2021 Theme

The Chinatown Biennial’s inaugural theme is “furtive.” Biennials generally have a default of grandiosity; in contrast, we’d like to encourage you to ask yourself-- If a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Except, of course, the forest is this biennial, and the tree is your artwork.

No, your artwork does not have to be invisible, but we are searching for works with a small physical footprint that are mindful of neighborhood social dynamics and pandemic parameters. As drivers of art-washing, gentrification, and neighbourhood commodification, ostentatious installations often impose themselves negligently. We channel the theme of furtiveness to create contemplative and serendipitous interventions into physical and online space.

We are accepting proposals for individual or collective art works, small curatorial proposals, publications, online projects, and performances. We will be announcing a call for workshops and panels in the near future (stay tuned!). We’d like to discourage the submission of large, permanent works, as well as performances that would require an in-person audience.

This is not the time for (self)-Orientalism; although Chinatowns have historically survived by performing a caricatured Asian identity as a touristic gimmick, we are hoping to illuminate more complex narratives. For more details, please read our intentions and values.

Submissions are not limited to Toronto’s Chinatown! We are seeking submissions that respond to different notions of “Chinatown” and other ethnic enclaves, whether they involves suburban areas nicknamed as such, officially designated streets, homes, malls, alleys, expropriated land, places of solidarity, and more.

Funding for this project comes from the Toronto Arts Council's Open Door program.

Shawn Tse