Chinatowns have long been spaces to reconnect with Asian heritage and connect disparate communities around the world. They also have a long history of erasure from our historical records and imagination. This continues to be true due to rapid gentrification throughout our cities, and especially now due to the heightened xenophobia surrounding COVID-19.
With thoughtful discussion facilitated by Tea Base, we talk to our Quarantine Qapsule (QQ) Mentor Team to discuss the significance of Chinatowns in our everyday life and why archiving the voices of Asian-Canadians matters today.
This Mentor Team will be working with selected applicants of the Quarantine Qapsule mentorship program to produce a unique contribution to the QQ archive.
The Quarantine Qapsule and this program aims to build bridges between Asian-Canadian communities across Ontario and document the living history of these communities.
ABOUT QUARANTINE QAPSULE
What will we remember during this time?
Quarantine Qapsule (QQ) is a digital archive of the Asian Canadian experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We want to hear your stories of resilience, hope, and self-discovery!
Persons self-identifying as Asian Canadian (and living in Ontario) are invited to submit video, musical or visual art to the QQ. No fancy equipment required, art can be created anywhere in any style, creativity cannot be stifled!
Submissions for the Quarantine Qapsule are now closed.
PANELISTS
Keith Lock’s high school film, “Flights of Frenzy”, won the Best Super 8 award at the UNESCO 10th Muse International, Amsterdam,1969. His experimental feature,”Everything Everywhere Again Alive”, 1975, screened in TIFF’s Retrospective of Canadian Cinema,1984, “A Brighter Moon”, was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Short Drama,1987, “The Road Chosen: The Lem Wong Story”, received the NFB Innoversity Conference Award, 2002, “The Dreaming House”, 2005, received Best GTA Filmmaker Award at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. More recently, he created “The Secret”, 2017, a 360 Virtual Reality prototype for the NFB. Keith was cinematographer for Michael Snow’s, “Both Sides of the Story”, voted one of TIFF’s 150 Essential Works of Canadian cinema, 2017. Currently he is in development with a new feature film, “All the Stars We Can Not See”.
Nightingale Nguyen is a performer based in Toronto, Ontario and co-founder of non-profit organization, Bridging the Gap In Motion. Prior to Toronto’s lockdown, Nightingale was the lead in short film, “Wuhan-Toronto” to portray the isolation and discrimination during the pandemic which grabbed CityNews’s attention in the media. This has fuelled Nightingale’s need to unite the Asian Canadian community during this time of isolation. Nightingale also co-hosts, Talking With Our Mouths Full, a community podcast showcasing Toronto’s diversity through local eateries and its people. Finally, Nightingale strives to continue using her platform to promote her humanitarian initiatives, to encourage Asian representation in the community, and of course, fund her major mango obsession.
Click here to watch the Short Film, Wuhan-Toronto (Filmed in February).
Instagram: @night.nguyen
Joshua Aries is a filmmaker that makes the fan-favorite films. Utilizing his appreciation for movement, action, and comedy to make audiences want to watch them over again. An award-winning director and editor, he strives to tell stories that are bombastic and fun–while relaying messages of hope and honesty with his signature stylized direction. His experience has honed his skills in leadership and communication while strengthening his openness to collaboration.
Winner of Best Film and The Audience Choice Award at the Vancouver Quarantine Project 2020! 1st Place Winner at the Canada-wide Isolation Short Film Festival! Top 100 out of 2000 at the DaVinci International Film Festival! Click here to watch Five Fingers of Fury.
Instagram: @josharies
MODERATOR
Christie Jia Wen Carrière
“Chris” is a visual artist and Co-Creative Director at Tea Base, a grassroots community space in Chinatown. She helps to organize and facilitate various projects, events, and collaborations (such as Quarantine Qapsule!), designs graphics and promotional materials, and makes comics featuring her coworkers/Tea Base community members.
Instagram: @chris_jwc
ABOUT TEA BASE
Tea Base is a curious community arts space tucked away in Tkaronto/Toronto’s Chinatown Centre Mall. Tea Base aims to make accessible space for intergenerational activists and artists who support social justice movements in and around Chinatown. Tea Base is a space that develops solidarity across marginalized groups through relationships, joy, and collaboration.
In partnership with:
