After the From the Eye Straight Down to the Soul panel discussion, join Dr. Karen Tam and members of the aiya哎呀 collective for an informal post-conference discussion. Bring an appetizer and/or a drink, and join us in conversation to unpack the ideas sparked during the panel discussion. Initially conceived as part of the Whose Chinatown? virtual conference, Chats & Chews are intended as informal mingling sessions for community members to connect and come together to explore the themes discussed in the previous panel over casual conversation, virtual drinks and snacks.

aiya哎呀 is a group of artists and Chinatown community members creating spaces to remember the emotional and geographic loss of ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ /  amiskwacîwâskahikan / Edmonton's Chinatown. We seek to form openings for better futures through the lens of Chinatown. 

For this upcoming Chats & Chews, three out of the four core members of aiya哎呀 will join:

Grace Law (she/they) is a cultural worker and community organizer practitioner and is trained as a visual artist. Grace's focus is on centring anti-oppression decolonial values with a co-conspirator posture through public art and contemporary art with participatory and relational processes. As a Public Art Officer for the Edmonton Arts Council, Grace works to support a diverse range of artists to come alongside communities to reimagine their lives through art. Grace believes artists have the potential to impact our society's social fabric in transformative ways. As an artist, Grace has made a choice to an artistic aesthetic practice that is in the context of a commitment to place, communities, and the traditional indigenous land she is a guest on.  

Shawn Tse (he/him) is an artist, filmmaker and educator passionate about social change in arts and media. A second-generation Chinese Canadian, Shawn believes that minority cultures are underrepresented in Canadian arts and heritage industries and actively works with the ethnocultural community. Shawn's love of community and storytelling has helped him develop the intergenerational cooking show “Seconds, Please!” and lead a community arts project “Figure 一, 二, 三, 六, 八” using Chinese ink paintings & film to highlight the historical and cultural impacts of Edmonton’s ever-changing Chinatown.

Lan Chan Marples (she/her) is an active Chinatown community member, serving on several voluntary boards and committees in a range of executive and non-executive roles. She is always striving to give back to Chinatown, a community she grew up in since immigrating to Canada with her parents. Her biggest joy is being able to share the rich history and heritage of Edmonton’s Chinatown and the Chinese community in Chinatown tours, talks, workshops, conferences, projects, publications and festivals. She is a Research Facilitator at the University of Alberta.