MMSt 2018: EXHIBITION PROJECTS PART III

RESEARCH COLUMN

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Hello again, and to those who celebrate, Happy Easter weekend! We are back with our final installment of #MMSt2018 project coverage, in which our students tell you all about their theses and exhibitions!

In this edition, we will explore the last batch of exhibitions and projects launching across the city. You know what to do - read about the stories in the group members' own words below!


Mixed Messages: Making and Shaping Culinary Culture in Canada (May 21-August 31, 2018) 
Sadie MacDonald, Cassandra Curtis 

Image used with permission of Rogers Media Inc.,
All rights reserved. 

Location: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, 120 St. George Street, University of Toronto

We are curatorial assistants for Mixed Messages, which will display rare cookbooks and culinary objects from the 1820s to the 1960s. Through a combination of traditional object displays, digital media, and public programming, this exhibition will explore the stories of those who participated in - or were excluded from - making and shaping culinary culture in Canada.

ROAM Audio Tours (Project; May 2018) 

Breanna Stephenson 

Location: Toronto

My concept, ROAM Audio Tours, is a start-up e-business aimed at creating unique and accessible museum audio tours. The company will be privately launching its first exclusive tour Crafting Culture: Tools of Humankind through the Age at a Toronto institution this spring. With embedded directional cues and insightful audio, ROAM will invite you to explore museums from a different perspective, fostering new connections between you and collections.

As the founder, I am responsible for several tasks to develop ROAM into a publishable product, such as in this photo where I am pictured revising the tour script before it's recorded. Photo courtesy of Breanna Stephenson. 

Partners: ROAM Audio Tours could not exist without the collaboration of my resource partners. I would like to thank my contacts at MH Studios Toronto, BigServe Graphx, and my web developer Connor McKinnon for all of their amazing support so far.

Snapshots of Change: The Influence of the CNE on Toronto (June 21-September 29, 2018) 

Bretton Weir, Marlee Yule

Kids look at Ferris Wheel, 1962. Photo courtesy of CNE
Archives, Alexandra Studio Fonds, MG5-F770-I3.

Location: Withrow Common, 200 Princes’ Blvd (Canadian National Exhibition), Toronto
Exhibition Hours: Thursdays 1 pm – 5 pm (exhibit will be closed during the CNE – see withrowcommon.ca for details)
Opening Reception: TBD

Our exhibition is a retrospective look at the massive photo collection of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). As a historical landmark in our city, we were inspired by the changes to Toronto we have seen reflected in the past 139 years of the CNE. Join us in discovering the past, present, and future influence of Toronto’s hidden neighbourhood!

A Tradition of Giving: Sir Henry Pellatt and The St. George's Society of Toronto (July-August 2018) 

Samantha Eadie, Jennifer Lee, Kathleen Vahey, Serena Ypelaar 

(From left) Serena, Kathleen, Jenny, and Samantha, fundraising
for the exhibition by speaking at the St. George's Society
Christmas Dinner. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar. 

Location: Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto
Opening Reception: TBD

Our exhibition explores the history of Toronto’s oldest charitable organization, the St. George’s Society of Toronto, and the legacy of notable life member and President, Sir Henry Pellatt. Using archival material, photographs, and historical objects connected to the Society, we will illustrate both its evolution since its inception in 1834 and its lasting legacy in the city.

Partners: The St. George's Society of Toronto; Casa Loma

Mazel Tov! A Celebration of Jewish Weddings and Marriage in Ontario (July 5-August 6, 2018) 

Katie Paolozza, Leore Zecharia 

Leore in the archives at the OJA.
Photo courtesy of Katie Paolozza.

Location: The Gallery at the J, located in the Jacobs Lounge on the main floor of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, sponsored by the Ontario Jewish Archives
Opening Reception: TBD

Our project combines the joyful chaos of weddings with the social history of Jewish families in Ontario. We've used the traditional steps of Jewish weddings to thematically frame our narrative, inviting our audience to join us on a multi-generational journey through time. Our exhibit uses photographs and engaging ephemera ranging from old advertisements to legal documents to tell the story of how weddings symbolize the hopes and dreams we have for our families.

Doris McCarthy Symposium (Project; November 2018) 

Alexis Moline 

Location: Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto

For my project, I'm working with the Doris McCarthy Gallery to host a symposium offering fresh perspectives on the life and work of Doris McCarthy. I am responsible for research, communication, advertising and organizing the event and will continue to work on this project throughout the year. This symposium will open in conjunction with an exhibition of McCarthy's work in the fall of 2018.

