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Intricately Woven – Art by Xiangmei Su

Location: Lipont Gallery, 4211 No. 3 Road, Richmond B.C. V6X 2C3

Exhibition opening:  Wednesday October 11th 7 – 9pm

Culture Days Hands-on Workshop: Saturday October 14th 2 – 4pm

Artist Talk: Wednesday October 18th 7 – 9pm

Exhibition: October 12th – November 4th, free admission (Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm)

Artist Xiangmei Su (苏向) lives in an era where the natural climate is changing drastically,
the economic direction is accelerating, and human productivity is making great strides. New
energy, new materials, 5G communications, artificial intelligence, etc. are taking mankind
into wider unknown areas. As the other wing of human society, art will inevitably develop
and evolve with the pace of science, technology and economy.
From witnessing her grandmother using wooden looms to make traditional textiles, to
observing the mechanical assembly line in her father’s factory, to creating her own
contemporary art and becoming a full-time artist, Su uses her talent, wisdom, and personal
immigration experience to create unique works of art. She passed through Suzhou, a famous
cultural town in China, roaring contemporary industrial cities, and arrived in Canada, where
the cultures are intertwined. Painting, installation, and fibre material art have transformed
into new extensions and connotations in her hands.
The lines in the Intricately Woven Series of paintings are clear in latitude and longitude,
sparse and orderly, exquisite, three-dimensional, and unpredictable. They bring our sight into
the profound spatial dimension and inspire us to explore the essence through phenomena. The
maze-like “factories,” “workshops,” “parts” and “units,” and other contemporary industrial
images she depicts with single-toned lines make us stand in awe of the great wisdom and
productivity of mankind, and at the same time make us realize human insignificance. We
have conquered matter and improved efficiency, so where will technology take us?
In her installation works, she uses canvas as a two-dimensional medium and uses pins and
threads to carefully weave three-dimensional works on the surface of the canvas. This series
of works are neither textiles nor paintings, but installations that utilize fibre materials, light, colour and space. Through the artist’s special perspective, social productivity transforms
material into brand new things in a specific environment.
Su’s latest installation “Interweaving (交织)” will also be exhibited this time. She used
ancient techniques, traditional tools, and her usual symbol of material culture – thread, and
used her mother’s dowry suitcase as a “prism” to “refract” onto the wall the maps of Suzhou
and Vancouver, the two cities where she had lived. The complex trajectory of fate and
journey are visualized to tell the story of the destiny and journey of life.
The Chinese sage Wang Yangming’s “investigating things to gain knowledge (格物致知)” is
about obtaining true knowledge through exhaustive investigation of things. Su’s artistic
practice, artistic works, and artistic style well reflect this cognitive proposition. She gained
new knowledge from the “investigation” of traditional crafts, regional culture, and creative
media, and maintained and managed her relationship with history, tradition, humanity, and
nature, and then used new artistic techniques and forms to interpret new world and era.
Intricately Woven: Art by Xiangmei Su will open at Lipont Gallery, 4211 No. 3 Road,
Richmond BC from 7:00pm to 9:00 pm on Wednesday October 11, 2023. The exhibition
remains on view until November 4 th . The gallery opens from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00
am to 6:00 pm. Admission is free.
On Saturday, October 14th, from 2:00pm to 4:00 pm, Su will lead the audience in a hands-on
workshop during the Culture Days (https://culturedays.ca/), using canvas, pins, thread, and
other materials to create installation works. The workshop is free and open to people of 12
years old and above. Please register at https://suworkshop.eventbrite.ca.

On the evening of Wednesday, October 18th, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Su will introduce her
creative process and works to the audience in detail. The talk is free and open to public.
Please register at https://sutalk.eventbrite.ca.
Lipont Gallery, 4211 No. 3 Road, Richmond B.C. V6X 2C3. (604) 285-9975,
www.lipontgallery.ca
Free reserved parking. Transit: Aberdeen Station

9B2A8416

VAHMS Community Awards Celebration Recap

Every year, VAHMS honors three individuals, community organizations, or educational institutions representing Pan-Asian communities that have made significant contributions to VAHMS’ vision of fostering, promoting and celebrating the arts and cultural diversity that Asian-Canadian communities bring to Canadian society. This year, our award ceremony was held on July 30th. Congratulations to The Middle East North Africa Film Festival (MENA), Todd Wong and Kassandra Lea for coming the award winner for the year 2023!

2023 Community Award Winner: The Middle East North Africa Film Festival (MENA)

The Middle East North Africa Film Festival (MENA) provides a platform for filmmakers and artists from the MENA region to share their work with a broad audience. For more than 5 years MENA has provided educational and collaborative opportunities to create a more inclusive arts scene. Screening films from the MENA region, the festival promotes understanding of MENA culture and challenges stereotypes. MENA’s focus is to create a more diverse and inclusive community through art and to contribute to cross-cultural and multicultural exchange of Pan-Asian art.

2023 Community Award Winner: Todd Wong

Todd Wong created Robbie Burns Gung Haggis Fat Choy celebration dinner in 1998 as a tribute to two distinct cultures that played major roles in BC’s history. His commitment to racial and cultural harmony has been at the forefront of his life. Todd also created the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team and significantly engaged with the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, the Joy Kogowa House Society, the Word Vancouver Literary Festival as well as other organizations. Well-known for his commitment to building bridges and enhancing cross-cultural understanding, Todd has received numerous accolades and media attention. 

2023 Community Award Winner: Kassandra Lea

Kassandra Lea, known as Kassandra La China, is the one and only flamenco artist in Vancouver. A stunning performer herself, for more than 30 years Kassandra has promoted Flamenco through education, leadership, advocacy and by performing in shows throughout BC. Co-founder of Mozaico Flamenco dance academy, she shares her talent and knowledge with students from different cultures, backgrounds and ages. Kassandra is a unique and original Asian Canadian artist celebrating diversity and cross-cultural understanding through her art.

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Shaw Multicultural – Conversation with Andrea Nann

This year, the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society (VAHMS) had the esteemed opportunity to once again collaborate with Shaw Multicultural in order to engage in a conversation with Andrea Nann, an artist from Dreamwalker Dance Company, regarding her latest performance entitled “Firehorse & Shadow.”

Situated in Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown, Firehorse and Shadow is an autobiography charted in gesture, storytelling, ink painting and shadow puppetry.  This dance memoir works against and alongside the hearsay of family stories, Chinese medicine cycles, and zodiac animal signs. Two performers weave together passages of re-membering and releasing, inviting the audience into an intimate reanimation of familial memory.  The work unfolds the yin and yang elements expressed within the bodies, lives and choices of four generations of Chinese Canadian women. 

Interview with Andrea Nann