Cover art by Christie Carriere
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.
This project was facilitated by Christina Battle. Illustrations in the publication are made by Christie Carrière, Enna Kim, Vanessa Grondin, and Céline Chuang. The publication was printed by Yolkless Press, designed by Christie Carrière and edited by Lan “Florence” Yee.
To order a physical copy of the publication, please email Lan at Lan.they.them@gmail.com.
To access a digital copy of the publication, click here