The State of Blackness: From Production to Presentation

During the 28 days that make up Black History Month this year, I am looking forward to attending this free conference being held at the Harbourfront Centre on February 22. The list of participants looks too good to pass up on.

The State of Blackness: From Production to Presentation is an interdisciplinary conference taking place at Harbourfront Centre on February 22, 2014 in association with the OCAD University Faculty of Art Innovation Fund and in partnership with the Ontario Arts Council. The conference is generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Karen Miranda Augustine, Miranda and Child (RaRa Rah), 2007 Mixed Media, découpage, found metal, tires, sequins, acrylic, oil sticks, spray paint, speaker, blunt and Kanekalon fibre on wood, 2.5 x 3 feet. 

Part of the Mercy Me series.

The event brings together artists, curators, academics, students, and multiple publics to engage in dialogue and, in effect, problematize the histories, current situation, and future state of black diasporic artistic practice and representation in Canada. The conference addresses and seeks to shed light on the dearth of cultural production and in turn, presentation activities by black artists who because of racial difference have historically been at the margins of traditional visions of the Canadian nation and its art production – particularly within the past two decades.

This conference includes closed working sessions prior to the public events designed to provide opportunities for artists, educators, curators, scholars and cultural workers to engage in intensive and critical collaborative discussions about the current state of blackness and the challenges and strategies employed to increase visibility. Emphasis will be placed on developing networks of engagement and knowledge exchange while developing methodologies and practices that inform the future of black Canadian artistic production and teaching. 


Conference Participants:
Lillian Allen, Karen Miranda Augustine, Deanna Bowen, Sandra Brewster, Charles Campbell, Mark V. Campbell, Wayde Compton, Julie Crooks, Erika DeFreitas, PamelaEdmonds, DominiqueFontaine, HonorFord-Smith, Richard Fung, Sylvia Hamilton, JérômeHavre, EbonyL. Haynes, JohannaHouseholder, CamilleA. Isaacs, MichelleJacques, AliceMing Wai Jim, BettyJulian, Olivia McGilchrist, Anna Jane McIntyre, Megan Morgan, Charmaine Nelson, Abdi Osman, Michèle Pearson Clarke, SheilaPetty, Aboubakar Sanogo, Adrienne Shadd, Dionne Simpson, Rema Tavares, Camille Turner, GaëtaneVerna, RinaldoWalcott, GenevieveWallen, Syrus Marcus Ware, and NatalieWood.

Andrea Fatona, Conference Lead
Heidi McKenzie, Conference Coordinator
Ellyn Walker, Graduate Research Assistant

For more information about the presenters and a conference schedule, visit thestateofblackness.com.