Doris McCarthy, Iceberg with Icicles, 2000. Oil on canvas, 152.4 cm x 213.4 cm. Gift of the artist. Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery. 

Looking Back, Going Forward (Project; Date TBD)

Madeleine Long 

My project involves going through a personal archive that belonged to Harlan I. Smith, who was, among other things, an archaeologist and photographer. I'm working on organizing information from the collection so that it can eventually go somewhere where researchers can have easier access.  

______

And with that, we're done featuring all of the #MMSt2018 projects. Thank you to every student who spoke about their work, and thanks to you, the readers, for your support. I hope you found this series as insightful and fascinating as I did, and I hope to see you at the opening receptions!

NETFLIX AND CHILL: MOVIES AND MUSEUMS

THROWBACK THURSDAY

BY: LEORE ZECHARIA

The semester is almost over, and summer is almost here. It is now time to relax and catch up on all the movies and television you didn't have time for while you were writing all those papers and assignments. But, if you feel like you’re missing school, here are some movies and television shows you can binge. Therefore, for the last time this school year, I’d like to throw it back to the different movies and television that take place in museums.

1. Night at the Museum Trilogy (2006, 2009, 2014) 

The Night at the Museum trilogy follows Larry, the night time security guard at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He is a divorced dad who applies for the job as it seems easy enough. However, an ancient curse has caused the museum to come to life. The subsequent movies follow as many of the exhibitions are sent to the Smithsonian and then to the British Museum (don’t worry, these movies also involve new curses and ancient tablets). This movie is essentially my dream come true. Our jobs would be much easier (and cooler) if we could actually speak to the artifacts in museums and get first hand insight into their lives.

Ben Stiller and Robin Williams in Night at the Museum. Source.

2. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

This movie follows the robbery of a precious painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York. Pierce Brosnan plays Thomas Crown, a billionaire, who bestows large donations to The Met, while planning a large heist to steal a priceless painting. Things get steamy and complicated when Crown gets involved with an insurance detective played by Rene Russo. This is a remake of McQueen’s 1968 movie of the same name, but instead of a bank robbery, it is set in a museum.

Pierce Brosnan as Thomas Crown (1999). Source.

3. House of Wax (1953)

Directed by Andre de Toth, House of Wax belongs to the first wave of 3D movies. This is a horror film which follows Professor Henry Jarrod, an expert wax sculptor. His craft puts the aesthetics and art of wax sculpting first, and refuses to commercialize his work with gore and guts. However, when his partner burns down the museum for the insurance money, Jarrod sets out his revenge.

Movie poster for House of Wax (1953). Source.

4. The Monuments Men (2014) 

This movie doesn’t take place in a museum, but it does represent a very important issue still permeated in museums today: the repatriation of Nazi looted art. The Monuments Men follows art scholars, historians, architects and other experts in the field who form a retrieval unit for masterpieces stolen by the Nazis. This mission becomes even more important when the team learns that Hitler plans to destroy all of these artworks. As students of museums, not only is this something I believe we all can understand in terms of appreciating art, but it still affects museums today. We are still finding Nazi looted art and creating policies on how to deal with it. 

Source.

5. Museum Hours (2012) 

Museum Hours looks at the friendship formed between a Vienna museum guard and a visitor at the Kunsthistoriches Museum. During the course of the movie, the pair explore their lives, the city and the way the artwork of the museum reflects the world around them. This movie represents how we, as students of museums, hope to run museums: not as a cold, top-down institution, but as a place in which artwork and artifacts can spark discussion that transcends time and themes.

Honourable mentions: 

When in Rome (2010), Bones (2005-2017), Russian Ark (2002), La Ville Louvre (1990), One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975), Topkapi (1964), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Blackmail (1929), National Treasure (2004, 2007), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), The International (2009), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Mysteries at the Museum (2010-), Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Woman in Gold (2015)

Source.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Source.

A lot of people do not understand what we study in the MMSt program, even though it says so right in the name. So, when there are movies or television shows that highlight something so important in my life that I have dedicated the time to study it, it allows me to share that part of my life in a more accessible way. We love movies because they have the ability to transport us back into time, into another dimension, and stretch the possibilities of imagination.

