Museum of Toronto Announces the Extension of the Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto Exhibition with a New Line-Up of Events and Free Admission
In the lead-up to the celebration of Black History Month, Museum of Toronto is announcing the extension of their popular exhibition and an exciting line-up of free programming as a part of their Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto exhibition. Throughout January and February, the public can access a series of engaging panel discussions, short film screenings and workshops for no charge. Providing a unique opportunity for participants to engage with leading academics, scholars, archivists, artists and educators in the field, these events are designed to highlight the importance of documenting Black histories and the significance of community archiving as a whole. Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto has been extended to March 1st, 2025.
Panel 1- Telling Our Own Stories- A Panel on Black-Led Archives
Date: Thursday, January 23rd
Time: 6pm-8pm
This panel brings together local experts in the field of Black archives to explore Toronto-based archiving initiatives as well as the importance of Black-led archiving. Moderated by Channon Oyeniran, the panelists include, multidisciplinary artist, and curator Aaron T. Francis, Professor of African Canadian History and author, Dr. Natasha Henry-Dixon, and award-winning archivist and educator, Melissa J. Nelson. They will share with the audience the importance of documenting Black histories, oral histories, and community archives. Admission is free, with donations encouraged. For more information and to register for this panel go to the Museum of Toronto website here.
Panel 2 - A Place for Community Archiving
Date: Thursday, January 30th
Time: 6pm-8pm
This unique panel explores the growing importance of community archivism in our city with field experts from Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives (MOBA), the Portuguese Canadian History Project, and Chinese Canadian Archives. Together, they will discuss the process, ethics, and challenges of preserving local histories, while simultaneously working in institutional archival settings.
This cross-cultural, cross-institutional conversation will explore questions such as:
- Who has the resources and rights to collect these histories?
- Are there ethical as well as moral issues with collecting people’s oral narratives?
- What might we understand between archival expertise and lived expertise?
Panelists include archivist June Chow who practices across Chinese Canadian communities and Chinatowns, renowned author and Black Canadian Studies expert, Dr. Cheryl Thompson, and renowned scholar and Professor Gilberto Fernandes. Admission is free and donations are encouraged. For more information and to register for this panel go to the Museum of Toronto website here.
[Un]Archiving Workshop
Date: Saturday, February 8th
Time: 1pm-3pm
Gather your family photos from the past (preferably pre-2000), and bring them to this workshop that will prepare you to create your own family/community archiving project. Facilitated by artist and curator Aaron T. Francis, you’ll reflect on the past, present, and future of Black Canadiana through family photographs. In sharing images and stories with one another, this workshop fosters connection and offers a reminder of all that we have in common.
Time permitting, participants will be given an opportunity to digitize their image(s) and finalize the image caption for distribution via social media such as Vintage Black Canada ‘s Instagram page.
Filmmaker Panel & Screening Date: Thursday, February 5th Time: 7pm-9pm
Join Museum of Toronto at Trinity Square Video for a screening of 11 short films, followed by a talk with filmmakers from the project. Learn how these filmmakers translated oral histories and personal narratives into work that speaks to a diaspora and beyond.
This collection of short films explores Toronto's Black diaspora. Pulling from a collection of 500+ oral histories, these filmmakers created rich, visual stories - each as unique in style and tone as the personal narrative that inspired their work and contributed to the Museum of Toronto’s current exhibition.
Admission is free and donations are encouraged. For more information and to register for this panel go to the Museum of Toronto website here.
“We hope this important storytelling project spotlights the range of experiences, histories, and geographies within Toronto's Black diaspora,” says Davin Henson, Director of Digital Programs at Museum of Toronto. “I think Museum visitors may find the stories within the exhibit incredibly enlightening, and some may find echoes and parallels with their own immigrant experience in Toronto.”
Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto documents the spectrum of Black life in Toronto and presents films and audio clips told and created by over 100 Black Canadians. More than 500 personal narratives document the rich histories that have shaped the spaces and places of contemporary Toronto — Black voices telling Black stories.
Visitors are encouraged throughout the exhibition to explore the personal stories from across multiple generations, highlighting the depth of Black history in this city and across Canada, and representing the over 20 countries making up Toronto’s Black diaspora. The exhibition shares a timeline of black movement in the city and invites visitors to contribute and build a more robust recounting. The exhibition will follow five main themes: Building, Movement, Relationships, Faith and Courage. Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto runs Wednesday to Saturday, 12 p.m. to 6
p.m. until March 1st 22nd. Admission is free with the suggestion of a donation.
The ongoing exhibition will serve as a space for informal and formal conversations, panels, community gatherings, and talks about being Black in Tkaronto-Toronto. Future activations will be led by community organizations and leaders with the aim of creating a space that facilitates the interaction of people from different communities and backgrounds. Check the Museum of Toronto website for a full schedule of upcoming Black Diasporas Tkaronto-Toronto events at https://www.museumoftoronto.com/on-now/
About Museum of Toronto
Founded in 2015, Museum of Toronto is a growing City Museum dedicated to exploring and sharing the diverse histories of the city. Museum of Toronto’s exhibitions, content, and experiences aim to inspire curiosity and foster deeper connections to our collective histories. With exhibition space at 401 Richmond Street West, partnerships with institutions across the city and a growing digital library of Toronto histories, Museum of Toronto offers a wide range of programming that is accessible to all.
