CBC News is reporting that the Winnipeg Art Gallery has cancelled a fundraiser following complaints of racism by members of the Asian Canadian and Asian American communities.
The fundraiser which was at first called “Big in Japan encouraged attendees to “grab your chopsticks, show off your jiu-jitsu skills” and “get noticed by Geisha girls.”
Jenny Wills, a professor at the University of Winnipeg, blogged her objections to the fundraiser which quickly went viral.
“This is the same kind of ‘forever a foreigner’ that was used to intern and deport over 20,000 Canadians with Japanese ancestry during World War 2, more than half of who were born in Canada,” she said.
WAG today announced it was changing the theme to Hot and Cold: 4 Seasons at the WAG.
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“Through social media and emails, several people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Big in Japan theme,” Stephen Borys, WAG director and CEO, stated in a press release.
You can read more about the uproar and the cancellation in CBC News.