When museums are prominently featured in movies or television, it makes me happy that something considered boring to most can become exciting for a moment. It sparks a conversation, an interest and even a coveted visit to a museum, and into to my world. 

A BLOOM OF EVENTS: WHAT'S HAPPENING WEDNESDAYS APRIL EDITION

WHAT'S HAPPENING WEDNESDAYS

BY: KELLY MANIKOTH

Hello friends! Welcome to the April edition of What’s Happening Wednesdays! With longer, brighter days and cherry blossoms officially in bloom, April is a month of transition and inspiration. This is especially true for us graduate students, as we embark on our summer internships or prepare for graduation and the career journey that lies ahead of us. This month’s column features events to help us celebrate our well deserved new chapter! I will also highlight MSL4000 exhibition projects taking place in April! For a full list of the openings this year, click here.

1. 4th Annual Corktown Egg Hunt

Source.

The first day of April is also Easter! Celebrate by attending the Corktown Egg Hunt; a massive Easter Egg hunt at the Corktown Common playground which will be fun for children all ages. Featuring a special appearance from the Easter Bunny, there will be free chocolate treats, Redline Coffee, live entertainment & more! Just be sure to BYOB (Bring your own Basket 😉). For more information, contact Socrates@LivingToronto.ca

When: Sunday, April 1st, 2018, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Hunt Starts @ 10:30am. Rain or Shine.

Where: Corktown Common, 155 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON

Tickets: This is a free event! You can register here.

2. The Slow Approach: Looking, Drawing and Making Together at the Textile Museum

Symphony of Light: The Universe, U/ Deep Space (1999); tie-dyeing, ink painting, embroidery and gold leaf on silk crepe (chirimen) with gold wefts; 198x139 cm Source.

Enjoy this three-part workshop series which is intended to help you slow down and appreciate the intricacies of Itchiku Kubota’s stunning kimono work. Through activities led by Textile Museum educator Susan Fohr, learn how to observe, sketch, and stitch in the gallery and experience a new way of looking. The workshops are titled Workshop #1: Slow Looking, Workshop #2: Slow Drawing, and Workshop #3: Slow Making. For more information, click here.

When: Workshop #1: Slow Looking, Wednesday April 4, 6-7 PM, Workshop #2: Slow Drawing
Wednesday April 11, 6-7 PM, and Workshop #3: Slow Making Wednesday April 18, 6-7 PM

Where: Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2H5

Tickets: Free with admission, no advance booking required. All materials will be provided.

3. Toronto Silent Film Festival

Film still from Hamlet. Source.

The Toronto Silent Film Festival's goal is to bring contemporary audiences and silent screen experiences together again. The four day festival features a variety of films from the early days of cinema. This year’s programme aims to show the range of characters played by women in the silent film era. For instance, the first screening in the festival is a German 1921 rendition of Hamlet, where the lead role is played by a woman. This was one of the first times in film that Hamlet was re-imagined as female. For a full list of screenings and locations, click here. 

When: The festival takes place from April 6th – April 9th . Hamlet plays on April 6th, at 7PM

Where: Various locations. Hamlet airs at the Royal Cinema, 608 College St. Toronto

Tickets: Individual Tickets are $15, $11 for students & seniors. Festival packages are also available. Tickets can be purchased here.

4. Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day

Source.

Celebrate the warm weather with FREE ice cream! Since 1979, Ben & Jerry’s have made it an annual tradition to give free ice cream away to thank their customers all over the world. So, take a much-needed break from final projects and essays and enjoy a delightfully free sweet treat!

When: Tuesday, April 10, 2018, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Where: Ryerson University, Gould Street

Tickets: Free!

5. Ontario Science Centre: Great Conversation Speaker Series - Cultural Collisions: Science Engagement Through the Arts

Source.

The Ontario Science Centre’s Great Conversation Speaker Series brings global experts to Toronto to foster dialogue on important issues within the scientific community. On April 11th, Michael Hoch, PhD, physicist, artist and founder of art@CMS will give a talk entitled Cultural Collisions: Science Engagement Through the Arts. The lecture discusses the unity between the seemingly disparate subjects of art and science, showcasing how art and creative thinking can make complex scientific issues understandable while maximizing human innovation. Hoch discusses his work with art@CMS, an educational outreach program of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, where both artists and scientists examine particle physics research. For more information, click here.

