Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art

 

This exhibition challenges preconceived notions of Blackness in Canada through the work of eight contemporary artists. The artworks use current and historical objects, images and ideas to blur the longstanding perception that Black bodies belong on the edge of Canadian history. Though Canada is widely celebrated as a triumph of cultural diversity, dominant narratives have reduced the Black Canadian experience to one of an everlasting immigrant or newcomer. These artists question this by exposing deep historical traces of Black presence in our country. In presenting multiple voices and sensitivities, this exhibition disrupts simplistic and comforting narratives, while affirming the longstanding relevance of Black people to the fabric of Canada.

Artists: Sandra Brewster, Eddy Firmin, Chantal Gibson, Sylvia D. Hamilton, Bushra Junaid, Charmaine Lurch, Manuel ‘Mathieu, Esmaa Mohamoud, Michèle Pearson Clarke, Dawit L. Petros, Gordon Shadrach, and Shanna Strauss,

Curators: Dr. Julie Crooks, Dominique Fontaine, independent curator, and Dr. Silvia Forni.

The exhibition opened at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto (2018), travelled to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for the Montreal (2018) and to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

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