It’s Black History Month, when in Canada we celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians who, throughout history, have helped make Canada the culturally rich nation it is today. These achievements should be celebrated not only in February but every day and so we have some great things planned to keep the celebration going! This includes work from Africa Centre Edmonton and YEG The Come Up in the AGA Community Gallery and a 15th Anniversary exhibition from 5 Artists, 1 Love Black Every Day in March. #StayTuned for more and here we share from our friends at Edmonton Public Library with some great reads on Black History in Canada. Explore here.
Courtesy @yegthecomeup
Courtesy @yegthecomeup
We are proud to partner with The Come Up (Y.E.G) to present Art of Reflection in the AGA Community Gallery. The Come Up (Y.E.G) is a collective under Africa Centre for ABC youth working towards encouraging individual and community empowerment. The AGA’s Community Gallery is a supported space provided to local groups the presentation of community-generated art exhibitions.
Listen in on this CBC Radio interview with Odion Welch from the Africa Centre and Mark Connolly as they talk about Black history in Canada and the upcoming exhibition in the AGA Community Gallery. Listen here.
Please note: The AGA and the Community Gallery are currently closed but we look forward to welcoming you soon to see this exhibition! Stay tuned for a sneak peek.
Here we have a recent acquisition to the AGA Collection from photographer David Ofori Zapparoli.
“I know that we don’t need reminders of how wonderful it was to be together in celebration,” writes Toronto-based photographer David Ofori Zapparoli. “But perhaps we need incentive to find our way back to those times. I hope that these works will help in that purpose.”
Since the mid-1980s, Zapparoli has focused his lens on his immediate community, sensitively documenting urban life and its people. In 2019, following the Toronto Raptors’ NBA Championship, Zapparoli joined the street celebrations, poised with his camera to capture images of the city’s collective joy. A year-and-a-half later, in a time defined by physical distancing and social isolation, these images have taken on new potent meaning.
Video: PlanIt Sound
Our long-standing partner 5 Artists 1 Love is celebrating 15 years of programming for Black History Month in Edmonton! In addition to the exhibition Black Every Day at your AGA, 5A1L will be dropping a series of webisodes on YouTube this month. Watch the 2021 teaser here and learn more about the exhibition here.
Join us for a conversation on Saturday, February 27 at 2pm with the creative team behind 5 Artists 1 Love. Darren Jordan, Natalie Meyer and Monique McFarlane will discuss the origins of the 5 Artists 1 Love, celebrating black excellence and the upcoming exhibition, Black Every Day. Register here.
@vivianeartgallery @aidamuluneh
The AGA has recently acquired four photographs by contemporary photographer Aïda Muluneh, known for her vibrant and powerful images exploring Ethiopian identity. This photograph comes from Muluneh’s ‘The World is 9’ series, which draws its name from a saying of her grandmother’s: “The world is 9, it is never complete and it’s never perfect.” Comprised of stylized portraits of women in colourful dress and face paint inspired by traditional body art, this series explores questions of life, love and history.
Here’s a sneak peek at the Art of Reflection in the AGA Community Gallery from YEG The Come Up and Africa Centre YEG. Be sure to stop by IKEA Edmonton before the end of February to check out the mirror exhibition.
A descendant of the Alabama and Kentucky born Black Prairie pioneers of Amber Valley and Campsie, Alberta, Deanna Bowen’s family history has been the central pivot of her artistic practice since the 1990s. Click here to learn more about Deanna’s work in #GGArts2020.