Fonds F005 - Asianadian Resource Workshop fonds

The Asianadian Resource Workshop was formed in Toronto in 1978 to publish and distribute a quarterly magazine called The Asianadian: An Asian Canadian Magazine. The magazine ran original work concerning the Asian experience in Canada. It solicited submissions in the form of critical essays, community news and articles, poetry, artwork, short stories, and reviews, thereby providing a platform for emerging Asian Canadian scholars and creatives.

Founders and members of The Asianadian were largely university students who had developed cultural consciousness of their Asian Canadian identity. In its own words published in its opening pages, The Asianadian’s aims were to find new dignity and pride in being Asian in Canada; to promote an understanding between Asian Canadians and other Canadians; to speak out against those conditions, individuals and institutions perpetuating racism in Canada; to stand up against the distortions of our history in Canada, stereotypes, economic exploitations, and the general tendency towards injustice and inequality practised on minority groups; to provide a forum for Asian Canadian writers, artists, musicians, etc.; and to promote unity by bridging the gap between Asians with roots in Canada and recent immigrants.

The concept for The Asianadian was conceived by co-founders Anthony Chan, Cheuk Kwan, and Paul Levine under the pseudonym Lau Bo. They served as some of the first members of the editorial collective under which the grassroots magazine was structured, moving on to other personal and community projects. Members came and went, moved into different roles and/or contributed work for publication.

The Asianadian was active through the late-1970s/early-1980s alongside other grassroots publishing efforts in North America. Inspired by various human and civil rights movements, its members sought to call out the unacknowledged histories of Asians in Canada and the persistent Orientalism of the late nineteenth century. In its time, the publication was considered the first and only anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-homophobic social justice magazine in Canada, tackling themes around sexuality, women, and youth. Magazine issues dedicated to Quebec and Vancouver reflect the organization’s national reach and perspectives.

The Asianadian Resource Workshop operated as a registered non-profit organization. Over its run, it produced a total of 24 issues of The Asianadian: An Asian Canadian Magazine before ceasing operations in 1985.

The Asianadian (magazine) had a short-lived prototype under the title 海外述林 The Crossroads. Conceived as a monthly, Chinese-language Hong Kong news magazine catered to the large number of Chinese in Canada from Hong Kong, the magazine ran Chinese-language articles, then added English-language articles in the back aimed at reaching a growing population of Canadian-born Chinese. The bilingual publication ran a handful of issues in 1977 before being abandoned and re-conceived the following year as The Asianadian.

Note: The sole purpose of the Asianadian Resource Workshop was to publish The Asianadian: An Asian Canadian Magazine. Often used in shorthand, “The Asianadian” usually refers to the magazine, or to both the magazine and its publishing body as little to no distinction was made between the two.