MAMC responded to The Power Plant’s winter exhibition by inviting two Toronto District School Board schools to participate in a joint project, Stories are our Compass, that mirrors the social and cultural challenges faced by youth.

In the artwork of Alicia Henry (Witnessing), Omar Bâ (Same Dream) and, Shuvenai Ashoona (Mapping Worlds) three common themes emerge:

1. the tension between the physical, psychological and social self
   
2. the notion of duality
   
3. the order and safe predictability of life undermined by the intrusion of new and unfamiliar forces

Alicia Henry’s depiction of faces as mirrors of identity, Omar Bâ’s distinctive fusing notions of duality and Shuvenai Ashoona’s sense of disruption of order, are all themes that these students experience daily as they navigate their homes, identities and memories. The joint exhibition in the foyer of the gallery is the response by students from Wexford Collegiate Institute and Ursula Franklin Academy to the work of the three artists.

WORK & PROCESS

UNSETTLED: AN EXPLORATION OF IDENTITY IN TRANSITION TOWARDS POST-COLONIALISM

Unsettled: An Exploration of Identity In Transition Towards Post-Colonialism is a series of individual cinemagraphs created by the Grade 12 Film and Video students of Ursula Franklin Academy, in response to The Power Plant’s 2019 exhibitions of artists Omar Ba: Same Dream, Alicia Henry: Witnessing and Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds.

The cinemagraphs consider notions of witnessing, mapping worlds, dreams, duality, disruption of order and imagery located in a place and time relevant to the artists. Elements such as scale, texture, the land and use of the human figure specifically influenced the students, and are mirrored in their work.

The participants also explored the intersectionality of their own identities through the lens of Settler/ First Nation and Treaty Partner identities. These are identities for all who live on this land at this time. They found the process unsettling at times, yet also hopeful. A way forward.
The responses to this endeavour are highly personal. Concepts such as disconnection, shame, anonymity, and hope arose, and were foundations for creating these cinemagraphs.

Viewers are invited into the poetic space these works generate and to locate themselves within the unsettling and hopeful narratives.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The Power Plant
TDSB Creates

SCHOOL PARTNERS

Ursula Franklin Academy
Wexford Collegiate Institute

Making Art Making Change is a non-profit charity committed to giving voice to social issues within communities through the use of visual arts, mixed media and story telling.

Our experienced artist educators are committed to creating a safe and fun space where participants can explore artistic expression all while developing self awareness, collaboration skills and original creative thinking. Our focus is to facilitate dialogue and collaboration, thereby strengthening community bonds and reducing isolation.

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© Making Art Making Change 2020