Brown Canada

Brown Canada Project: Volunteers Needed for Showcase Event!

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:17:14 -0400

Brown Canada Project: Volunteers Needed to Assist at the Dress Rehearsal of the “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru” play on June 25^th

The Brown Canada Project is looking for volunteers to assist with the dress rehearsal of the “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru” plays on June 25^th from 6:00-8:00pm at Grace Church, 41 Britain Street ,Toronto (east of Queen station). We need volunteers to assist with the following tasks:

· Stage-hands/setting up

· Doing the make-up of actors

· Assisting with dressing up actors in costumes including sarees and turbans

If you are interested and available to assist for the above tasks, please contact Deena Hai by emailing her at deena@cassa.on.ca by 12pm on Monday, June 25^th, 2012

*************************************************************************************

Brown Canada Project: Volunteers Needed to Assist at Show Case Event on June 27^th

The Brown Canada Project is also looking for volunteers to assist on the Day of our Show-case event on June 27^th. We need assistance with the following tasks:

· Setting up space for the event (volunteers needed from 3-5pm on June 27^th)

· Assisting with serving food (Volunteers needed from 4-7:00pm on June 27^th)

· Assisting at the sign-in table (5:00-8:30pm)

· Helping with cleaning up after the event (9:00-10:00pm)

· Stage-hands/setting up (3-5pm)

· Doing the make-up of actors (4-8:30pm)

· Assisting with dressing up actors in costumes including sarees and turbans (5-8:30pm)

· Ushering (6:00-8:00pm)

· Any other support needed that day

We will need assistance from 2-9:30pm on June 27^th. However, volunteers do not have to stay for the duration of the entire event. The general timings of the specific tasks is indicated in above. If you are available to assist with one or more tasks, please email Krittika Ghosh at Krittika@cassa.on.ca by 5pm on Monday, June 25^th, 2012.

All Volunteers who assist at the above events will receive a Volunteer Recognition Certificate for your hard work and support!

For more information on the Brown Canada Showcase Event please see following:

Brown Canada Showcase
Sharing Our Stories: Creating New Legacies

Wednesday June 27th, 2012
5:30–9:00 p.m
Grace Church
41 Britain Street, Toronto (east of Queen station)

This is a wheelchair accessible & child friendly space.
Dinner served from 5:30-6:30 pm.
Program starts at 6:30 pm, sharp.

This is a Free Event, but space is limited; please RSVP before June 25th at eventbrite or by contacting browncanada@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 x14.

http://creatingnewlegacies.eventbrite.com/
www.browncanada.ca

CASSA’s Brown Canada team proudly invites you to our project’s Showcase, an Informative and entertaining event featuring:

· The premiere of the original play “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!”
· A screening of the Brown Canada DVD
· The “Our Stories, Our Histories” South Asian history exhibit
· An interactive discussion about Racialized & Indigenous histories
· A free resource booklet on South Asian histories in Canada

Visit www.browncanada.ca for more info & to share your story online!

Eventbrite: http://creatingnewlegacies.eventbrite.com/
Tumblr: http://browncanada.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject
Website: https://www.browncanada.ca/

Brown Canada ShowcaseSharing Our Stories: Creating New...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:39:10 -0400

Brown Canada Showcase
Sharing Our Stories: Creating New Legacies

Wednesday June 27th, 2012
5:30–9:00 p.m
Grace Church
41 Britain Street, Toronto (east of Queen station)
Dinner served from 5:30-6:30 pm.
Program starts at 6:30 pm, sharp.

This is a Free Event, but space is limited; please RSVP before June 25th at eventbrite or by contacting browncanada@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 x14.

http://creatingnewlegacies.eventbrite.com/
www.browncanada.ca

CASSA’s Brown Canada team proudly invites you to our project’s Showcase, an Informative and entertaining event featuring:

· The premiere of the original play “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!”
· A screening of the Brown Canada DVD
· The “Our Stories, Our Histories” South Asian history exhibit
· An interactive discussion about Racialized & Indigenous histories
· A free resource booklet on South Asian histories in Canada

Visit www.browncanada.ca for more info & to share your story online!

The Brown Canada Theatre Project will be presenting “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!” a series of vignettes written and directed by Alia Somani. “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!” is about one of the least known yet most significant episodes in the history of Canada. What is called the Komagata Maru incident took place in 1914, when a group of 376 Punjabi migrants aboard a Japanese ship – the Komagata Maru – was turned away from Canada’s western seaboard and refused entry into the country. The Komagata Maru incident may have occurred almost 100 years ago, but it has not been forgotten. Instead it continues to haunt us, to reverberate in our nation’s consciousness. In fact, in 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood up in Bear Creek Park and declared that on behalf of Canada, he was sorry for the events of 1914. “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!” explores, among other things, this apology; it considers how much of our past is remembered and how much still remains buried; and most importantly, it asks us to relive the experiences of those who traveled to Canada in 1914 in search of a better life, and a better future.

