City of Toronto Archives hosts Black Women in Leadership Photography Exhibition

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was an inspiring and uplifting evening on Saturday, November 19^th, 2022, when the City of Toronto Archives hosted the Black Women in Leadership Photography Exhibition. The opening reception was held at 255 Spadina Rd and will run until August 2023. It is free to attend and is open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the opening event, there were about 50 people in attendance who circulated with the individuals who were part of the exhibition whose pictures were prominently displayed.

The exhibition was made possible due to funding from the Canadian Heritage Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program. In the promotional booklet, which was present at the opening reception, it highlighted the team at the Black Artists’ Network in Dialogues (BAND) gallery and Cultural Centre which is led by Karen Carter. Karen is the Director and Co-founder of BAND. In the description of the exhibition, the promotional booklet describes in detail its significant contributions.

It states, “There is very little offered for public consumption or reflection on Black female leaders, artists, revolutionaries, change makers, visionaries, and other authorities spanning every discipline in Canada: bringing into question who holds this type of knowledge and records and tasks us in finding ways in which we can give it back to the community to both empower and educate.” It notes that the purpose of the exhibition “sought to address this gap with this project ad celebrate the decades of work and the legacies of these women. Photographs, written and oral stories, and personal memories are all records that we can learn from. It is important that we know our history. We can learn a lot from these women and from the ways in which they have influenced change.”

The exhibition features more than Black women leaders, many of whom came to prominence in the 1950s and 1980s. It was during this time period that there were many fundamental political, social, cultural, and economic changes during this time in Canada.

Some of the women include: Camille Orridge and Chris Leanard who did vital political work during the AIDS epidemic, Gloria Swain and Dr.Beverley Bain who demonstrated against police violence for marginalized communities, Vivine Scarlett and Charmaine Headley’s contributes to the Toronto dance and artistic community, Rosemary Sadlier; past president of the OBHS and Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

The exhibition featured the work of four Toronto-based visual artists. They include:

• Janice Reid – portrait photographer who focuses on Black female subjects
• Jon Blak – works as an artist and educational outreach mentor to at-risk youth
• Leyla Jeyte – a Somali Canadian visual artist showcases experiences of Black women
• Patrica Ellah – a Nigerian Canadian artist focused on recording and celebrating community

The exhibition was curated by Sarah Edo and Belinda Uwase. In their curatorial essay in the promotional booklet, they provided informative information about the project.

They wrote, “This exhibition is rooted in Black pride and the exploration of the professional portrait making process. The Black Women in Leadership project was conceptualized in 2019 and focuses on addressing a gap in archives and public records about Black women who have been influential leaders in our communities.” In shedding more light, they note,” The women represented in this exhibit are all exemplary leaders in their respective fields and communities, these women also serve as a reminder that the path to success for each of us can be vastly different. Representation allows us to appreciate both the diversity and complexity of the past and the potential of our futures. Black women are not a monolith, and neither are their stories.”

Anyone interested in the Black Women in Leadership Exhibition can view it online:

https://bandgallery.com/black-women-in-leadership-introduction