Toa Wong Mary Sui Yee Wong Janet Lumb Sing Juk Sing
© M. Wong, 2009
Artistic Director: Janet Lumb
Presented by Centre A, Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Art, and OBORO
In collaboration with Festival Accès Asie
Renowned Vancouver master musician, Toa Wong and Montreal visual artist, Mary Sui Yee Wong meet through cyber technology in a live streaming performance.
By invoking a childhood fantasy of becoming a pop star with an irrational fear of singing, Mary Sui Yee Wong, will work in tandem with her father, Toa Wong, to create a provocative performance that embraces the complexities of internalized racism, acculturation, and hybridization.
Highlighting the relationship between father and daughter, visual artist and musician, community elder and community activist, the collaborators will play with language, music, image, movement, memory, technology and family history to give voice to fears: fear of not belonging, not measuring up, not connecting and not being remembered.
© M. Wong, 2009
Master Toa Wong has accompanied prestigious actors in Hong Kong and has tutored over two hundred artists and actors in Cantonese Opera. In 1961, Wong immigrated to Canada holding the position as lead erhu player (violinist) with the Jin Wah Sing Chinese Orchestra in Vancouver. Wong has contributed to the preservation of Cantonese Opera through his publications and donations to institutions such as the Museum of Anthropology in B.C. and the Museum of Chinese in America in NY. At the age of 93, Wong continues to teach and donate his time to community events.
Mary Sui Yee Wong is a multidisciplinary artist who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1963. Wong has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and internationally. She has been involved in numerous curatorial initiatives and is an active member of the Chinese community. Wong is presently teaching in Studio Arts at Concordia University.
Having traveled across Canada thirty times by car, thumb, motorcycle, bus, train, or plane, Janet Lumb delights in the discovery of creation and expression within the boundaries and challenges of Canada’s geography. Her fascination is e-connecting artists, communities and people in a real way.