Eventbrite: http://creatingnewlegacies.eventbrite.com/

Tumblr: http://browncanada.tumblr.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/204810092975235/

Website: https://www.browncanada.ca/

racismfreeontario: Brown Canada ShowcaseSharing Our Stories:...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 21:01:32 -0400

racismfreeontario:

Brown Canada Showcase
Sharing Our Stories: Creating New Legacies

Wednesday June 27th, 2012
5:30–9:00 p.m
Grace Church
41 Britain Street, Toronto (east of Queen station)
Dinner served from 5:30-6:30 pm.
Program starts at 6:30 pm, sharp.

This is a Free Event, but space is limited; please RSVP before June 25th at eventbrite or by contacting browncanada@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 x14.

http://creatingnewlegacies.eventbrite.com/
www.browncanada.ca

CASSA’s Brown Canada team proudly invites you to our project’s Showcase, an Informative and entertaining event featuring:

· The premiere of the original play “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!”
· A screening of the Brown Canada DVD
· The “Our Stories, Our Histories” South Asian history exhibit
· An interactive discussion about Racialized & Indigenous histories
· A free resource booklet on South Asian histories in Canada

Visit www.browncanada.ca for more info & to share your story online!

The Brown Canada Theatre Project will be presenting “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!” a series of vignettes written and directed by Alia Somani. “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!” is about one of the least known yet most significant episodes in the history of Canada. What is called the Komagata Maru incident took place in 1914, when a group of 376 Punjabi migrants aboard a Japanese ship – the Komagata Maru – was turned away from Canada’s western seaboard and refused entry into the country. The Komagata Maru incident may have occurred almost 100 years ago, but it has not been forgotten. Instead it continues to haunt us, to reverberate in our nation’s consciousness. In fact, in 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood up in Bear Creek Park and declared that on behalf of Canada, he was sorry for the events of 1914. “Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru!” explores, among other things, this apology; it considers how much of our past is remembered and how much still remains buried; and most importantly, it asks us to relive the experiences of those who traveled to Canada in 1914 in search of a better life, and a better future.

Eventbrite: http://creatingnewlegacies.eventbrite.com/

Tumblr: http://browncanada.tumblr.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/204810092975235/

Website: https://www.browncanada.ca/

Brown Canada Focus Group Participants Needed!

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:10:41 -0400

Dear CASSA Members & Supporters,

As you may know, CASSA is currently engaging in the documentation and archiving of South Asian history through our Brown Canada project. Brown Canada is a community-led project documenting, creating, and sharing South Asian histories in Canada. Our collective entry point is through the Komagata Maru incident of 1914. We are writing to invite you to participate in an informal focus group to share your knowledge about community histories and experiences for our community snapshots.

We are in the midst of creating written community snapshots for various South Asian communities in Canada. We are currently researching the community involvement and history of South Asian women, LGBTQ communities and labour activists as well as the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sikh, Indian and Tamil communities. These community snapshots will be shared in a traveling posterboard exhibit, online at www.browncanada.ca and at community events.

We are holding focus groups with the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indo-Caribbean and Sikh Communities in the next week, from June 2^nd-6^thWe are hoping that you will be able to participate in one these sessions. The focus group schedule is: :

Bangladeshi Community Focus Group: Saturday, June 2^nd from 12:00-2:00pm
Sikh Community Focus Group: Monday, June 4^th from 6:00-8:00pm
Indo-Caribbean Community Focus Group: Tuesday, June 5^th from 6:00-8:00pm
Pakistani Community Focus Group: Wednesday, June 6^th from 6:00-8:00pm

Refreshments will be provided!

The proposed location of the focus group is the CASSA office located at 2401 Eglington Avenue East, Suite 212 between Kennedy and Eglington Avenue. Tokens will be provided

If you are a member of the above communities and you wish to share knowledge of the community’s resources, challenges, and organizations, please contact Krittika Ghosh by Friday, June 1^st via email at krittika@cassa.on.ca or call (416) 932 1359 x18 and respond to the following questions

Name:____________________________
Phone #:____________________________
Which focus group are you interested in attending:_______________________________

Organizations/cultural groups/businesses/community groups that you have been a part of, in Canada: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Why do you think you would be a suitable participant of the focus group:_______________________________________________

If you are unable to attend a focus group, but still wish to be involved and share your knowledge for the Brown Canada project, please let us know!

For more information on the Brown Canada Project

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject
Check us out on tumblr:
http://browncanada.tumblr.com/
Check out our website at: http://www.browncanada.ca/

Thank you for your support and assistance!

Komagata Maru Play Volunteers Call Out

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:28:00 -0400

racismfreeontario:

For the Brown Canada Project.

Komagata Maru Play Volunteers

Brown Canada: Komagata Maru Plays Volunteer Posting
(Part Time – Until end of June)

Start & End Dates : May- end of June 2012

Brown Canada, lead by CASSA, is a community-led history project to encourage South Asian communities to create and document their histories in Canada creatively, through writing, video, interviews, art, theatre or other means. Our collective entry point for this project is through the Komagata Maru incident of 1914, when a ship of South Asian people was denied entry into Canada due to restrictive immigration policy known as the continuous journey regulation. Through this project, we are creating an interactive website, offering educational and creative workshops, producing a short video as well as seeking to tour a short theatre piece to raise awareness of the incident and spark community dialogue within Ontario.

The Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) is currently recruiting a team of volunteers to help out with the final Komagata Maru Play that will be held on June 27.

We are looking for a team of volunteers to be responsible for assisting in media relations, community outreach, stage hands, costume design . These positions will work closely and report to the project coordinator.

Responsibilities:

Community outreach to spreak word about the event

Stagehands & lighting

Help out with set designs, makeup, and costumes

Qualifications:

Volunteers of all ages are welcome

Relevant interest in theatre or experience

Interest in educating others about South Asian/PoC history is always a bonus!

If you do not have experience working with community members, community organizations and agencies, and or theatre, but are interested in working on the play, feel free to send in your resume.

We are hoping to have a volunteer meeting as soon as possible, so please email Deena at deena@cassa.on.ca before June 15th if you are interested in working with CASSA on this project.

CASSA is committed to employment equity & encourages applicants from equity seeking groups.

Follow our facebook fanpage , brown canada tumblr, and website for more information. http://browncanada.ca/

——————————————————————————————————————

Brown Canada & CASSA

Position Type: Arts / Crafts, Community Outreach, Event Helpers, Performing

Duration: Short term (Less than 6 months)

Location(s): Toronto

Great For: Youth (ages 13-18), Youth (over 18), Groups, 40 hour high school program, Physically Challenged, English as a Second Language, Virtual (can be done remotely), Wheelchair Accessible

Charity village link

Captions: The Komagata Maru story matters because It makes you...

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:33:54 -0400

Captions:

The Komagata Maru story matters because

It makes you realize that multi-cultural means it’s white only true Canada

It relates to me the Reality of South Asian history in Canada

Struggle of South Asians in Canada

I need to know my history

I had no idea what my history is!

(via Komagata Maru)

Photo: Leonard Frank, Vancouver Public Library, 6231 (via...

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:29:00 -0400

Photo: Leonard Frank, Vancouver Public Library, 6231 (via Komagata Maru)

Passengers, mostly unnamed, on the Komagata Maru. Gurdit Singh can be seen in the white suit with his son and fellow passengers, 1914.

Canadian history: Komagata Maru key players

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:27:12 -0400

The Komagata Maru incident involved a number of key players – individuals whose actions played a significant role impacting the lived experience of Komagata Maru passengers. These key players can be viewed within four three main groups:

Komagata Maru Passengers
Canadian Officials
Legal Personnel
Shore Committee Members

Each individual’s complete story is not captured here; instead these profiles provide snapshots of each key player, and some context of their lives. For some of these individuals, their profiles have become legacies by the memorialisation efforts of scholars, activists, community members and artists.

For other individuals involved in the Komagata Maru incident, they remain unnamed or their stories are unknown. For example, little is known about many of the passengers. There is not enough information about the hundreds of South Asians already living in the Vancouver area who were passionate about supporting the Komagata Maru passengers. There is scarce documentation of the white allies who attended ing community meetings. For those who died upon their return to British occupied India, there must have been so many unanswered questions for their unnamed friends and families. For the 28 individuals who were unaccounted for after the Budge Budge (Baj Baj) incident, some like Gurdit Singh we know a lot about – but for others, where did their lives take them?

With the intention of this website to invite readers to reflect on the broader impact of the Komagata Maru incident, this section asks you to interrogate how we remember the individual people in communities, how we write (or do not write) their stories.

Komagata Maru Passengers

This is very short list of some passengers who played key roles in the departure of the Komagata Maru from Hong Kong, and its experience once in Canadian waters.

Gurdit Singh
Gurdit Singh was a successful businessman who decided to charter the Komagata Maru from Hong Kong after meeting with and speaking with other Indians there. Singh (sold tickets up until two days before the Komagata Maru’s departure, and was briefly held by officials for selling illegal tickets for what was deemed an illegal trip). Singh was a nationalist, who believed in an Independent India. At the Baj Baj (Budge Budge) incident, he escaped capture. After remaining a fugitive in India for several years, he finally surrendered after prompting by Mahatma Gandhi (whom he respected deeply) and served a five-year jail term in Punjab. It was after Singh’s prompting did the federal government of newly-independent India erect a plaque at Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) memorializing the Komagata Maru.

Munshi Singh
Munshi Singh, one of the 376 passengers aboard the Komagata Maru, was selected as the representative for the test case. He was a Sikh farmer from Punjab, someone who was interested in migrating to Canada for the purposes of buying some property and farming.

Canadian Officials
Government agents very obviously played a heavy role in the Komagata Maru incident. Both Hopkinson and Reid held very strong anti-South Asian views and prior to 1914, both had been actively pushing for exclusionary immigration. For Reid, his daughter felt (in the 1980s) that the way he was remembered was unfair1; for Hopkinson, an often-staged play by Sharon Pollock fictionalized his mixed-race heritage and his surveillance work, which could be described as internalized racism2.

