Black Future Month 3015

Proud to be participating in this exhibition as part of Black History Month.

Exhibition: February 22 to March 6
Opening: Sunday, February 22, 6 to 10 p.m.
Featuring: Danilo McCallum, Kanyika Yorke, Quentin "Babatunde" Vercetty, Dainsha Nugent, Aaron Jones, Odinamaad, Stephen Surlin, Dheeko Kinte, Curtia Wright, Chris Ak, MuXubo Mohamed, SoTeeOh, Ola Ojo, Javid JAH, Ekow Nimako, Komi Olaf
Panel Discussion: Friday, February 27, 5 to 6:40 p.m.
Orbiting Around Women in Afrofuturism
Moderator: Camille Isaacs
Panelists: Camille Turner (Futuristic artist and author), Asia Clarke (Innovative fashion and jewellery designer), Saidah Baba Talibah (Avant-garde music artist), Nalo Hopkinson (Futuristic author)

 #BlackFutureMonth
#BFM3015

http://www2.ocadu.ca/event/7687/black-future-month-3015
https://www.facebook.com/events/1400665453570250/

Endless Design

Some of my work will be on display as part of the Continuing Studies design exhibition at OCAD University from February 20 to April 10, 2015. Opening Thursday, February 26, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Backra Bluid: Hybrid Identity

Stacey Tyrell exhibits provocative images of her “white” self at General Hardware Contemporary as part of the 2014 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

Stacey Tyrell, Ismay, 42yrs, from Backra Bluid series, 2012

General Hardware Contemporary:

In Backra Bluid, Brooklyn-based photographer Stacey Tyrell portrays herself as a white woman by altering her skin colour and making subtle tweaks to her features. Backra is archaic Caribbean slang of West African origin that means “white person.” Bluid is the Scotch word for blood, as well as for kin. In this series Tyrell draws on her own family history—archaic and ongoing, Scottish and Caribbean—to explore how identities complicate and overlap. Critical of the dualism inherent in Eurocentric constructs of Whiteness and Blackness, Tyrell’s work suggests that most people in post-colonial societies are not easily categorized. Developed through fictitious avatars and dramatic sets, her approach privileges performance and theatricality.

Image of the artist, http://www.staceytyrell.com/about/  

Stacey Tyrell:

The images in the series are an attempt to interpret and explore these relatives from both past and present that I know are out there. They are also a reflection on my own perceptions and preconceptions of “Whiteness.” There is a dualism that is inherent in the Euro-centric constructs of “Whiteness” and “Blackness” in Western societies. It leaves little room for the reality that the majority of people in post-colonial societies are generally hybrids of its past and current inhabitants. Upon viewing my physical features, I am automatically assigned a racial identity by whoever is looking at me. Skin color often obscures and over-rides the features and markers of other races that may be present in my genetic make-up. By simply changing my skin color and making subtle tweaks to my features, I wish to show that if someone were to take a closer look at my face, they would see that it might not be that much different from their own.   

Stacey Tyrell, Mara, 17yrs, from Backra Bluid series, 2011

Backra Bluid

April 26 to May 17

Opening: April 26, 3 to 6 p.m.

General Hardware Contemporary

1520 Queen Street W.

Toronto, ON M6R 1A4

http://www.staceytyrell.com/

http://generalhardware.ca/stacey-tyrell/

http://scotiabankcontactphoto.com/events/1742

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.