partners. Larry
Shaben, Saleem's grandson, developed an interest in politics and became
the first Muslim cabinet minister in Canada when he was sworn into the
government of Peter Lougheed.

Today, the great grandchildren of those Muslim pioneers are
contributing in their own way to building a better Alberta and a better
world.

Produced and narrated by Jim MacQuarrie.

Generations: The Chan Legacy on CBC Newsworld. July 29th – 4pm and midnight

Generations: The Chan Legacy on CBC Newsworld.
July 29th – 4pm and midnight

The
Chan Legacy is the lead episode in the new documentary series
Generations on CBC Newsworld.  It debuted on July 4th – my grandmother's 97th birthday.

How fitting!  Because the show is about her grand-father Rev. Chan Yu Tan who came to Canada in 1896 as a Christian missionary.

Feedback
has been very positive.  Family members are very proud.  Friends are
very supportive.  Historians are enthusiastic. Strangers are thrilled.

Listen to Auntie Helen and Uncle Victor tell stories about Rev. and Mrs. Chan, and about growing up in pre-WW2 BC, and facing racial discrimination.  Uncle Victor Wong also tells about enlisting as a Canadian soldier to go behind enemy lines in the Pacific for suicide squadrons, fighting for Canada, even though Chinese-Canadians could not vote in the country of their birth.

The next generations assimiliated more easily into Canadian culture.  Gary Lee became an actor and singer.  Janice Wong became a visual artist and author of the book CHOW: From China to Canada – memories of food and family, which addressed the history of Rev. Chan coming to Canada, and how Janice's dad started a Chinese restaurant in Prince Albert SK.

Then there is Todd Wong – cultural and community activist who founded Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner – which inspired a CBC Vancouver television performance special.  Todd is shown active in the dragon boat community, and speaking at a Terry Fox Run in the role of a 16 year cancer survivor.  Renowned Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa makes an appearance, as Todd was also involved in helping to save Kogawa's childhood home from demolition and to turn it into a national historic and literary landmark.

July 29th Sunday – repeats at midnight

  4:00 p.m. Generations: The Chan Legacy
– Missionaries from China come to the West Coast help Westernize Chinese immigrant workers in the late 1800's.
Generations: The Chan Legacy

J

Hip, Hapa and Happening: What to do in intercultural Vancouver this weekend.

Hip, Hapa and Happening:  What to do in intercultural Vancouver this weekend

My computer mother board tanked my computer time yesterday… so articles are down to a bare minimum this week, as I also head up to Vernon for the 3rd Annual Greater Vernon Dragon Boat Races.

Check out:

Enchanted Evenings summer concert series at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens in Vancouver Chinatown.  This is a great way to spend a Friday evening with great musicians in an intimate setting.

Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens.
578 Carrall St. between Pender and Keefer.

July 27

Vancouver Chinese Ensemble

The Ensemble presents to the public an eclectic repertoire that
embraces popular and traditional Chinese music as well as Western
classical and contemporary compositions.

Go see COWBOY VERSUS SAMURAI at the Firehall Arts Centre

July 20 – August 3, 2007
put on by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

I went on opening night with 15 members of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team and we all really enjoyed it.

Cowboy Versus
Samaurai is a multicultural re-telling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story,
that was retold and reset in Nelson BC, in the Steve Martin movie
“Roxanne.”  This time prepare for a Western setting of Wyoming –
complete with cowboys and samaurais. I will be writing a review from
the opening night performance.  Check out the following press releases,
and check out the website
www.vact.ca

ALL OVER THE MAP

Outdoor dance and music series
Ron Basford Park, Granville Island
Sundays at 2pm
FREE
July 29th


Feel it!  
Tango Paradiso and dancers

http://www.newworks.ca/alloverthemap.html

Last week I ended up on stage learning Celtic dancing to Punjabi-Celtic fusion music.
Barbara Clausen of New Works has created a wonderful culturally interesting summer series of dance, music and fun.  Tango Paradiso is exciting… Wish I could be there…  I started learning to play tangos on my accordion when I was 12 years old.

Toddish McWong learns Irish Step Dancing on Granville Island

Toddish McWong learns Irish Step Dancing on Granville Island

I went paddling in a marathon canoe with Gung Haggis paddler Art
Calderwood. We heard celtic fiddle music as we paddled into Alder Bay
behind Granville Island. And of course I had to check it out.

Imagine our surprise to discover the Violet Moore Irish Dancers on stage with Delhi 2 Dublin – with Kytami fiddling away!  