Malcolm Reid
Malcolm Reid was the Chief Immigration Officer of Vancouver during the Komagata Maru incident. Posted to the position with no experience, his proposals of how to expel the Komagata Maru contradicted even those of the federal government. He was explicit in his anti-Asian sentiments, and was motivated to use whatever force necessary to remove the ship and its passengers. For example, on June 24, 1914, Reid wired Ottawa to ask for permission to have the Komagata Maru passengers forced onto the S.S. Empress of India, which was departing the next day. The answer was no – an appearance in court (through a test case) is how the federal government wanted to proceed.

Martin Burrell
Martin Burrell was the federal Minister of Agriculture at the time the Komagata Maru was stationed in Burrard Inlet. He became involved at the very end of the two month period, at the urging of Prime Minister Robert Borden. It was Burrell’s letter to Albert Howard McNeill dated July 21, 1914, that seemed to bring forward a compromise. In it, he refers to the Shore Committee and community members who had provided financial support. Burrell said that he would “urge that full and sympathetic consideration be given to those who deserve generous treatment. I must point out, however, that this is conditional on the passengers now on the Komagata Maru adopting a peaceable attitude, refraining from violence, and conforming to the law by giving to the captain control of his ship immediately, and agreeing to peaceably return to the port when they came.”13

William Charles Hopkinson
William Charles (W.C.) Hopkinson was an immigration inspector at the time of the Komagata Maru. Working for the federal government since 1909, mostly based in British Columbia and working in the US as well, his focus was on the surveillance of Indian political activists. He was fully occupied with the Komagata Maru while it was in Burrard Inlet for two months. After the Komagata Maru was sent back, his role became important in the context of war – he provided information to officials in Canada and British India about Indian agitators on the Pacific coast who were supposedly plotting to return to India to “take up arms against the British while they were at war in Europe”4 Hopkinson was mixed-race (Anglo-Indian), which he both used in his work (he could understand Hindi and Punjabi) and denied outright. In 1914, he was killed by Mewa Singh at the Vancouver Court House.

Legal Personnel
In a hostile environment of British Columbia in 1914, two legal professionals took on the case of the Komagata Maru passengers. J. Edward Bird handled the bulk of the case.

J. Edward Bird, solicitor
J. Edward Bird was hired by the passengers of the Komagata Maru to represent the passengers as they lodged a legal challenge to the Orders in Council that were prohibiting them from being able to disembark. The government decided to only have one test case, and Bird was assigned the task of preparing his case very quickly. Bird made the argument on behalf of Munshi Singh (the test case) using constitutional terms, arguing that the passengers of the Komagata Maru were entitled to disembark and settle in Canada as British subjects. Unfortunately, the five judges disagreed with him, and the case was lost. Bird was a socialist, and was opposed to the anti-Asian sentiment around him in British Columbia – proving this by creating a space for Indian socialists to gather.

Albert Howard MacNeill
Partner to J. Edward Bird, he took over the Komagata Maru case in the latter stages after Bird received a threatening letter and opted to travel out of town. He was an established lawyer in Vancouver, with connections to many powerful individuals. He sent a personal cable to Conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden (McNeill was a member of the Conservative Party himself) to encourage him to think about the Komagata Maru situation beyond what he was told by immigration officials (like Reid and Stevens).

Shore Committee Members
While the Komagata Maru was forced to stay in Burrard Inlet, South Asian community members in the Vancouver area mobilized to support the passengers. The 15-member group, coming together initially at the Khalsa Diwan Society, was called the Shore Committee. The Shore Committee raised awareness, raised funds, spoke out about the exclusion, and was heavily involved in retaining legal representation for the Komagata Maru passengers.

Hussain Rahim
Hussain Rahim was one of the Shore Committee members, an active member of the Indian community in British Columbia, and the editor of the short-lived English newspaper The Hindustanee. Rahim spoke English, Hindi, Punjabi and Gujrati, and was vocal about his thoughts on the ways the governments of Canada and British Columbia treated Indians. Rahim was instrumental in mobilizing community members to support the passengers of the Komagata Maru.

Bhag Singh
Bhag Singh was one of the Shore Committee members, an active member of the Indian community in British Columbia, and Secretary of the Temple Management Committee at the Khalsa Diwan Society gurdwara. His own experience of challenging Canada’s immigration policy in 1911 meant that he was one of the very few Indians in Canada to have been able to be reunified with his wife and child.

Visit km.browncanada.com & browncanada.ca for more info.

