When does a symbolic gesture become tokenism?
A dialogue examining accountability and ethical representation within and beyond the Asian diaspora in Canada.
Panelists will draw on experiences in their respective community work and explore how institutions can evolve and advocate for better representation for racialized communities.
This panel is part of Pancouver’s Beyond Chinese project:
A series of conversations highlighting the diversity of Canadians with Chinese ancestry.
RSVP Here
Panelists:
Katrina Chen, Author
Irwin Oostindie, Curator and Researcher
Barbara Lee, Founder of Vancouver Asian Film Festival
Katrina Chen (陳葦蓁) is an author, life and impact coach, and advocate with nearly 20 years in community service. She previously served as an MLA, Minister of State for Child Care, and a Burnaby Board of Education Trustee. She is currently the President of 安信 (AnXin) Community Savings, B.C.’s first credit union initiative serving Chinese-language communities. Katrina is also the author of A Stronger Home, an award-winning picture book about family violence, healing, and the meaning of home.
Irwin Oostindie is a Dutch settler, media artist, curator, and researcher. He holds an MA in Urban Studies with a praxis of place-based redress of unceded lands claimed by the university, and an MA in Communications from SFU for his research into how reconciliation functions as spectacle. Previously, Irwin cocreated Canada’s largest annual political arts festival, Under the Volcano, which ran for two decades and promoted intersectionality and accomplice work with Indigenous Peoples. He has worked in both the grassroots, NGO sector, and with settler and Indigenous governments. Irwin also serves as President of the Wild Bird Trust of BC, which promotes landback in the conservation sector.
Barbara Lee is a writer and independent filmmaker in Vancouver. She has worked as a broadcast journalist/reporter and received the national Radio and Television News Directors’ Association (RTNDA) Award for Best Editorial in 1998. Her film In Between the Laughter was one of the National Film Board’s REELDIVERSITY 2004 winners which aired on CBC and PBS. Barbara continues to support North American Asian artists in mainstream media and is currently working on a music documentary about Asians in the music industry as well as finishing her horror screenplay.
Panel Info:
Date: Monday, October 26, 2026
Panel Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: ANNEX (823 Seymour St, 2nd floor)
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