Moderated by Molly Shoichet, award-winning researcher, science communicator and Ontario’s first Chief Scientist.

When: April 11th, Box office opens at 6 PM., Auditorium doors open at 7 PM., Presentation at 7:30 PM

Where: Imperial Oil Auditorium, Level , 770 Don Mills Rd, North York, ON M3C 1T3

Tickets: $20, $15 for Members, Purchase tickets here.

6. End of Year Museum Studies Celebration!

Source.

Come out and enjoy the End of Year Party hosted by the Exhibition Class! It’s been a whirlwind year, so be sure to celebrate by enjoying a night of food, drinks and fun with your fellow museum buddies! All MMSt and CRO students are welcome! If you have any photos you would like to share in the slideshow, please email them to Kathleen at kathleen.vahey@mail.utoronto.ca. Can’t wait to see everyone there!

When: Thursday, April 12th, 6:00 – 11:00 PM

Where: Hart House Debates Room

Tickets: Free! Please sign up through the Eventbrite page to give an estimate of numbers.

7. Art Gallery of Ontario Massive Illusion

Source.

AGO Massive is a huge annual contemporary art party which is now in its 14th year! This year’s ‘Massive’ is inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s: Infinity Mirrors, with the theme revolving around illusions and tricks of the eye. Guests will experience immersive, larger-than-life installations along with hypnotizing and mystifying performances and music from Toronto’s coolest DJ’s and creators. The event features a plethora of great food and drinks as well. With proceeds helping the gallery’s collection, future exhibitions and audience accessibility, this event is a total must-see! For more information, visit MassiveParty.ca

When: April 19, 9:00 PM – 1:00 AM

Where: Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West

Tickets: General Admission $175, AGO Members $150 / limit 2 per member: 19+ / ID required . You can purchase tickets here.

8. Earth Day at Toronto Botanical Garden

Source.

Earth Day is an important reminder to care for the planet we call home. Celebrate the occasion at the beautiful Toronto Botanical Garden .There will be a ton of fun events for the entire family! You can help plant in the Teaching Garden, ride the 'blender' bike, make nature crafts and more! Find out more information here.

When: Saturday, April 21, 2018, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Where: Toronto Botanical Gardens. 777 Lawrence Ave E, North York, ON. All activities take place in the Teaching Garden.

Tickets: Free! Registration is recommended. Register here

~* 🌸🌟April Exhibition Projects 🌟🌸*~

MSL4000 Exhibition Project Openings in April – Check out the list of ALL the openings here !

Case Studies: A history of physics innovation at the University of Toronto
When: Opening: April 4, 4-6 PM
Where: University of Toronto McLennan Laboratory
Who: Erin Beaubien, Daniel Rose

Made-Up Toronto
When: April 12-May 5, Opening: April 12, 5 PM
Where: Downtown Yonge BIA, Pop-Up Gallery
Who: Jessica Svenningson, Sarah Rolko

Art & Mindfulness
When: April 2018-2019, Opening: April 13, 5-7 PM
Where: University of Toronto, Bissell Building
Who: Tabitha Chan, Kelly Manikoth, Julia Zungri

Temple of Fame: Staging Women's Roles​
When: April 25-June 10, Opening: April 25, 5:30 PM
Where: Aurora Museum & Archives
Who: Kara Isozaki, Maeghan Jerry, Sarah Kelly

Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship
When: April 30
Where: Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collection, York University Libraries, online exhibit
Who: Susan Jama

Source.

This is my last post for Musings ever! 💔 Writing this column truly connected me to Toronto and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience grad school in such a vibrant and diverse city.

Congratulations MMSt family on completing another academic year, and I hope to see everyone at our Year End Party and the many exhibition openings taking place this month!

MUSEUM PEOPLE — GET READY

AFRICAN CANADIAN HISTORY

BY: KENDRA CAMPBELL

Earlier this month the National Portrait Gallery announced it was moving the portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama to another location in order to provide a “more spacious viewing experience.” The response to Amy Sherald’s portrait of the First Lady has been overwhelming, far exceeding the institution’s expectations for visitor numbers. Commentary about the impact of this portrait has beautifully illustrated the importance of representation in museum spaces. I’m glad this museum mishap had a happy ending and that museum publics will have increased opportunities for representation. However, I am left wondering if this situation is indicative of a larger gap in museum thinking. Namely, why are museums surprised by audience responses? As audience needs, interests, and expectations change, museums appear at best, unprepared, and at worst, unaware or uncaring.

