Archives

A Retrospective Peak

While locating and rediscovering the files, tapes and photos of performances and programs, memories flashed before me and sentiments arose. The archival remains from the years of 1995 to 2005 are mere fragments, traces of our past. The graphic press presentation from our formative years to our present versions, indicate the progress we have made and the naïve assumptions that we had. Unfortunately, 80% of our master copies of tapes, posters and programs are gone. The approximated 1,500 dedicated hours of archiving and re-editing the material are not reflected in this Gateway Retrospective. For web visitors who travel in micro-seconds, it was deemed necessary to keep our images short and punchy. Program files were found as broken pieces. I apologize for any incorrect information. Please inform the office for anything amiss.

There are some past prominent players who deserve to be recognized and acknowledged. In 1995, impressario Bernard Nguyen, first approached me about organizing a Festival to celebrate Asian Heritage Month. An ad hoc collective first formed with Bernard Nguyen, Rebecca Chong, Hunt Hoe and myself. A big thank you goes to Toronto's Asian Heritage Month director Saheed Khan who initiated with Canada Council for the arts with Garry Cristall, a national Asian Heritage meeting in 1996. This meeting consisted of activists such as Vancouver's Jim Wong Chu and Zainub Verjee, Toronto's Desh Pardesh team and Montreal's team of Bernard Nguyen, Atif Siddiqi and myself. With a small efficient team that included such folks as Patrice Fouché, Atif Siddiqi, Salman M. Hussain, Nancy Tatabe, Viviane Schami, Vivi Anthy, the Montreal Asian Heritage Month Group was born. I would like to thank Bernard Nguyen for his great initiative and foresight during the formative years in 1995-1996.

Artist, musician, writer and gay activist extraordinaire, Himmat Shinhat was instrumental from 1996-2000 in developing the spirit of the Festival. Himmat is responsible for designing the primary graphic image of our present day logo. Himmat was also a coordinator, translator, performing artist, writer, steering committee member and essentially helped to shape the Festival as it is today. A most grateful kudos goes to Himmat Shinhat who is presently in Ottawa with the Ministry of Immigration.

Milton Tanaka, a newly arrived immigrant who fell in love with a Quebecoise and who shocked the Montreal community with his unimaginable Japanese Latino flair was a treat to work with from 1997-2001. During this time until he became a father, Milton maintained a semblance of order in the chaos as the irreplaceable right hand man, Festival coordinator, translator and press attaché.

From 1996 to 2002, a loosely knit group of artists met in various cafes and homes monthly. Stories abounded then as they do now. Do you know about the time when the Festival team was kicked out of Commensal and we were out of a meeting place for awhile? Thanks to Mr. Timothy Chan from the Chinese United Services Centre for saving us by offering office space in Chinatown for a brief period. How about the one about the Festival being run out of a bedroom for the first 7 years of operations?

In 2002, the Festival officially moved into our office at Centre Gesù. The Festival has since moved three times in this same building to accommodate an expanding team from one staff on a weekly basis in 2002 to our present situation in 2006 of five or six workers ranging from contracted staff, salaried employees, interns, students and volunteers. Wonders never cease.

Appreciation, thanks, gratitude does little to express my heartfelt acknowledgement to the list of the many incredible hopeful believers, urban warriors, fighters, activists and kind souls.

Khosro Berahmandi danced his way into the Festival in 1998 as an artist, volunteer, curator, contracted worker and presently as General Manager. The devastating horror of how and why he came to Canada is a head twisting mismatch to his respecting, honourable integrity. Khosro is an angel who fell to this earth.

Hunt Hoe has been everpresent but invisibly since our inception in 1995. As financial consultant, he is responsible for the finances, finalizing grant budgets and ensuring that we are not in debt. Because of Hunt, the Festival has great dance music and rockin' parties during our potlucks at his place and stays afloat in the wild and wacky runnings of a festival.

Every right is fought for. It is with great thanks that I commend Canada Council for the Arts for their leadership to listen and to react to community leaders such as Chris Creighton-Kelly, Sharon Fernandez and the list goes on, for their belief to instill the national conscience with the ideals of racial equity in the arts. Without such individuals and leadership, our Festival would not exist. A great many many thanks to all individuals who support and help to make this Festival come alive.

~ Janet Lumb