A SENSE OF PLACE: JENNY YUJIA SHI 施雨迦：漂流成長記

Halifax-based, multimedia artist Jenny Yujia Shi talks a lot about growing roots. This is probably because her life has been uprooted almost too many times to count. Not surprisingly, much of her creative output centres around themes of displacement and dislocation, which she attributes to two defining moments in her life: the demolition of her childhood neighbourhood in downtown Beijing and then, the decade she spent navigating the immigration process here in Canada. Shi’s work is as poignant as it is beautiful.

Personal Stories, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseApril 17, 2023Art, artistsComment

Art, Food & Family Ties: Don Kwan 關日安：尋找我那遺失的美好

This year marks a major milestone in artist Don Kwan’s family: they will be celebrating their 100th anniversary since settling in Canada back in November of 1922. One of 8 children, Kwan is part of the third generation of his family and a proud descendant of his paternal grandfather who immigrated to Canada at just 11 years of age. Part of the first wave of Chinese immigrants, his grandfather was affected by the discriminatory Chinese Immigration Act that would charge every Chinese newcomer a $50 head tax (an incredible sum in the 1920s). Like so many of that generation, his grandfather would later go back to China to marry and have children there before his family could fully emigrate to Canada after the Second World War.

Personal Stories, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseMarch 27, 2023Art, artists, ottawaComment

Game On: Arnold Tsang 曾昭雋:「Chill 」的人生攻略

In a blaze of publicity, Tsang quit the company that was his creative home for the past twelve years to leap again into the unknown. His latest venture is Azuki, the digital brand known for its collection of 10,000 NFTs on the decentralized Ethereum blockchain. As its name implies, Azuki are little red beans disguised as youth culture rebels who skate the Internet. They are outsiders, prone to taking risks, and alarming the Establishment, much like NFTs themselves, a pandemic-era phenomenon sold in virtual marketplaces, using the same blockchain ledger technology as cryptocurrencies.

Personal Stories, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseFebruary 28, 2023art, nft, anime, mangaComment

Model Citizen: Daniel Liu 劉丹尼:因為‧愛

A marriage and one son later, the Lius find themselves north of the border, where the jack-of-many-trades is making noise these days at the 19th century church they purchased in the small Ontario town of Paisley. Currently converting it into a high-design home, he’s doing his own woodworking and welding — just some of his talents — while continuing to give good face (when duty calls), and even taking a role in a box office juggernaut Shang-Chi. Daniel is living life on his own terms. Pews, included.

Personal Stories, Long Reads, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseFebruary 21, 2023danielliu, model, actorComment

(Un)Readability, Script and Visual Language with Xu Bing 只可意會，不可言傳：訪問徐冰

Chinese culture has a complex relationship with the origin and evolution of hieroglyphics. I say this because Chinese is so different from English – it is much more ideographic. This logic also corresponds with the magical relationship between reading, thinking, and constructing perspective in Chinese.

Art and FashionFête ChinoiseNovember 23, 2022Xu Bing, 徐冰, Installation Art, Chinese ArtistComment

Magic Carpet Ride 民國古毯價值重現

China has been making carpets for centuries. But those produced between the 1920s and 1940s in the Art Deco style have recently become among the most prized today. After nearly a century of benign neglect, these deco rugs — made of exceptional Chinese wool — appear freshly lustrous to a new generation of collectors who are discovering them for the first time.

Art and Fashion, History & ArchitectureFête ChinoiseNovember 2, 2022Art Deco Rug, Chinese StyleComment

A Diverse & Inclusive Evening at the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards 2022

Canada celebrated its in-person comeback of the most fashionable night in, at the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards on October 15th, 2022, which paused for a year due to the pandemic and had a virtual show in 2020. Nominees, Honourees, Sponsors, and Guests dressed in Canadian labels to toast some of the nation's most talented creators ad artists in the fashion industry.

Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze: Thirty-Six Views of Lion Rock 獅子山三十六景, a Collector’s Gem

Print is for from being obsolete. Beautiful photo books have become collectors items and coveted print pieces that capture the spirit of collective memory. Celebrated photographer, Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze, launched a brand new book and solo exhibition, Thirty-six Views of Lion Rock 獅子山三十六景. It was unveiled at Blue Lotus Gallery in Hong Kong from September 8th to October 9th, 2022.

Vivienne Tam's New Collection – Spring Summer 2023

Vivienne Tam is a fashion designer that intentionally bridges China and the West in her work, exploring beauty and wonder in our diverse shared cultures. Now she's bridging her own fashion voice with the recently trending world of metaverse and NFTs. Her new collection on the runway at New York Fashion Week is a fun and colourful bash, incorporating instances of untamed collisions of apes to mahjong tiles, pixels and flashy hex tones on fabric.

Artistry in Motion : Emily Gao 高婧瑤：用耳飾捕捉生活中「動」的瞬間

Born in Harbin, China, and raised in Toronto, Emily had a traditional Asian upbringing. This included parents who, naturally, encouraged her to pursue a livelihood that would be financially sound. She dutifully fulfilled her parents’ expectations, studying business and starting a stable career. They were pleased.

Personal Stories, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseJuly 18, 2022Asian Representation, Personal Stories, ArtComment

Alexander McQueen: PROCESS‌ + Pre-AW22 Womenswear Collection

To illustrate the fact that creativity emerges from countless perspectives, Alexander McQueen invites a group of twelve artists to express their individual working practices inspired by the Autumn/Winter 2022 women’s pre-collection.

Current Affairs, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseJune 9, 2022Asian Representation, Art, fashionComment

Ishie Wang: The name behind the face 改寫海外華裔模特兒歷史的王旖溪

You may recognize Ishie Wang’s face immediately: she is one of the prominent Asian models in Canadian advertisements for Roots, Hudson’s Bay, Sporting Life, and The Shopping Channel. From an early age, her family clearly envisioned a cultivated life of aesthetics and artistic appreciation for her. Ishie began learning piano at the age of 3 1/2, studied calligraphy and Chinese painting at the age of 4, and learned erhu at 6 and percussion instruments at 8. By the age of 11, she had completed her Grade 9 Piano certification and was recognized in numerous musical competitions.

Personal Stories, Art and FashionFête ChinoiseJune 7, 2022Asian Representation, Personal Stories, ArtComment