Cassia Leung
I believe the world becomes kinder when people make things together. I take “making” in the literal sense as something I have watched unfold in communities and arts education: in a township in Cape Town, on a wall in Ghana, in a basement community room in Markham, in a virtual workshop that filled with 75 strangers who had never met and left having made something they were proud of. Something shifts when hands are busy and the outcome is shared. Defences drop and diverse groups connect with generosity and kindness.
I also believe that art heals. The act of making can give shape to a feeling that has no words. There is a connection between creative expression and mental well-being, and my work interfacing arts education and social services reminds me all the time. Creative activities are a gift to our well-being. In photography and zine-making workshops for young newcomers, I noticed that youth may arrive carrying a hidden weight of tiredness, and they leave holding something they made. In their hands is the proof: I am here, I made this, and I am capable of expressing beauty.
Bio
What I stand for
Cassia Leung is a Hong Kong-born, interdisciplinary artist and community arts worker based in Toronto, holding a BFA(Hons) from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her artistic and curatorial projects have spanned China, South Africa, Ghana, Thailand, Nepal, and the Philippines. A SONY Mobile HK Most Creative Award recipient, she co-founded ComMAground and Stirring Paper, promoting cultural exchange and sustainable papermaking. At The Cross-Cultural Community Services Association, she leads United Way-funded arts and mental wellness programs supporting immigrants. Her GTA collaborations have included Geary Art Crawl, BIG on Bloor Festival, TAIWANfest, Aaniin Community Centre Library, and Markham Wesley Centre.
My most recent self-portrait was invisible until a curatorial assistant held it up to a window. I drew it onto fabric using makeup, and the markings only appeared when illuminated, exhibited in "Stains" at McKay Art Centre in Unionville. It felt like an accurate description of my arrival in Canada: a whole self is there, but nobody around you can quite see it yet.
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