Amy Sherald's Portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery. Source.

I had the distinct pleasure of writing for Musings for the last two years. During that time I was able to cover a sliver of the shifting politics of display, expanding communities of practice and emerging socially-engaged approaches. All of these converge to positively transform the ways that African-Canadian history and Black history more broadly are interpreted. At the same time I have also observed the maintenance and reproduction of anti-Black, colonial mentalities that threaten this progress. Particularly in areas of African Canadian history, there is an immediate need of enhanced strategic foresight that allows for new possibilities. Now on my final post for this column, my only offering to museum colleagues is to get ready.

Get ready for a new canon of African Canadian Black history that is independent from and incomparable to Western worldviews. Get ready for Black history narratives that are decidedly desire-centered, not damage-centered. Get ready to listen to publics who neither look nor live like you do. Get ready to compensate your partners, collaborators, and co-conspirators fairly. Get ready to be called into a critical discourse with your staff that may make you uncomfortable. Get ready to be challenged both professionally and personally about your work as it relates to the role of museums in society. Get ready to think and work differently.

What must you do to not only respond to visitor needs, but to anticipate them?

Get ready.

#5WOMENARTISTS...AND THEN WHAT?

SHE’S MY MUSE

BY: KATHLEEN LEW

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, it is important to remember the feminist art collective Guerilla Girls’ iconic 1990 Pop Quiz:

“If February is Black History Month and March is Women’s History Month what happens the rest of the year?”

“Discrimination.”

March is almost over, but sexism and oppression remain in the art world, museums, and beyond.

Source.

This is the 3rd year of the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ (NMWA) social media campaign #5WomenArtists. During Women's History Month, the campaign asks people to name 5 women artists. It’s more challenging than you think—try it (bonus points if your list only includes living artists). The hashtag also encourages museums to highlight women artists in their collections. The NMWA strives for equal gender representation in the art world. #5WomenArtists elicits shock, creates greater engagement with women's art, and starts valuable discussion about gender parity in the arts.

Source.

This year, the campaign emphasizes women artists of colour with #5WomenArtists of colour. The exercise becomes increasingly powerful when race is added to the equation.

The questions are endless—Can you name five Black women artists? Five Indigenous women artists? Five Asian women artists?

#5WomenArtists of colour encourages participants to explore the importance of intersectionality in feminism and why certain gaps of knowledge exist.

Can you name #5WomenArtists of colour?
This #InternationalWomensDay we spotlight #TabitaRezaire - a digital artist who unearths the possibilities of #decolonialhealing through the politics of technology. Her is work currently on show @thearmoryshow Focus (F25, Pier 92). pic.twitter.com/ZzYgxAosK8

— Goodman Gallery (@Goodman_Gallery) March 8, 2018

What is a “woman artist” anyway?

Yes, some artists identify as women, among many other things. “Woman” is a category made up of a diverse group of individuals who act within intersections of race, sexuality, class, age, ability, etc. By limiting artists to the title of “woman artist”, we risk further marginalizing an entire group of creators based on their gender.

"The construction of femininity is a construction, yes, but also it can be twisted and turned around in such a way that doesn't necessarily mean it is pointing to the female body or male body in such a binary fashion." —Lorna Simpson #5WomenArtists

"Backdrops Circa 1940s," 1998 pic.twitter.com/907ag9072n

— Hammer Museum (@hammer_museum) March 12, 2018

#5WomenArtists is an important first step (or tweet), but it is far from the last. Campaigns like #5WomenArtists need to lead to concrete institutional and systemic change—in our textbooks, in our museums, and in our understandings of art. As Linda Nochlin teaches us, male-dominated narratives are institutionally reinforced through museums, the art market, and education, building an environment that fundamentally disadvantages women.

Source.

Fighting for greater representation of women artists is important and inspiring, but how can we address what left them out in the first place? We must push our celebrations and criticisms to both incorporate and move beyond womanhood. Engaging with intersectional feminism in museums is crucial. It means unlearning sexism, teaching anti-oppression, and holding ourselves and others accountable.

