A dialogue exploring forms of inward and reverse racism within Chinese-speaking communities. Perspectives from first-generation and 1.5+ generation speakers examine whether these issues are cultural, societal, or systemic—and how they can be addressed constructively.
Free admission. Reserve your seats here: SHOWPASS
Panelists:
Tong Zhou, visual artist,
Aiko Tomi, pop artist,
Jeanette Kong, directorModerator – Charlie Wu
Jeanette Kong, Filmmaker:
Jeanette Kong is a Jamaican-born, Chinese-Canadian documentarian who has produced and directed several films about the Hakka people. Her 2012 feature Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China aired on PBS and the Africa Channel and was the winner of the audience award at the 2015 Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto. Jeanette’s latest film, A Brief Record of My Father’s Time at Sea, has been screened at several international film festivals and aired in Canada on TVO.
Aiko Tomi, Pop Artist:
AIKO TOMI is Taiwanese-Canadian alt pop artist. The Toronto-based provocateur writes songs with hooks, perspectives and wordplay that turn the ordinary into something worth staring at. A classically trained pianist and composer, she was trained to get it right and make it beautiful, but she’d rather get it true, even when true is strange and a bit distorted.
Her sophomore album, Everything Sparks Joy (2025), earned nominations at Taiwan’s 16th Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA) for Best Alternative Pop Album and Best Electronic Song (“BOUNCE”). Animal’s Awake (2023) was about reclaiming her body. Everything Sparks Joy was about surviving the contradictions running simultaneously in her mind. Her next chapter goes somewhere rawer, closer to the nerve. The Guardian named “Monolids” (from Animal’s Awake) one of its top emerging tracks of the year, and “INVOICE” with Jesse Lucas became a word-of-mouth favorite in Toronto’s music community. Singles have landed on Spotify’s Fresh Finds, hyperpop, Fresh Finds Pop, and Fresh Finds Dance, as well as Tidal’s Dance Pop, with additional coverage from Complex, CBC Radio, and Exclaim! which praised her “lyrical deftness.”
On stage, she performs as if possessed, taking up more room than her body should physically allow — kissing a 70-lb boa before dropping into a full squat, staging an Alien-vs-Sumo showdown, or scaling a stone lion mid-song. Every set feels like something that couldn’t have happened any other night. She’s specific enough to be unmistakable, strange enough to stay with you.
Tong Zhou, Visual Artist:
Tong Zhou is a Toronto-based artist whose work examines identity, belonging, and the stereotypes that shape how Chinese-Canadians see themselves and each other. Born in China and now based in Toronto, he has exhibited with TAIWANfest since 2019, including The Courage, (Un)Being Chinese, and a self-portrait in the It’s Me and Wǒ exhibition. His current work in progress follows a years-long spiritual journey into living with the concept of “no-self.”
Panel Info:
Date: Thursday, August, 27 2026
Panel Time: 7:15 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Small World Music