I
had attended the first Delhi 2 Dublin event at the 2006 Celtic
Festival, and loved the energy that Kytami brought to the stage. Delhi
2 Dublin blends celtic fiddle tunes with bhangra beats, and they performed at the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in 2006.  Here's my story about my first Kytami/Delhi 2 Dublin experience:
my first Kytami/Delhi 2 Dublin experience on St. Paddy's Eve.

When
they asked for audience volunteers to learn ceil dancing for Bridge of Athlone…. I was there! So was Gung Haggis paddlers Steven Wong who
had been sitting in the audience. It was great fun, learning to Irish
step dance. We shall have to organize a ceil dance party for Gung
Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, food and social club.

After I stepped off the stage and outside the Performance Works building, I met the New Works producer Barbara Clausen, who had hired dancer/choreographer Andrea Nann to do some workshops in Vancouver last year.  I love Andrea…  She worked with author Michael Ondaatje and choreographed some dances based on his works for explorASIAN in 2003.  Andrea came and performed a dance for the Save Kogawa House Nov 12 Special Concert awareness event at the Vancouver Public Library in 2005.  I think it would be fun to work together with Barbara Clausen on a Gung Haggis Fat Choy type of project.

Barabra hasput together and incredible array of Sunday events at Ron Basford Park on Granville Island as part of New Works “All Over the Map” Dance and music series.  Two weeks ago our dragon boat team paddled by Granville Island and hear the Japanese Taiko drums of Uzume Taiko.

Next up for “All Over the Map”:

July 29th – Feel It!
– Tango Paradiso Ensemble with Dancers
August 12th – Shake it!
– Guinean Dance and Music with Kocassale Dioubate and friends
August 19th – Hit it!
– Traditional Indonesian Dance and Music in partnership with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia.

Alvin Tolentino's “BODYGlass” getting interesting and rave reviews

Alvin Tolentino's “BODYGlass” getting interesting and rave reviews

Alvin Tolentino is one of Vancouver's (and Canada's) most interesting and exciting dance choreographers.  I've known Alvin for a number of years… ever since he first walked into the Vancouver Public Library computer lab to do some word processing, when he first started up his company.  Wow! years ago. 

His new performance “BODYGlass” has been getting good press.  It is playing at Centre A, International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, as part of the Dancing on the Edge Festival.

July 11-14th
Centre A
2 West Hastings Street @ Carrall St.

Centre A / Exhibitions / BODYGlass

Alvin Tolentino and Peter Chin, choreographers Jeina Morosoff, glass artist translucence and solid state of glass in relation to the body and soul.
www.centrea.org/index.cfm

Company Erasgas Dance

Dancers: Alvin Erasga Tolentino, Peter Chin, Deanna Peters, Billy Marchenski, and Chenxing Wei. Music: Ted Hamilton Glass: Jeina Morosoff
www.companyerasgadance.ca/public-html/en/upcome.html

Arts Features | BODYGlass shatters stage barriers | Straight.com

Alvin Erasga Tolentino (left) and Peter Chin explore fragility and balance There's definitely a connection between glass and the body.”
www.straight.com/article-98053/bodyglass-shatters-stage-barriers

Dance work reflects spirituality of glass

Alvin Erasga Tolentino, however, sees a connection. and reflective quality of glass, Tolentino sees a relationship to the body's spirituality.
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=f84c9350-0a7c-467f-8fe3-ef035e2e22ff – 55k – CachedSimilar pagesNote thi

The Dancing on the Edge Festival July 5th thru 14th, 2007

Alvin Erasga Tolentino/Peter Chin Vancouver, BC/Toronto, Ontario translucence and solid state of glass in relation to the human body and sensation.
www.dancingontheedge.org/erasga.php

Dancing On The Edge Brochure 2007 copy

Alvin Erasga Tolentino. Peter Chin. Vancouver, BC/Toronto, Ontario. Premiere. BODYGlass of glass in relation to the human. body and sensation. Glass
www.firehallartscentre.ca/images/DOTE%202007.pdf


Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas “Haida Manga Guy” opens show at Museum of Anthropology

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas “Haida Manga Guy” opens show at Museum of Anthropology

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

Multi-site installation, July 10 – December 31, 2007

July 10, 2007 – December 31, 2007.
Opening Reception Tuesday, July 10, 2007,
7:00 pm (free; everyone welcome).

Every Tuesday the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team turns into the Gung Haggis Social and Foodie Club.  This Tuesday I have suggested we go to the Museum of Anthropology for a truly unique event.