Komagata Maru By The Numbers

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:23:18 -0400

376: number of passengers on Komagata Maru when it arrives in Vancouver Harbour

   12: number of Hindus aboard Komagata Maru
   24: number of Muslims aboard Komagata Maru
   340: number of Sikhs aboard Komagata Maru

90: number of people declared medically unfit to land

20-24: number of people who claimed to have Canadian domicile and were allowed to disembark

$150,000: Amount of damages claimed by Gurdit Singh for Canada not allowing him to land and sell coal stored aboard Komagata Maru

15: Number of core members of Sshore Ccommittee, local South Asians who were mobilizing to support the Komagata Maru passengers

500: ??Unknown: number of local South Asians present at meetings to support Komagata Maru passengers, held at the the Khalsa Diwan Society at Gurdwara

$5,000: amount collected at once at first meeting at Gurdwara by local South Asians to support Komagata Maru passengers

$17,000: amount collected at future meetings by local South Asians to support Komagata Maru passengers

150: number of immigration officials and police who attempted to board Komagata Maru on July 17, 1914

$4,000: value of provisions Canadian government placed on board the Komagata Maru for the return trip

2: number of months the Komagata Maru stayed in harbour off the coast of Vancouver

2: number of years shore committee struggled legally with government after Komagata Maru was forced to return to Asia

$3,000: further legal expenses of shore committee after Komagata Maru forced to return to Asia

6: number of months Komagata Maru passengers spent aboard

via Brown Canada Project: Komagata Maru

Brown Canada Creative Arts Workshops. Legacies of the Komagata Maru: Digital Storytelling

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:03:00 -0400

Legacies of the Komagata Maru: Digital Storytelling workshop with Mariam Ahmad & Asam Ahmad, Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 & Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 5-8pm @ Don Montgomery CRC

Workshop content provided by: Mariam Ahmad & Asam Ahmad, Graduate of Asian Arts Freedom School

What: In these workshops we will explore the marginalized and/or hidden histories of the South Asian diaspora in Canada, what it means to be a racialized youth/immigrant today and how to tell our stories through art-based media. In two workshop sessions, we will create a stop-animation short film that tells a collective story, with individual vignettes, and themes and content led by group participants. In the first session we will begin talking about our complex histories, earning about stop-motion, and brainstorming ideas for the video. The second workshop will be comprised of story-boarding the narrative, recording individual stories and voiceovers, and crafting the actual visuals for the film.

When: Tuesday, May 29^th, 2012 & Tuesday, June 5^th, 2012, 5:00 to 8:00 pm

Where: Don Montgomery CRC, 2467 Eglinton Ave E

Fully Accessible. Ward: 35, District: Scarborough. Near: Midland & Eglinton

TTC Information: Travel to Kennedy Station. Board the 86A Scarborough and travel to 2495. Walk west to 2467 Eglinton Avenue East.

Who: Youth & young adults, ages 16-30 welcome

How: Space is limited! Please contact Deena Hai at deena@cassa.on.ca to register / or location contact

Please register by Friday, May 25th, 4 p.m

Follow Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/171294869666168/

Follow Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject

Visit: http://km.browncanada.ca/index.php

——-

Brown Canada, lead by CASSA, is a community-led history project to encourage South Asian communities to create and document their histories in Canada creatively, through writing, video, interviews, art, theatre or other means. Our collective entry point for this project is through the Komagata Maru incident of 1914, when a ship of South Asian people was denied entry into Canada due to restrictive immigration policy known as the continuous journey regulation. Through this project, we are creating an interactive website, offering educational and creative workshops, producing a short video as well as seeking to tour a short theatre piece to raise awareness of the incident and spark community dialogue within Ontario.

http://km.browncanada.com/

http://www.browncanada.ca/

http://www.cassaonline.com/

——-

The Asian Arts Freedom School is an art-based radical Asian history and activism program for Asian/Pacific Islander youth in the Greater Toronto Area. Asian = South Asian, West Asian (a.k.a. Arab or Middle-Eastern), Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Central Asian,Pacific Islander, diasporic via the Caribbean and Africa…mixed-race, adoptee, suburban, hood…just got here or been here since the 1800s. Asian stretches from the Phillippines to Palestine, North China to Sri Lanka, Trinidad to Tibet, and all of it ends up in Toronto. We cover various artforms including writing, spoken word, music, visual arts, film, breakdancing, theatre and dance. We are currently running a drop-in creative writing workshop series in Victoria Park, and a theatre/drag musical program to be showcased during Pride Toronto 2012.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/asianartsfreedomschool/

asianartsfreedomschool@gmail.com

Call out to actors and performers for Komagata Maru Theatrical Vignettes: Ontario

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:15:00 -0400

Brown Canada is looking to audition actors for a series of vignettes based on the Komagata Maru incident and related themes of exclusion, questions of belonging and unspoken/unknown histories, among others. Firstly, we are looking for actors to either perform at different venues across the province: 4 performances across Toronto, and 5 outside of Toronto. These projects will be performed at various times from May to July 2012. We are also looking for actors to perform in our final performance, which will take place at the end of June.

Staff at CASSA would set up the performances and facilitate the community dialogues following the performances. We do have a small budget and can provide compensation for the development of the work and pay travel expenses for the actors.

Actor/Performer:

Interest or experience in theatre
Interest in Canadian South Asian history
South Asian identifying preferred

Please send a CV/resume to deena@cassa.on.ca if you are interested!

