Vancouver zine ‘harnesses power of art’ to fight anti-Asian racism

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — More than a dozen artists from Canada and the U.S. are creating art to raise awareness about anti-Asian hate, and raising funds for organizations fighting back against it.

The Stop Asian Racism project is a 16-page ‘zine printed right here in Vancouver, featuring original artwork by 15 artists of Asian descent.

Organizer Lisa Taniguchi says seeing the recent spike in racism targetting her community has been difficult, but it also spurred her to take action.

“At the beginning when I started to see a lot more of these incidents on social media, and the news — to be honest — I felt a bit powerless. That’s why I wanted to create this zine, to try to enact change and to also raise awareness and raise funds for a very important issue in a creative way that harnesses the power of art,” she explains.

“As most people have seen anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise during the pandemic, Vancouver being among the worst. Seeing those headlines and incidents constantly, I felt like I needed to take some action.”

In 2020, the Vancouver Police Department saw a 717 per cent increase in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes, and a recent report in Bloomberg called Vancouver the “anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America.”

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The artwork touches on several themes, ranging from personal experiences with racism, to fighting to stop it, to celebrating Asian cultures and traditions.

“A lot of the artists have been really grateful to have a platform to reflect on their experiences, both directly and indirectly, with anti-Asian racism,” she says.

Taniguchi says while government and institutions have a crucial role to play in preventing and responding to discrimination, bystander intervention is one way that individuals who are not being targeted themselves can make a difference.

“I’ve seen a lot of resources around helping individuals understand and identify hate incidents, being able to help, to stand with the person who is the victim, being able to help them to prevent incidents from getting worse or getting violent,” she says.

The money raised by selling the ‘zines will be donated to Project 1907 and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.