Queerborough Speaker Series: Collage Party with Anto Chan

Event Description

In this hands-on session, participants will explore collective memory, identity, and community through collage-making. Led by spoken word artist and writer Anto Chan, this session invites participants to reflect on their personal and collective visions of queer Scarborough. Drawing from books, magazines, and personal reflection, we’ll piece together stories of belonging, joy, resistance, and possibility.

This workshop encourages participants to engage with themes such as place, queerness, healing, and the imaginative labour of dreaming future/utopic worlds. No artistic experience is necessary - just an openness to create, and share space with others.

*All materials (books, magazines, glue, etc.) will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring personal items or materials for collage if they wish.

Facilitator Bio

Anto is a Queer Chinese-Canadian spoken word performance artist, facilitator, mentor, producer and writer. He performed his one-person show "Love So Far” at the Montreal Fringe Festival in 2019 and Guelph Fringe Festival 2024.  His poetry chapbook "Romantic Reflections" released in 2020, and just released his full-length album “InnerGenerational” in February 2025. He founded the Canada Council for the Arts funded project “InnerGenerational”, building a community that fosters a safe environment for Asian artists to evolve in their crafts without fear and limitations, deviating from the model minority archetype. 

He practices Expressive Art Therapy, as his life work is centred on holding space for expansion, intersectionality, and self-love through the page, stage and community. He builds meaningful projects aiming to create and support art that speaks to the journey of soul healing, self-discovery and healing intergenerational trauma.