A museum can tweet about the women artists in their collection, but where is the explanation of why  gender disparities continue to exist on gallery walls? #FiveWomenArtists raises awareness for all the incredible women creators of past, present, and future. That future needs to include addressing institutional weaknesses, bringing the hashtag into concrete action and sustainable change.

Can you name #5WomenArtists? Today we’re marking day one of #WomensHistoryMonth by handing over to Katy Hessel of @thegreatwomenartists to share her favourite five from Tate’s collection. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ '2017's #TurnerPrize winner, and the first artist ever to win the prize over the age of 50, Lubaina Himid found fame championing the British Black Arts Movement of the 1980s. Zanzibar-born and Preston-based, Himid's work (which comes in woodcuts, ceramics, paintings and more) challenges stereotypical depictions of black figures in art history. The above painting from 1991 shows two women covered with a map of the past in search of new robes and a new direction. As Lubaina is the poster woman for contemporary art right now, it seems to be going in a very good direction.’ - Katy ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Keep posted for Katy’s #5WomenArtists today and let us know who’d be amongst your #5WomenArtists. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Lubaina Himid, Ankledeep 1991, Tate collection

A post shared by Tate (@tate) on Mar 1, 2018 at 5:04am PST

NMWA’s use of social media has spread the reality of gender inequality across the internet in a creative and effective way. This month’s emphasis on race is an extremely valuable addition. But how can we end the discrimination that is occurring the rest of the year?

Yes to #FiveWomenArtists. Even more yes to #FiveWomenArtists of colour. But then what?

Source.

MMSt 2018: EXHIBITION PROJECTS PART II

RESEARCH COLUMN

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Happy Sunday, readers! It's your friendly neighbourhood Editor-in-Chief again, with another installment of #MMSt2018 exhibition projects for your curious minds. Last weekend you got to hear about the ones that are opening first; this post will follow the same chronological structure and pick up where we left off.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy hearing more about our students' projects!


Temple of Fame: Staging Women's Roles (April 25-June 10, 2018)
Maeghan Jerry, Kara Isozaki, Sarah Kelly

Location: Aurora Museum & Archives, 22 Church Street, Aurora
Opening Reception: April 25th, 2018 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

A century ago, the women of Aurora produced the Temple of Fame: A Pageant of Famous Women. The play featured historical and fictional female figures vying to be crowned by the Goddess of Fame. Our exhibition explores how the play illuminates the changing roles of women in 1918. Our project is a portion of larger centennial programming, which celebrates local women through a series of community events, including a remount of the play.

1918 production of Temple of Fame. Photo courtesy of the Aurora Museum & Archives.

Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship (April 30, 2018 –) 

Susan Jama

Working at Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections! Photo courtesy
of Susan Jama. 

Location: Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collection, York University Libraries, Toronto

My digital exhibition, Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship, explores the history of language used to describe African art from colonial to post-colonial era. Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship reveals the transformative shift in African art literature written from the 1900s to 1980s.

Messages from the Mosaic (May 1, 2018 –)
Ellen (Mairead) Murphy, Zhuohua (Nicole) Yang

Location: Canadian Language Museum; messagesfromthemosaic.ca (digital exhibition)

Promotional image for the exhibition. Photo courtesy of

Ellen (Mairead) Murphy.

Our exhibition project is Messages from the Mosaic, a digital exhibition about the languages of Canada. Using text, infographics, and clickable elements, we want to curate a web exhibition that explores the history, trends, and challenges surrounding Canada’s transforming language mosaic. This is a bilingual exhibition (English and French) and will be launched in May 2018.

A Telepathic Book (May 5-15, 2018)

The Broadbent Sisters' Telepathic Book. Photo courtesy of
Broadbent Sisters and Robynne Redgrave, 2017. 

Aurora Cacioppo, Meagan Fillmore 

Location: Black Cat Art Space, 2186 Dundas St W, Toronto
Opening Reception: May 3, 2018, 6 pm (remarks at 7 pm) at Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1356 Dundas St W, Toronto

We are working with the Broadbent Sisters to translate the components of their sculptural photobook into an exhibition for CONTACT Photography Festival. For fourteen days, the artists used meditation to telepathically send and receive images to one another. Afterward, they revealed their photos to one another and found unbelievable connections! Using each day’s images, the artists produced A Telepathic Book, which displays these parallels while promoting meditative practice through its design.

