Free Screening | John Ware Reclaimed

 Join us on February 10th for a free Screening of John Ware Reclaimed  by Albertan filmmaker Cheryl Foggo at the Art Gallery of Alberta. This NFB film follows filmmaker Cheryl Foggo on her quest to re-examine the mythology surrounding John Ware, the Black cowboy who settled in Alberta, Canada, before the turn of the 20th century. Foggo’s research uncovers who this iconic figure might have been and what his legacy means in terms of anti-Black racism, both past and present. This film screening is part of the public program for the exhibition Inheritance and in recognition of Black History Month. Due to limited capacity in the theatre, registration is required in advance.  

The exhibition Inheritance forefronts historical facts that are often hidden or untold because they reveal that our shared past includes, and is based on, acts and systems of brutality, racism and oppression. Told by artists through research into the lives of family members and familial connections, the works in Inheritance demonstrate that history continues to reverberate through time, impacting the present and future. The artists in this exhibition share the histories of anti-Black racism and the KKK as well as the internment of Canadians of Japanese descent across western Canada. They grapple with the generational atrocities committed in the Indian Residential School system across the country. Their works seek to uncover these histories, to hold true to the past as the only way to move forward.