Festival Accès Asie is back for its 28th edition, and this year’s theme is all about collaboration.
Running from May 4th to the 28th, 2023, the festival will bring together artists from various Asian communities to exchange ideas, create, and connect with audiences.
This year’s program features numerous forms of collaboration, with artists from different regions of Asia working together to bring their talents to the stage:
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The festival kicked off on May 4th with an opening cocktail held at the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
Guests enjoyed Asian tidbits, matcha cocktails, and a photo booth. This year’s guest of honor, Kanien’kehà:ka choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, gave a hoop dance performance, a powwow dance that is both a healing practice and a way of telling stories through the shapes created by the hoops.
photo by Laurence Ly.
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The cocktail was hosted by the activist Laetitia Vu, and DJ Parker Mah who provided some turntable action to complete the evening.
The festival venue also hosted upstairs the exhibition : Bijin 美人: Japanese Beauty , curated by Artasiam that examines a major theme in Japanese art history. It features the work of two artists, Yukiko Hashizume and Kaori Izumiya ( featured below) who question changing standards of beauty in Japan.
On May 5th , the exhibition Life of the Uterus presented at Maison de la Culture Plateau Mont-Royal is a collaborative project of three Iranian artists, visual artist Khosro Berahmandi, intermedia artist Hadi Jamali, and ceramicist Reihan Ebrahimi.
Together, their work explores the interconnections between the earth, viewed as the womb of nature, death, and rebirth.
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You can visit the exhibit until the 11th of June.
From May 6th to the 9th, the pan-Canadian event KickStart, in collaboration with CanAsian Dance and Tangente Danse, will present short works by several Asian-Canadian dance and performance artists from Halifax, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal at the Wilder Building. The performances will showcase the diverse practices of contemporary Asian-Canadian dance and performance artists.
Other events include a cooking demonstration by Indian cooking instructor and author Veena Gokhale, a staged reading of playwright Carolyn Fe’s Go Fish!, as well as the results of Asiate en court, the Festival Accès Asie short film competition, curated by filmmaker and producer Laurence Ly and many more activities !
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Overall, the 28th edition of Festival Accès Asie promises to be a celebration of collaboration and the diverse Asian diaspora communities in Montreal. It’s an opportunity to experience the richness of Asian art and culture through the lens of Montreal’s vibrant artistic community.
About Festival Accès Asie
By celebrating Asian Heritage Month in May in Montreal, Festival Accès Asie amplifies the voices and practices of artists from the Asian continent and its diaspora working in a wide array of disciplines, including performing arts, visual and media arts, literary arts, interdisciplinary arts, and culinary arts.
About CanAsian Arts Network
The CanAsian Arts Network is a pan-Canadian community of artists, cultural workers and organizations. Initiated by Festival Accès Asie, it seeks to digitally connect Canadian Asian artists and industry representatives with the purpose of fostering collaboration while improving visibility, equity, impact and representation in the arts.
For access to the complete programming of the festival please visit : accesasie.com