A new exhibition at the Museum of Toronto delves into and celebrates the broad spectrum of Black Life in Toronto and how it has evolved through oral histories. More than 500 stories, told by over 100 Black Canadian members of the community make up the core of the Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto exhibit.
The exhibit opened at the Museum in November showcasing the archive collected and curated by afrOURban. It consists of films and audio clips which can be experienced in a variety of ways.
- Guided tours through the exhibit are planned for December 7, January 25, and February 22; details here.
Context
The Museum of Toronto is a growing City Museum with a mandate to explore the many stories and diverse histories that make up the fabric of the city.
African-Australian architect, artist and design academic Kholisile Dhliwayo curated the exhibit, which was co-produced by afrOURban, Inc, a non-profit with a mandate of documenting and celebrating accurate narratives about Black people, both in the diaspora and on the African continent. Other versions of the exhibit and screening have been produced in Manhattan and Melbourne, Australia.
More than 265,000 people from the African diaspora make Toronto their home, representing more than 20 origin countries. It’s a diverse community, and its development and movements over the decades is depicted through the personal narratives.
Visitors are invited to contribute to specific pieces, adding to the continuing narrative. Five themes are explored throughout the exhibit: Building, Movement, Relationships, Faith, and Courage.
LvT spoke to Davin Henson, Director of Digital Programming & Production, and Bria Dietrich, Associate Curator, Public Programs & Learning about the exhibit.
Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto: The Interview
The project came to the Museum of Toronto about 18 months ago via a member of the board of directors, who’d connected with afrOURban. “This project was actually brought to us,” Davin explains.
The original exhibit, held in Australia, came directly from curator Kholisile Dhliwayo’s experiences in his home country. The prevailing narrative about Black people was one about gangs and criminals. He wanted to counter that with the breadth of the Black Australian story. It was in 2020, around the time when the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police was making headlines around the world, adding impetus to his efforts.
“That influenced the idea of this project,” Davin says.
In Toronto, the goal was also to build bridges between the diverse Black communities, and allow them to appreciate each other’s experiences in the city.
The Toronto show has other unique aspects. “It was the first time that he’d partnered with an organization such as ours,” Davin explains.
It took about 25 people acting as interviewers to collect the archives. “We also engaged 10 filmmakers,” he explains. Together, they collected a mountain of material.
“It was a choice by afrOURban,” Bria adds, “to hit different age groups, communities, occupations, backgrounds.”
The first 25 interviewers found others who continued the work, spreading organically through the various Black communities of the city gathering stories. “I think doing it that way is really important,” Bria says. It’s part of what is clearly a well thought out process by Australia-based afrOURban, an institution, as she points out, that literally dropped into Toronto from overseas.
“Beyond that, it’s a very collaborative process.” Kholisile selected the story snippets to use from the mass of material that was collected. “All the contributors had to approve,” Bria adds. “There’s an additional layer of collaboration there.”
A similar process weeded through the video clips to select those that would be used.
“Where our work really came in,” Davin says, “was taking those 500 stories and curating them into the five themes that we explore.”
It’s crucial to add some kind of context, in other words, so that visitors can make sense of what they’re hearing and seeing. “So that it’s a real experience to enjoy,” he adds.
With its density of content and multimedia presentation, along with an engaging design that attracts interaction, it’s a show the Museum was looking forward to hosting. “It’s a pretty exciting exhibition for us,” Davin says. “The hope is to really bring people in to reflect.” A comfortable environment with warm lighting is part of the design.
Takeaways
Some striking facts emerge from all of the stories. “One [thing] that sticks out right away […] if we’re talking about what a larger audience would take away, is that Black people have been here for a long time,” Davin says.
The exhibition incorporates data like key dates, and the movements of populations across the city. “I think those stories can be enlightening,” he says. Davin points out that the stories often find echoes and parallels among other immigrant populations in Toronto.
“There are a couple of interactives,” Bria points out. One is a large map, where visitors can add a pin to locate themselves within the city, and identify their family origins. As the exhibit goes on, more and more visitors will add data to the map. “It will be exciting to see where we’re at at the end of February,” she adds.
The exhibit includes mentions of some of the many elements of city life, including food, culture, and music, that owe their existence to the Black diaspora. “Like Jamaican patties,” she laughs.
Still in its early days, the exhibit has seen a lot of visitors. “There’s lots of positive feedback so far,” she says. It’s not common for an exhibit to have so many participants; it’s been drawing people to see their own stories told in a museum setting.
“I think a lot of people who participated never expected to see their stories in a museum,” Bria says.
“People enter this exhibition from different places,” Davin adds, including those who are being introduced to the material for the first time.
An interactive geolocated map will be available online as well as the in-person exhibit at the Museum (401 Richmond W). The Museum is also in the process of developing programming around the exhibit that will run through to February 2025.
- Watch for more details here.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
