x-ights /cros-sites/, an artist collective co-founded by Sue Ka and Lingxiang Wu, is pleased to announce the launch of Bad Timekeepers, a visionary diasporic project exploring the intersection of time, labor, technology and decolonial strategies. This inaugural series of public programs will start in Toronto/Tkaronto on October 19, culminating on November 24, 2024, in Seoul.

In a world governed by the cold precision of mechanical time, Bad Timekeepers seeks to disrupt the linear frameworks that bind our temporal existence. The project challenges conventional timekeeping narratives and proposes alternative temporalities that transcend capitalist and colonial systems of control. A celebration of the fluid and blurred boundaries between time and disciplines, Bad Timekeepers envisions a collective future where personal, diasporic, and speculative notions of time coexist.

Bad Timekeepers seeks to weave an insurgent tapestry of dialogue from the experiences of Asian diasporic, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. It is a space for those who resist the industrial machine, charting new courses beyond the industrial clock. In its inaugural year, Bad Timekeepers will host a series of public events in Toronto/Tkaronto and Seoul/서울, two cities marked by deep colonial histories, yet brimming with potential for decolonial futures.

Toronto/Tkaronto, a city often heralded for its multiculturalism, serves as the launch site for this movement. Yet, the city’s foundation rests on borrowed Indigenous land, a fact that underscores the importance of centering diasporic perspectives in this dialogue. The program will feature a constellation of visionary thinkers and creators, including Nobutaka Aozaki, Julie Chen, Sunha Hong, Hobin Kim, Kwang-Suk Lee, Inkang Lee, Seam Lee, Yutong Lin, Casey Mecija, Ying Sze Pek, Ryan Persadie, Sarah Sharma, Mindy Seu, Su Yu Hsin, Asmita Bustani Vij, Choonhee Woo, Yufeng Zhao, Sheung-King Aaron Tang & JeeMin Kim, and Diasporic Futurism (Vanessa Godden and Adrienne Matheuszik).

Events will be hosted in partnership with InterAccess, Charles Street Video, and the Jackman Humanities Institute at the University of Toronto. This project is made possible with their generous support.

Event Timeline

Oct 19, 2024 | 3-4PM (EST) | InterAccess (950 Dupont St)

Stardate 1503.7.

Drawing Suit 01_2 (Suit), Performance

Inkang Lee

Oct 20, 2024 | 2-3:30PM (EST) | Zoom (Online)

Stardate 1506.5. (Please follow our Instagram for zoom link closer to the event）

Dimensional Praxis: Aesthetics of Labor, Roundtable Discussion,

Asmita Bhutani Vij, Ying Sze Pek, Su Yu Hsin, Choonhee Woo

Oct 20, 2024 | 4-5PM (EST) | InterAccess (950 Dupont St)

Stardate 1506.5.

Transmissions from the Far East Nexus, Screening

Jing’s Poetic Cartography, Yutong Lin, 16:26

Particular Waters, Su Yu Hsin, 18:38

Oct 22, 2024 | 5:30 - 7PM (EST) | Jackman Humanities Institute, JHI 100 (170 St George St)

Stardate 1512.0.

Beyond Chronos: Technological Futures, Panel

Sarah Sharma, Julie Chen, Sun-ha Hong, Kwang-suk Lee

Oct 22, 2024 | 7:30 - 9PM (EST) | Jackman Humanities Institute, JHI 100 (170 St George St) Stardate 1512.0.

Diasporic Tempo, Queer Time, Roundtable Discussion,

Diasporic Futurisms, Ryan Persadie, Casey Mecija

Nov 7, 2024 | 7 - 9PM (EST) | Charles Street Video (76 Geary Ave)

Stardate 1555.8.

A Sexual History of the Internet, Lecture Performance (Limited seating)

Mindy Seu

If any changes occur, you can find the latest updated information via our Instagram @xights_collective or contact us through xights.official@gmail.com.

Land Acknowledgment

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. Today, this land is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. Toronto is covered by Treaty 13, signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit.