A Haphazard Handbook of Artists & Organizers Across Chinatowns
$15.00
92 pages first paperback, 8.39 x 5.35 inches
a Tea Base project, Published in Mohkinstsis / Kootsisawa / Wincheesh-pah / Calgary AB, Canada by Yorkless Press, August 2021
First Edition
Facilitated by Christina Battle.
Illustrations by Christie Carrière, Enna Kim, Vanessa Grondin, and Céline Chuang.
Designed by Christie Carrière and edited by Florence Yee.
Description:
A Haphazard Handbook of Artists & Organizers across Chinatowns is a publication of 92 pages, composed of essays and conversations between six collectives of community-based artists and grassroots organizers working in/around their city’s Chinatown. We invited members from aiya哎呀 (Amiskwacîwâskahikan/Edmonton), the Youth Collaborative for Chinatown (Vancouver), Tea Parlour (Mohkínstsis/Calgary), Friends of Chinatown Toronto (Tkaronto/Toronto), Possible Worlds (Ottawa) and the Chinatown Working Group (Tio'tia:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal), as well as a personal essay Annie Wong.
A Haphazard Handbook of Artists & Organizers is a resource, an archive, and a tentative response to feelings of “reinventing the wheel” when it comes to grassroots and DIY collectives. Our conversations were opportunities to connect our foundations, share strategies, and speculate on the future together. The essays also delve into the pitfalls of organizing leadership, the trappings of neoliberalism, and a “lexicon learnt from caring too much.” From saving Chinatown, to abolishing it, the needs and desires of our neighbourhoods are not easily summed up. This publication is only a starting point.
Tea Base is a curious community arts space tucked away in Tkaronto/Toronto’s Chinatown Centre Mall. We aim to make accessible space for intergenerational activists and artists who support social justice movements in and around Chinatown. Tea Base is a space that develops solidarity across marginalized groups through relationships, joy, and collaboration.
