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HERE WE ARE HERE: BLACK CANADIAN CONTEMPORARY ART

Artists: Sandra Brewster, Chantal Gibson, Sylvia D. Hamilton, Bushra Junaid, Charmaine Lurch, Esmaa Mohamoud, Michèle Pearson Clarke, and Gordon Shadrach.

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 Blackness to the fabric of Canada.

Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art was developed by the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. This exhibition was curated by Dr. Julie Crooks, Assistant Curator, Art Gallery of Ontario, Dominique Fontaine, independent curator, and Dr. Silvia Forni, Curator of African Arts and Culture, ROM.

Presented by:

Supported by:

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Sylvia D. Hamilton, Naming Names, Digitally printed columns of three thousand names of African descended people, enslaved and free, on suspended fabric. 2013.
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Michèle Pearson Clarke, Suck Teeth Compositions (After Rashaad Newsome) featuring Simone, 2017, Digital video still. Image courtesy of the artist.
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Bushra JunaidBushra Junaid, Sweet Childhood, 2017, Archival photograph and archival text, printed on backlit fabric panel. Image courtesy of Brian Boyle, Royal Ontario Museum.
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Chantal Gibson, Souvenir ( detail ), 2017, Multimedia installation with 2000 souvenir spoons, ( metal, silver, copper, pewter) Black spray paint.Image courtesy of Brian Boyle, Royal Ontario Museum.

MAUD LEWIS

REALISM’S REACH

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