Partners: The Broadbent Sisters

The History of the John Street Roundhouse: 1929 - Present (May 2, 2018 –)
Hannah Monkman, Abebe Mengesha, Alice Norton-Bell

Location: The Toronto Railway Museum, 255 Bremner Boulevard, Stall 17, Toronto
Opening Reception: TBD

Our project is to create a new entryway exhibit in the Toronto Railway Museum, which will set the tone for an upcoming museum-wide redesign. We’re exploring the rich history of Toronto’s rail lands from 1929 to the present day, looking specifically at the John Street Roundhouse where the exhibition will be located. Come learn the story of an area once dedicated to the railway, that’s now a bustling neighbourhood filled with iconic Toronto attractions!

The John Street Roundhouse in 1930. Photo courtesy of
Toronto Public Library Archives.

Anna taping up the exhibition space for Inner Spaces!
Photo courtesy of Kasey Ball. 

Inner Spaces (May 1-31, 2018)Cassy Kist, Anna Kawecka, Kasey Ball

Location: Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Rd., Toronto
Opening Reception: May 5th, time TBD

Our exhibit provides a brief glimpse under the microscope of research being done across Canada. Displaying images of cellular pathology captured in the lab, we hope to bring awareness to this amazing scientific work.

Collecting Moments: The Photographs of Dr. John E. Ackerman (May 17-June 13, 2018)

Charlotte Gagnier, Sarah Proulx

John E. Ackerman, Men outside Ackerman's Grocery Store ca.
1940s. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage
Centre, accession 2013-7-13. 

Location: Black Cat Artspace, 2186 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Exhibition Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 12-7 pm
Opening Reception: May 17, 8-10 pm

Our exhibition consists of photographs reproduced from archival negatives taken by an accomplished amateur photographer, Dr. John E. Ackerman. We are very excited for the opportunity to work with such a rich collection, held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. The best part of fulfilling our role as curators has been looking through this beautiful collection of moments that portray the personal life of Dr. Ackerman as well as life in Toronto in the mid-20th century.

Lost and Found: Rediscovering Fragments of Old Toronto (May 2018-May 2019)

Hannah Hadfield, Tanya McCullough, Leora Bebko

Promotional image for Lost and Found. Photo courtesy of
Leora Bebko, 2018.

Location: Campbell House Museum, 160 Queen St. W., Toronto  

Opening Reception: May 17, 2018 – Panel Discussion from 6-7 pm, Reception from 7-9 pm

Our exhibition will feature six groupings of handcrafted carved stones salvaged by Rosa and Spencer Clark from iconic Toronto buildings in the postwar era. Positioned throughout the Campbell House Museum gardens and juxtaposed against the modern city landscape, we hope that our exhibition will inspire visitors to contemplate the city’s relationship to its heritage and imagine what the city will look like in another 50 years.

_______ 

Kudos to all these amazing groups and their fascinating exhibition projects - I'm looking forward to visiting them all. Be sure to check the exhibitions out in person at the openings or beyond! 

UNIVERSAL COMPLICITY

GHOSTS OF TORONTO'S PAST

BY: KATIE PAOLOZZA

In my last post, I worked around a central idea that colonial cultures, specifically North American cultures of colonial descent, have a systemic problem of willfully dismissing Indigenous history. This has been done in a variety of ways. 

Source: This blog post from 2013 protests people of non-Native origins dressing in Redface for Halloween. 

There is willful forgetting, like I discussed in my last post. There is also generational disassociation; for example, when people get personally defensive and uncomfortable with acknowledging the brutal reality of history, and are quick to remind everyone that they are not responsible for the sins of their ancestors. That attitude is problematic for lots of reasons, and perpetuates a harmful status quo, but what frightens me more is apathy. This also tends to trickle down from authority figures in positions of power to regular citizens in Toronto. I think sometimes in school we take for granted that people are liberal-leaning and do not have personal reasons to deny history or stay submerged in outdated cultural views. Ride the TTC without headphones sometime; there is a lot of hate and aggression floating around.  

People who are well-meaning yet ignorant might gradually become more woke as they are exposed to more cultures and intelligent conversations about race. People who are already educated and apathetic are much more dangerous. They employ a different kind of silencing technique. They don't shut down activists outright, and they don't publicly block out Indigenous voices. They listen, they genuinely understand, they make small immediate reparations with the promise of more to come, then they disappear and take the media coverage with them. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been accused of the latter many times, most recently this February when he spoke to the House of Commons regarding changes to the Constitution that would officially recognize and define the rights of First Nations.

