March 25, 2021
The Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory firmly condemns anti-Asian racism and violence. We grieve with the loved ones and the communities of the eight victims of the attacks that took place last week in Atlanta, Georgia. We join President Santa Ono and the University in expressing our dismay at this horrific act of racist and sexist violence.
We are deeply concerned about our local Asian communities—our colleagues, students, alumni, and friends. We note these attacks have taken place in the midst of a steep rise of racist violence against racialized people of Asian communities, since the beginning of the pandemic, across North America. Most of these attacks have targeted women from immigrant communities and many of them have gone unreported. For many of us in the Department, these are personally distressing and challenging events to process. To our students and colleagues affected by anti-Asian hate: we believe you and support you.
Anti-Asian violence and racism are problems that extend back far beyond the onset of Covid-19. Canada, Vancouver, and our University share a history of anti-Asian policies and hateful acts that is important to acknowledge, to study, and to rectify.
The Department renews its commitment to anti-racism in curriculum, pedagogy and equity practices, and reaffirms the transformative role of creative and interpretive research in the arts for redressing past injustices, in the present, and for the future.
Resources
Statistics Canada, “Experiences of Discrimination during the COVID-19 Pandemic”
