South Asians and rising creative capitals in Canada

In the words of the late American singer, Nina Simone - ‘an artist’s duty is to reflect the times’. Imagining a world devoid of bookshops, murals, sculptures, museums, theatres and art galleries is futile as it is through a city’s cultural institutions that human ideologies and purposes are shaped and shared amongst a larger fraternity. In a world obsessed with speed, data and perfection, artists reinforce a sense of slowness, humanisation and curiosity - to understand the self in relation to the world around us. But, what sustains the right impact of art are the social, administrative and economic structures that support creative pursuits.

The Triad of Culture, Community and Creation

The emerging creative and cultural landscape in Canada shows how some of its cities have witnessed a resounding growth of opportunities in the arts and culture sector with a noticeable representation of the South Asian diasporic community. There have been increasing conversations around visual and material cultures, dynamic modes of collaboration, shifting patterns of patronage and better awareness about arts education programs across Canadian universities and colleges. Progress through public and private interventions, independent studios, galleries and other creative businesses is reflected in many neighbourhoods. To give an example, 401 Richmond which has been adapted as a cultural hub from an old tin lithography factory and houses over 140 cultural producers and microenterprises. Backed by digital media infrastructures and increased connectivity, several artists and creatives have made a mark with their portfolios highlighting the confluence of the personal and the political and pertinent subjects that blur established conventions and cartographies.

East Coast

In Toronto, both individual and institutional efforts have contributed to fostering a creative thinking culture. Some contemporary artists like Meera Sethi, who works across mediums, questioning history, migration, memory, the body, cloth, labour, and care while focusing on the South Asian diaspora. Baljit Singh, a photographer and co-founder of The Kollective, a creative agency and production company supporting young creatives - documents brown bodies while exploring themes of nostalgia, immigration, and social issues in the South Asian community.

While South Asians are not new to Canada, conversations around their identity and material cultures have recently gained momentum with the Royal Ontario Museum offering grants to study and work with Indian textiles, the Harbourfront Centre hosting South Asian exhibitions, the Textile Museum including phulkari in their permanent collection, and galleries like the Surrey Gallery and the Indian Summer Fest in Vancouver leading the way for new narratives.

Elaborating on these new cross-cultural breakthroughs - Rachel MacHenry, a designer and educator active in the Canadian cultural scene for many years and currently an Assistant Professor in Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University, and a partner in Handwork Studio shares, “South Asians comprise one of the largest groups in Canada (approximately 20% of the population) and maintain strong ties to rich cultural identities including textiles, cuisine, craft, music, dance, film, and visual arts. Many Canadian South Asian cultural organizations including the South Asian Visual Arts Centre, and the Reel Asian Film Festival have given South Asian artists a voice within the broader cultural scene. Second and third generations want to connect back to their roots, and are interested in these cultural expressions, deepening the conversations around identity and building greater awareness of material cultures.”

Talking about the factors behind the emergence of creative neighbourhoods and entrepreneurship, Rachel explains, “Canadian cities have retained vibrant and diverse downtowns with distinctive residential neighbourhoods, and this has been a major factor in the growth of creative urban districts that include independent retailers, cafes, galleries and arts spaces. Arts education also contributes to these cultural hubs, as each city or region has art and design graduates who may decide to stay back after their education is completed, often collaborating to set up studios and businesses, or joining existing cultural initiatives. Until recently, access to affordable spaces has been important in maintaining cultural areas, but as Canadian cities are becoming more and more expensive, especially for renting, it may become more difficult for young entrepreneurs, artists and designers to sustain their activities in the long run.” Reflecting on the arts education scenario, Rachel shares, “Arts education is always evolving to reflect current realities in culture, changes in technology and new directions in art and design. It currently reflects the many diverse voices that make up contemporary Canada, and this in turn is evident in the Canadian cultural scene.”

In Montreal, a major centre of francophone culture in North America, one can observe new intellect and innovation patterns unfolding, particularly at The Textiles and Materiality Research Cluster, a part of the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology at Concordia University, that collates research creation expertise from textile arts and material culture to experiment with methods, processes and interdisciplinary modes of thinking. McGill University’s Faculty of Arts, too, through courses in anthropology, art history and sociology, has helped mould new academic interests.

West coast

A city known for ecological diversity, adventurous lifestyles, and ethnic diversity, Vancouver too, has seen impressive trajectories of cultural progress with creative practitioners initiating transnational dialogues. Mustaali Raj, an independent art director and graphic designer based here - and - Minahil Bukhari, often collaborate, as seen in the case of the Indian Summer Fest 2020. Minahil, a Pakistani-Canadian artist with an interdisciplinary practice, works with the concepts of displacement, trauma, loss and systematic neglect through the lens of political minimalism.

Manjot Bains, a freelance writer and partner at Digital Handloom, an interdisciplinary storytelling and community engagement practice in Vancouver, too, echoes this growing sentiment. With parents from Punjab, India and an upbringing in Canada, having cultivated an interest in cultural and creative practices during her university days, she has since then, been an active proponent of the arts and has served on the boards for arts non-profit organisations. Her creative writing has appeared in many publications, and she was also the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of JUGNISTYLE, a South Asian arts, culture and fashion magazine.

Sharing insights about the evolution and challenges in the local economic scenario, she explains, “In Vancouver, the challenge for these sectors has always been funding. When government or foundation grants are available, the majority are allocated to classical European arts i.e. the large art galleries, provincial museums, ballet, opera, symphony. What gets left out is a lot of the contemporary, experimental and what I think is the more interesting work by the Indigenous and Black peoples, and artists of colour. Increasingly, we’ve seen artist spaces close in Vancouver due to the rising cost of real estate, development and apathy towards supporting a robust arts sector. But, I’m also excited that some new places have emerged, like The Black Arts Centre and BCA Sun Wah in Chinatown.”

About the emerging creative neighbourhoods and entrepreneurship opportunities, Manjot says, “I think, creative entrepreneurship has grown for a few reasons. Lack of grant funding for the arts means creative entrepreneurship is often the only direction to go if you want to make a career in this sector. And, for racialized or marginalized creatives who have been excluded from mainstream arts and culture spaces, entrepreneurship allows you to have your own platform and promote other artists too. Social media platforms, too have offered a space to market and sell art outside of traditional galleries.”

Elucidating further in terms of the immigrants’ inclusivity, Manjot says, “More South Asians are working in galleries and museums or being brought in as guest curators, which means that more people are talking about us in these spaces. The increased interest in South Asian cultures and identities is also related to the size and spending power of our communities. Once media, corporations and governments clued into this, the interest in our cultures and identities changed, gradually growing over the last 15-20 years.” She adds, “The Surrey Art Gallery has featured Panjabi and South Asian artists consistently and they really reflect the communities in that city. You don’t see that happening as much with large galleries in Vancouver like the Vancouver Art Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery and Polygon Gallery, so there is definitely a lot of opportunity for learning and growth. In Toronto, you have many collectives and creative professionals, including SAVAC which has been an amazing support for South Asian artists for decades and Deepali Dewan at the ROM doing phenomenal work that supports and also profiles South Asian material culture. Organizations like South Asian Arts, VIBC and the Indian Summer Festival have advocated for and given a platform for South Asian arts for many years too.”

By recognising its creative talent, Canada has opened up myriad avenues for artists and designers and its multi-ethnic population to become cognisant of the humbling powers of art, history, and experiences that are embedded in collective participation, new capital flows and genuine sensitivity towards preserving all that makes us ‘human’ in these hyper-digital times.