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Read Khosro Berahmandi’s message for this 26th edition!

© Kamal

As the tradition wants, you can read below the message from the artistic direction to announce the Festival Accès Asie 26th edition!

Fighting back with art!

 “Every morning we are born again.

What we do today is what matters most. ”

 ― Buddha

Dear Accès Asie friends, colleagues, supporters, and, especially, artists of the 2021 edition of the Festival!

It is with pride and joy that I write these words, despite the heartbreaking and confusing time in which our human society is living, with all the harsh challenges imposed on us by the pandemic.

For us at Festival Accès Asie, it is our second consecutive year that we are moving our Festival online. Last year, we were among the first artistic and cultural organizations to hold its events in the digital world. Hopefully, this year, Festival Accès Asie will be among the last art organizations that have to make that shift.

We also had to confront other challenges that tragically hit our communities across the country. A government-funded report has revealed that anti-Asian racist incidents increased five times between March 10 2020 and the end of February 2021. We condemn these heinous acts and stand with those affected. Together we will achieve!

Our main goal since day one has been to reach beyond the barriers and crises that COVID-19 has brought upon us. We are proud that despite these harsh circumstances, we have managed to get through the past 12 months. We didn’t only shift digitally for our festival programming; we also initiated a national movement across the country by creating an Asian Heritage Month National Symposium. Through this platform, Asian Canadian artists and arts organizations were able to express the concerns of many different Asian communities. The work of the National Symposium is ongoing through the different working groups created by its participants.

Every morning we are born again and every morning we begin anew our fight back through our art. This has been our history for the past 26 years.

In solidarity with all Asian arts organizations and hand in hand with the Board of Directors of Festival Accès Asie and its undaunted team, I wish every one of you a wonderful Asian Heritage Month and a marvelous Festival.

KHOSRO BERAHMANDI — ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Read the messages of all our partners

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Symposium video recordings

Crédit : Laurence Ly

Presentations from the 2nd National Asian Heritage Month Symposium are available!

To respond to the challenges related to the development and health of Asian Canadian heritage, Festival Accès Asie organized a 2nd National Asian Heritage Month Symposium online from September 10 to 13, 2020.

Missed some presentations at the 2nd National Asian Heritage Month Symposium in September 2020?

Don’t worry, you can now find them all on our website!

Go to the Recordings page to view them. You have free access to 28 video recordings of presentations, webinars and discussions.

Visit the page.

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Watch the video tribute to the 25 years of the Festival

In May 2020, Festival Accès Asie celebrated its 25th birthday. As part of these celebrations, we contacted 25 people to ask them to describe the Festival with one word.

25 words creating a Festival’s lexicon evoking its soul and spirit which has existed for a quarter of a century already!

It is an honor for our team and our organization to present to you this video directed by Laurence Ly.

25 years of festivities, meetings, celebrations, sharing, culture, novelty, traditions and energy invested to promote the Asian heritage that inhabits our territory.

And we set ourselves the mission of continuing to contribute to cultural exchange and to forge links between communities for the next 25 years!

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