Kitchener exhibition explores Blackness and Freedom
A two-day event highlighting work from twelve local Black artists and exploring the themes of Blackness and freedom is being held at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum.
The Black and Free exhibition runs Saturday, March 25 to Sunday, March 26.
"Black and Free is a research creation project that I started in 2017 and we’re looking to bring together artists, academics, scholars and the general public to think about Blackness and freedom, to just have that conversation in its many complexities and ways," said Naila Keleta-Mae, Black and Free principal investigator. “Over the course of the weekend, we’ll be doing interviews with each artists to learn about their process, what they were creating, and to open up the space to audiences to ask questions as well.”
Attendees also have the opportunity to browse a pop-up market which features cultural food and clothing.
“We have a lot of vendors here who are sharing things that they’ve made themselves, as well as small businesses,” said Keleta-Mae. “We also have some community organizations here too who are just sharing some of the work that they do in the community. So you can come for the art, stay for the interviews, and do a little shopping.”
The event focuses on Black culture and history, but Keleta-Mae said it’s an exhibit for everyone to attend.
“Black and Free is for people who are curious, who are casual, and who are engages,” she said. “It has really been designed in all of our programming to think about being relevant to Black communities but to also connect with people who are concerned with these issues who don’t identify as Black.”
This is the first year the exhibit has run at the museum, but according to Keleta-Mae, it will be a multi-year partnership.
“We will be doing annual events here. The scope of the events, we’ll see, but Black and Free will be commissioning new artists every year to create new work.”
The final day of this year’s free event is Sunday, from noon to 3 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.