Deadline: May 16, 2012

For more information, please call or email Deena Hai: 416 932 1359 extn. 14 / deena@cassa.on.ca

webpage: browncanada.ca

facebook: browncanadaproject

youtube: browncanadaproject

tumblr: browncanada

Brown Canada is a community-led history project to encourage South Asian communities to create and document their histories in Canada creatively, through writing, video, interviews, art, theatre or other means. Our collective entry point for this project is through the Komagata Maru incident of 1914, when a ship of South Asian people was denied entry into Canada due to restrictive immigration policy known as the continuous journey regulation. Through this project, we will be creating an interactive website, offering educational & creative workshops, producing a short video as well as seeking to tour a short theatre piece to raise awareness of the incident and spark community dialogue within Ontario.

[Image reads] Volunteer Postings “Brown Canada” Community...

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:38:00 -0400

[Image reads]

Volunteer Postings “Brown Canada” Community Animators for Sikh, Tamil and Indo-Caribbean Communities

Volunteer Position: Community Animator - Project: Brown Canada - Documenting and Creating South Asian Histories in Canada Duration: Immediate Start - June 29, 2012 Compensation: Honourarium-based

Brown Canada is a 2-year comprehensive South Asian history project that seeks to document and create history from a diverse range of perspectives that fall under the ‘South Asian’ umbrella. During this project, we will be creating a comprehensive website with photos, videos and articles, creative and digital storytelling workshops, resource booklets, a DVD, as well as a memorial website and youth-led play dedicated to exploring histories of the Komagata Maru.

CASSA is looking to fill three Community Animator positions. The Community Animator will be responsible for gathering content and mobilizing interest in the Brown Canada project within a specific South Asian community or experience. We are currently seeking animators to work with people identifying as Sikh, Indo-Caribbean and Tamil.* The project aims to document intersecting identities in each theme based on contributors’ preferences and self-identification. The Community Animator will be expected to create and obtain content for the Brown Canada website and DVD’s primarily through interviews with community members in the form of video, photography or written submissions.

Responsibilities: -act as a liaison between Sikh/Indo-Caribbean/Tamil Community and overall ‘Brown Canada’ project -research and compile information with regard to specific community -Assist Brown Canada’s Outreach Team with community outreach and volunteer recruitment/coordination -coordinate interviews and record oral histories of community members -use creative art/media such as video, digital storytelling, and creative writing to encourage story-telling -obtain informed consent from all individuals and groups interviewed, ensure permission forms are signed -Submit articles, photographs, stories to the project manager within the week they are completed so that they can be shared on the Brown Canada website -other administrative duties as assigned

Qualifications:

-Self-identification with the communities specified (e.g Sikh or Tamil and/or Indo-Caribbean) -Knowledge or interest in the above South Asian communities along with community contacts interest and/or experience in areas of South Asian history, issues, politics or activism -Enthusiastic about learning and sharing knowledge

-Interest in arts, media, research and writing -Ability to work effectively independently and in a group -Good verbal and written communication skills -Knowledge of anti-oppression analysis -Ability to work under tight deadlines*In addition to documenting the Sikh, Tamil and Indo-Caribbean communities, the Brown Canada project is also interested in documenting communities and experiences that include but are not limited to, people identifying as Bangladeshi, Indian, Muslim, Pakistani, Punjabi, Mixed-Race, LGBTQ, Women, Disabled, Workers, Artists, Cultural workers and Healthcare providers. Please contact anita@cassa.on.ca if you are interested in working with any of these communities or any others that are not listed.

How to Apply: Please submit your résumé and cover letter by May 9, 2012 at 5 pm, either: By Mail to:

Anita Khanna, Project Manager CASSA, 2401 Eglinton Ave. East, Unit 212 Toronto, ON, M1K 2N8

Or by Email with one email attachment if possible: hr@cassa.on.ca

CASSA is committed to employment equity & encourages applicants from members of equity seeking groups. While we appreciate all responses, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

What's gender and race got to do with dating?

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:31:15 -0400

sawac:

What’s gender and race got to do with dating?

Free workshop for young South Asian women

When: May 8th. 5-7pm

Where: 2467 Eglinton Ave East Toronto, ON

ASAAP (Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention) will be presenting a special workshop for young South Asian women that will be informative, creative and collaborative. Participants will have the opportunity to develop team scriptwriting and acting techniques to create compelling skits around the issues of gender, race, sexual health and how they may play a role in romantic relationships. A “talk show” forum will conclude the workshop where participants will have the chance to give feedback on the skits and share solutions to help us all move forward to create respectful and healthy relationships.

Please email hadia@cassa.on.ca to register.

This workshop is open to women between the ages of 16-30 only. Food and Tokens will be provided.

Check us out on: http://sawac.ca/

Check ASAAP out on: http://asaap.ca/

See you all there!

“LEGACIES OF THE KOMAGATA MARU”An Evening of Poetry of...