Source.

I have no idea how much the prime minister personally cares about Indigenous rights. It's intrinsically debatable because any politician in the world that has risen to that level is far too entrenched in political strategy. It almost goes without saying that there is a disconnect between what is said, what is promised, and what actually happens. It's usually only the most conscientious, clear-minded people who are able to follow the path of bureaucratic and political procedures and test the veracity and legitimacy of the federal government as an entity. That's assuming, of course, that there was a tangible result to begin with.

We've all witnessed spikes in social awareness that seemingly spur positive change, only to then watch these issues disappear back into the ether and periodically re-emerge with no real progression. Every single Halloween there is a celebrity that dresses in Redface, followed by debates about how Redface is just as offensive as Blackface. It's a cyclical debate that never seems to get resolved, as both offensive costumes persist year after year. This happens all over Toronto as well, often without any awareness of how ironic it is: literally all of Toronto is stolen land. All of it.

Hilary Duff and then boyfriend Jason Walsh apologized in 2016 over this ill-conceived couples costume, but public relations damage control has also reached the point of saturation:

This controversial costume employed Redface and mocked abusive power dynamics between Native Americans and Pilgrims. Source.

There are countless yearly articles like this one that are photographic retrospectives and listicles counting down the most egregious celebrity costume offenses over the years, and many more articles that consistently spell out why any sort of cultural appropriation is wrong. North Americans also have a thriving tradition of dressing in Redface for sporting events or other unrelated cultural celebrations:

Source.

Tina Fey and the writers of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt have openly discussed the cultural appropriation of Native Americans with questionable success, but with nowhere near the intelligence or sensitivity of older literary works that explore the same concept; like Nella Larsen's Passing. And much like offensive costumes or political rhetoric, the issue becomes an unnecessarily complicated debate. Reparations and restitution for First Nations and Native Americans is a clear moral imperative, so why do we struggle so much with defining the right course of action and implementing it? There are homeless First Nations People all over Toronto, and despite this horrific irony and the sheer visibility of the cracks in our system, there is still very little that is done on municipal, provincial, and federal levels to protect Indigenous rights and actually implement positive changes. I live near government buildings in Midtown, and for much of 2017 First Nations groups set up and enacted peaceful protests regarding Indigenous rights at Yonge and St. Clair, only to have the protest fade over months of indifference from the government and people passing by. There were also huge protests in Toronto recently regarding the Tina Fontaine verdict, and yet again it seemed like those in power were not giving much more than condescension. Some people obviously care, just not the right people.

Source

It's no accident or coincidence that people who choose to perpetuate cultural genocide have a bevy of legal and societal precedents to protect themselves. Even if Prime Minister Trudeau devotes his every waking moment to a universally accepted plan for reparations, he still has to navigate and apologize for systemic roadblocks that predate literally everyone. There are always people that will stand on the shoulders of historical bigots for their own self-serving interests. People like Donald Trump do not come from nowhere; they come from a long line of malicious entitlement. White colonists did not need to steal all of Toronto from the Mississaugas, nor did they need to spend the next two centuries trying to systematically destroy a culture they once relied on, but they too relied on historical precedence and apathy. 

Source.

Those who would silence the disenfranchised rely on our apathy and complicity. They also rely on the saturation of other atrocities. We can't donate time or money to every cause, and we can't spend every waking moment taking in and appreciating every tragedy that we see because there is simply too much ugliness in the world, and that's what the silencers routinely exploit. 

But we don't have to play along. It's more than possible to incorporate respect and sensitivity into our everyday routines. We do not have to repeat toxic patterns or let ourselves get confused by silver-tongued opportunists. No one can change that we live on stolen land. Yes, it was stolen generations before us, but we must keep our awareness of this fact conscious in our minds and hearts, because not only do we live on stolen land, but we also live with the people it was stolen from. First Nations people are our colleagues and friends, and they deserve our respect. More importantly they deserve a voice, and fair representation in all levels of politics.

There simply aren't enough powerful people that are listening. I speak from pragmatism and not cynicism when I say this. Because there are so many problems built right into Toronto's infrastructure, any equitable solution will be painful on all sides. I still say it's worth it. It may be difficult to predict the future but we can always retrace our steps in history and learn from the past. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and it's all right there in the pages.