Stop Asian Hate launches 2024 campaign on May 28 with voices of solidarity and hope
New entries to the StopAsianHate.ca website highlight the work of Asian-Canadian performing-arts professionals
Sherry J. Yoon
Boomer Stacey.
SHERRY J. YOON, the artistic director of Boca del Lupo, didn’t want to feel helpless in the wake of the rise in anti-Asian racism that took hold during the COVID pandemic. So the Vancouver theatre company spearheaded the Stop Asian Hate campaign in 2021, and it has been gaining ground ever since.
“In the height of the of the pandemic, when we were seeing attacks on Asian people and a lot of reporting on it, we were all shuttered. And as people who are part of putting diverse voices and faces on stage, I really felt that there was something that as a community we could do that was positive,” Yoon says in an interview with Stir. “So it was about really flooding positivity by coming together united over something that was so horrible.
“Up until that point, I really felt we were a bit in the shadows and isolated,” she adds. “We were all doing our thing, putting our heads down and working hard. But being confronted with so much anti-Asian hatred, it was important that we spoke out….A community of Asian people in the performing arts—that representation was really important to me, and the fact that we came together so quickly was really hopeful. (See Stir’s feature on how Stop Asian Hate first came together here.)
Last year, Stop Asian Hate launched a website, StopAsianHate.ca that houses written entries and videos by Asian artists from all across the country, as well as their photographs. It’s a place for creatives to share their stories, publicize their projects, and talk about their challenges and how they have overcome obstacles. New this year are contributions from Lisa Li, the incoming executive director of Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, discussing self-care; Evelyn Chew, who talks about her role at Bard on the Beach this summer; and Hannah Mariko Bell, who thanks her mentor, Claire Sakaki.
The Alliance of Asian Canadians in the Performing Arts will meet in Montreal on May 28 to launch this year’s campaign with new additions to StopAsianHate.ca.
“We’re building off of the success of last year…and we’re continuing to grow the website,” says Boomer Stacey, who joined Boca del Lupo after serving as executive director of the Professional Alliance of Canadian Theatres and is the 2024 StopAsianHate.ca campaign coordinator. “We’re really focusing on celebration and positivity as a message. It’s really about giving people space to talk about productions that they’ve created, stories that they’re proud of, and also to mention mentors—people in the community who have helped those artists evolve and grow and develop. It’s really been really great to hear those messages.
“This is really an opportunity for people to share the success of work created by Asian Canadian artists from across the country,” he adds. “There’s so much great work right now. It really gives people an opportunity to share and to brag a little bit about their work.”
Yoon says the website also provides a vital snapshot of the Canadian theatre and dance scenes right now and shows just how much work is being made by Asian Canadian artists.
“In supporting of our diversity within a unified voice in Canada, we can advocate to help reduce barriers for Asian Canadians to be artists in the country,” Yoon says. “For people who are interested in supporting the campaign, they can look through the stories and see the how the makeup of so much of Canadian theatre and Canadian dance is housed within the Asian community.
“In everything that is challenging, that there are opportunities for us to gather and get strong,” Yoon adds. “It’s inspiring….I think that’s a really hopeful thing.”
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