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:05:00 -0400

“LEGACIES OF THE KOMAGATA MARU”
An Evening of Poetry of Resistance
Spoken Word & Performances
Performances by participants of Brown Canada’s Creative Workshops

Join the members of our “Legacies of the Komagata Maru Letters To Our Elders” workshop series as we perform poetry, spoken word and other performances inspired by June Jordan’s “Poem about My Rights” as well as by the workshop content, and from sharing of personal stories and ideas as a group.

The workshop series was open to all those who self-identified as youth of colour, Indigenous, and mixed-race. The Workshops were dedicated to exploring different themes and legacies that result from the Komagata Maru historical incident as well as dedicated to give participants opportunity to build their storytelling skills in a variety of artistic mediums.

Date: Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Time: 6:00-8:30pm
Venue: The Academy of Impossible, 231 Wallace Ave, Toronto ON M6H 1V5
This event is FREE. A Light Dinner will be served

Call for “Event Planning” and Outreach Volunteers Brown Canada Project

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:56:00 -0400

Call for Event Planning and Outreach Volunteers Brown Canada Project

About the “Brown Canada” Project:

Brown Canada is a 2-year comprehensive South Asian history project that seeks to document and create history from a diverse range of perspectives that fall under the “South Asian” umbrella. During this project, we will be creating a comprehensive website with photos, videos and articles, creative and digital storytelling workshops, resource booklets, a DVD, as well as a memorial website and youth-led play dedicated to exploring histories of the Komagata Maru.

1) Call for Event Planning Volunteers:

We seek a committee of dedicated volunteers to assist the Event Planner with the various logistical responsibilities involved in:

a) Setting up a series of community dialogues taking place across Ontario that will also feature a theatrical piece;

b) Coordinating contents and logistics relating to a Brown Canada exhibit that will tour within the Greater Toronto Area during South Asian Heritage Month in May and;

c) Planning and overseeing the final Brown Canada event in June.

Our core team will consist of about 6-10 volunteers who will work out of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) office, located at 2401 Eglinton Ave. E., Suite 212 in Toronto. Occasionally these volunteers will also work from home.

We will also have teams of 3-5 volunteers located in various cities outside of the Greater Toronto Area to assist with the setting up of the theatrical play and community dialogues component of this project. These cities (tentatively) include Hamilton, Kitchener/Waterloo, Windsor, London and Ottawa.

All volunteers will report back to the Event Planner for the Brown Canada Project, Shameela Zaman

Skills Required:

Excellent communication and outreach skills
Experience with social media and networking platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter is an asset
Event planning experience is an asset
Must be able to work independently and with a team
Must be able to follow orders, work within a limited time frame and under tight deadlines

Time Commitment:

Members of our core team are expected to commit 5 – 7 hours per week at the CASSA office, with the possibility of extra hours at home.

Members of teams located outside of the GTA are expected to commit 2-5 hours per week. These hours will increase as the event date draws nearer in each city.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in joining the event planning committee, please email Shameela Zaman at shameela@cassa.on.ca by May 4^th at 12pm.

2) Call for Outreach Volunteers:

We seek a committee of dedicated volunteers to assist the Outreach Coordinator with the following responsibilities:

a) Setting up a series of outreach events and workshops within the Greater Toronto Area, on the Brown Canada Project

b) Attending various Outreach Events for South Asian Heritage Month in May, and general community events in June to set up Brown Canada booth

c) Engaging with community members to elicit participation in activities including creating community collages, art activities, documenting oral histories and assisting at community workshops

Our team will consist of 6-10 volunteers who will work out of both community venues and the CASSA Office located at 2401 Eglinton Ave. E., Suite 212 in Toronto.

All volunteers will report back to the Outreach Coordinator for the Brown Canada Project, Krittika Ghosh

Skills Required:

Excellent communication and outreach skills
Experience in doing outreach in the South Asian community
Arts based experience including photography, painting, graphic design
Knowledge of organizations, cultural groups, student groups and other resources in the South Asian community in the GTA
Must be able to work independently and with a team
Must be able to follow orders, work within a limited time frame and under tight deadlines
Knowledge of a South Asian language such as Tamil, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi an asset
Access to a vehicle would be an asset (but not required)

Time Commitment:

Members of our core team are expected to commit up to 5-7 hours per week which could include weekend and week nights.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in joining the event planning committee, please email Krittika Ghosh at krittika@cassa.on.ca by May 4^th at 12pm.

Brown Canada PSA With Brown Canada and Shaunga Tagore. Brown...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:43:00 -0400

Brown Canada PSA

With Brown Canada and Shaunga Tagore.

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject

Check us out on tumblr: http://browncanada.tumblr.com

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: BROWN CANADA KOMAGATA MARU THEATRE PROPOSAL

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:00:00 -0400

Application Deadline: Monday, April 30, 2012

Timeline: Immediate start date – June 29, 2012

Budget: $4000 allocated

*Honorarium granted

Project Background:

Purpose of the RFP:

We are looking for individuals or organizations with members that might be willing to develop vignettes based on the Komagata Maru incident and related themes of exclusion, questions of belonging and unspoken/unknown histories, among others. We would hope that the vignettes could be performed in different venues across the province, around 4 performances across Toronto, and 5 outside of Toronto. These projects will be performed at various times from May to July 2012. Staff at CASSA would set up the performances and facilitate the community dialogues following the performances. We do have a small budget and can provide compensation for the development of the work and pay travel expenses for the actors.

