Multi-media artist-activist Mldred German’s work will be at SecondBeat Art Share located at 800 East Broadway at the Mt. Pleasant Neighbourhood House. German will also participate in the open mic.
In Mildred Grace German’s piece Stigma Kills, the artist aims to depict how mental illness and addiction can affect anyone, regardless of their background or location. The artwork was inspired by the ongoing battle for social justice in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, where German lives. The piece was on display at the University of British Columbia as part of a student art show exploring the impact of the opioid crisis from a youth perspective. (This Magazine)
German was born and raised in the Philippines and came to Vancouver, Canada as a migrant youth in the late 90s on the sponsorship of her mother.
She had participated in many art venues including Art in the Court, Asian Canadian Online Project, Pinoy Poetiks, Roots, Rhymes and Resistance, World Mad Pride, the Work of Migration Exhibition, Centre A Political Fashion Show, Heart of the City Festival, the New Moon Festival, LIVE World Biennale of Performance Arts, the Maleta Exhibition at Gallery Gachet, and the Museum of Vancouver.
Her installation piece “Waiting” was featured in the book, Families Apart: Migrant Mothers and the Conflict of Labor and Love by University of British Columbia Geography Professor Geraldine Pratt.
She attended the 2008 Governor General’s Urban Arts Forum and in the same year, performed an interpretive dance at an international conference in Hong Kong, China.
For many years, German was an active member of Sinag Bayan Arts Collective, where she was able to express her roots, and became a cultural worker making community banners and murals. She also became a member of the Philippine Artist Network for Community Integrative Transformation (PANCIT) under the facilitation of internationally-recognized Filipino muralist and cultural educator Bert Monterona. She is a member of the Motivation, Power, and Achievement Society, where she paints at the Resource Centre Art Studio.
A graduate of Vancouver City College’s Culinary Arts and Patisserie Arts she became a Professional Cook Apprentice under the Red Seal Program.
German’s activism was honed during her years with the now-defunct Kalayaan Centre where she actively immersed herself in the Filipino youth struggle, speaking at rallies and conferences.
She is part of the Pinoy Pride collective where she anchors its radio show at the Vancouver Co-op Radio.