I saw a post card for the event: titled Meddling in the Museum, and right away I
zoom in on the words “Live music and refreshments to follow, “tailgate
style.”  I said to myself, “Gotta go!”

I first met Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas when I introduced him at the Word On the Street Festival a few years ago at Library Square.  He was reading from his Haida Manga book.  and I held the book up and turned the pages so the audience could see the incredible drawings.  Michael was touched by this gesture, and warmly signed my copy of his book.

This new show features installations at the Museum of Anthropology. Michael has collected argillite
dust from all his fellow carvers and used it to create an “argillite
paint” which was used to cover a Pontiac Firefly car (“Pedal to the Meddle”), upon which more
uniquely Yahgulanaas artwork was painted.  It sounds inspirationally
crazy – just like Michael.

There is also a pop-culture take on First Nations style copper shields – but realized from the car hoods (“Coppers from the Hood”),.  

The July 10 opening will take place on the Museum
grounds, with a picnic and music by THREE local bands: The Byrd Sisters; Jamie Thomson and the Culturally Modified; and Sister Says.

The Bryd Sisters are three Haida women who have joined
together as sisters and, like their bird-relatives, share a love of
singing and drumming. The Bryd Sisters are Itlqujatqut’aas,
Lori Davis (Dadens Ravens, yahgu janaas), Guulangwas, Jacqueline Hans
(Skidegate Eagles, Gidins, Naa-Ewans Xyadaga), and Gid7ahl-gudsllay,
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson (Skedans Ravens, gak’yaals kiigawaay).

Check out the story in the Georgia Straight: 
Re Collecting The Coast

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, shown with one of his new auto-part-based sculptures, fuses pop and Haida cultures. Alex Waterhouse-Hayward photo.

Michael
Nicoll Yahgulanaas, shown with one of his new auto-part-based
sculptures, fuses pop and Haida cultures. Alex Waterhouse-Hayward photo.
Famed for his Haida manga, artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas reframes the Museum of Anthropology’s view of First Nations.
The
man who invented Haida manga is standing in an improvised studio at the
UBC Museum of Anthropology. Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is positioned
between his sculptural works in progress–two large, copper-coated
“shields”, which he will install outside MOA's front doors–talking
about meeting places, middle places, and margins. “I'm trying to play
the edge between the neighbourhoods,” he says, indicating the way the
interface between First Nations and colonial culture has shaped his
current project–and his life. “I grew up that way. I was the only
pale-looking Haida in the whole village…the only green-eyed,
light-haired kid.” Born in Prince Rupert and raised in Del­katla, on
Haida Gwaii (he added the Haida name of his mother's family to his
Anglo surname), he has witnessed and experienced social inequities
based solely on appearance. “I'm always very conscious of the edge,” he
says.

His dual careers reflect that consciousness. After briefly studying art
in Vancouver in the mid-1970s, Yahgulanaas returned to Haida Gwaii (he added the Haida name of his mother's family to his Anglo
surname), he has witnessed and experienced social inequities based
solely on appearance. “I'm always very conscious of the edge,” he says.

His
dual careers reflect that consciousness. After briefly studying art in
Vancouver in the mid-1970s, Yahgulanaas returned to Haida Gwaii to
assist acclaimed painter, carver, and printmaker Robert Davidson on a
significant totem-pole commission. While occasionally participating in
other such projects, he spent much of the 1980s and '90s dedicated to
public service and political activism. For a period, he was an elected
chief councillor for the Haida, and he also sat on numerous committees,
negotiating jurisdictional disputes between the Haida and various
levels of government. “I was working with other people in the community
on issues related to the land, social justice, offshore oil, and gas
transport, these sorts of things,” he says. By 2000, however, he felt
he could return full-time to his art-making. “What's really good about
it is that the art is informed by that experience,” he says. “The
exploration of the edge.”

Yahgulanaas began creating pop-graphic
narratives, riffing on traditional Haida stories and painting
techniques, and quickly developed the distinctive art form for which he
is most widely known. “I started off trying to do comic books because
comic books are about accessibility,” he says. Karen Duffek, MOA's
curator of contemporary visual arts, adds, “Michael brings together his
own version of the language and imagery of Haida painting with the
mass-circulation and graphic aspects of Japanese manga.” A
tricksterlike sense of humour contributes to his work's appeal, Duffek
observes. Yahgulanaas's books include A Tale of Two Shamans , The Last Voyage of the Black Ship , and Hachidori , a bestseller in Japan.

check out the rest of this Georgia Straight story:
http://www.straight.com/article-98050/re-collecting-the-coast