Qualifications:

Strong artistic merit
Interest or experience in theatre
Interest in Canadian South Asian history
Ability to work efficiently and meet tight deadlines
South Asian identifying preferred

TO APPLY:

Please send us a CV and a brief proposal (100 to 200 words) detailing your idea for a performance.

PROPOSAL ELEMENTS:

It is expected that the submitted proposals will cover the items specified below:

CV detailing experience and qualifications of applicant
Necessary skills, experience and or interest in theatre and South Asian history
Estimated overall timeline of the project, indicating how soon the individual can commence writing

** Any questions should be submitted by e-mail no later than April 28, 2012

Interested candidates should submit a proposal by Monday, April 30, 2012 at 4 pm, by either:

Emailing deena@cassa.on.ca and providing your application.

Or delivering your application by mail or in person to:

Deena Hai, CASSA

2401 Eglinton Ave. East, Unit 212

Toronto, ON

M1K 2N8

CASSA is committed to employment equity & encourages applicants from equity seeking groups.

While we appreciate all responses, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please re-share!

Brown Canada-Sharing Our Stories Workshop

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:14:35 -0400

Do you want to learn more about your personal and community history?

Have you ever wanted to interview an elder, a relative or community member to learn from their experiences and document their story?

Not sure where to start? The Brown Canada Project invites you to attend:

Sharing Our Stories: A Workshop on How-to Interview & Document South Asian Histories in Canada

CASSA’s Brown Canada Project presents an interactive skills-building workshop that will give you the tools to conduct personal interviews to document our communities’ histories. The workshop will be facilitated by Nayani Thiyagarajah the director of the groundbreaking documentary “Shadeism” and Sailaja Krishnamurti, professor of Humanities & South Asian Studies at York University.

WHEN: Monday, April 23^rd from 6:30-8:30pm

WHERE: The 519 Community Centre, Room 106, 519 Church Street Toronto
Wheelchair accessible space.

WHY? Because our her/histories matter!

For more information and to RSVP, Please contact Krittika Ghosh at krittika@cassa.on.ca or call (416) 932-1359 x18

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/browncanadaproject
Check us out on tumblr: http://browncanada.tumblr.com/

Brown Canada is a community-led project documenting, creating, and sharing South Asian histories in Canada. Our collective entry point is through the Komagata Maru incident. The Brown Canada Project is based within the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA)

Refreshments will be provided!

Brown Canada Project Seeks Submissions Brown Canada is a...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:08:00 -0400

Brown Canada Project Seeks Submissions

Brown Canada is a community-led project documenting and creating South Asian histories in Canada. Our collective entry point is through the Komagata Maru incident of 1914.

This project seeks to create a participatory and comprehensive website, a play on the Komagata Maru, creative and digital storytelling workshops, DVD and resource booklets, and intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogue.

We call all writers, researchers, artists, activists, scholars, educators, community organizers, students, youth, and interested and excited individuals to be a part of this project, and to learn, tell and create South Asian history on our own terms.

Join us in documenting the history of South Asian immigration to Canada by submitting a post to the Brown Canada website. Submissions can include scanned photographs, brief essays, poetry, video, art-work and other formats.

We are looking for submissions from people of various South Asian identities including but not limited to people identifying as Bangladeshi, Indo-Caribbean, Indian, Muslim, Pakistani, Punjabi, Sikh, Tamil,Mixed-Race, LGBTQ, Women, disAbled, Workers, Artists, Cultural workers and Healthcare providers.

Topics on the submission are diverse ranging from issues such as isolation, discrimination, acculturation, racism, creating ‘community, sexism, homophobia, resistance etc. Please include a brief bio and your contact information with your submission.

We are accepting submissions on an ongoing basis and the FIRST round of submissions is due by Monday, April 16^th 2012. We will be posting submissions onto the Brown Canada website as they are received.

Please Email submissions to Krittika Ghosh at krittika@cassa.on.ca

Creative Workshops Postponed for a week!

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:19:34 -0500

Unfortunately, due to illness, this workshop series will be starting on Monday March 5th, and NOT Feb 27. If you would like to attend, but haven’t yet applied, please send an email to: shaunga@cassa.on.ca

Legacies of the Komagata Maru: Letters to Our Elders

FREE workshops for self-identified youth of colour and Indigenous youth

Monday evenings, 5-8pm || March 5 - Apr 9, 2012

Including workshops on various forms of storytelling (writing, digital, theatre, movement, oral and visual) and anti-racist arts education

Culminating in a collective stage performance with opportunities to travel with the performance to various communities

between April - June

377 Dundas Avenue (across from the AGO)