The Presence
As part of the 2023 CreateSpace Public Art Residency, artist Xiao Han worked with the Chinese Dance Club in Saskatoon to produce a research-creation project that explores the stories of the early Chinese immigrant community in the area.
Project at a glance
Location: Drinkle 3 Building, 115 3 Ave S, Saskatoon, SK S7K 1L6
Artists: Xiao Han
Documentarians: Menglin Huang, Barbara Reimer
Year: 2023
Services: Artist Capacity Building
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performance
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artist-in-residence
About the project
The Presence by 2023 CreateSpace artist Xiao Han adopts Chinese heritage dance as a vehicle to present narratives about the overlooked stories from the community. The project focuses on the absence of Chinese female figures in the historical archive during the early 20th century. Using choreography, music, and heritage dance, Xiao conveyed a narrative of the early Chinese immigrant community and their relationship to the land in Saskatchewan.
The Presence was presented to the community at the Avenue Room in Drinkle 3 Building in Saskatoon. The event included historical speeches, storytelling, choreography, and various engaging elements.
“The CreateSpace Public Art Residency shaped my career. I was encouraged to do more public art and I learned how to engage with property managers and connect with the community to produce this event.”
About the artists
Xiao Han
Xiao Han is a Saskatoon-based artist and curator originally from Wuhan, China. Han’s creative practice focuses on narrative photography, visualizing emotion, affect sense and community engagement. Han’s research explores diaspora identity, contemporary gender issues, and decolonial practice. Han produced numerous projects investigating the Chinese one-child policy, Chinese Canadian immigrants’ identity, and the aesthetic of community relationships through visual art and curatorial practice.
Funders
The 2023 CreateSpace Residency is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment. We also acknowledge the support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation with funding provided by the Government of Canada.
This project is also supported by Scotiabank.
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