Confronting Anti-Black Racism in the Arts
The City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism unit (CABR) is responsible for rolling out the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism and responds to the priorities identified by Toronto’s diverse Black communities. The City is making multiple investments in Toronto’s Black arts and culture community and business sector to address the systemic economic, social and cultural exclusion facing Black communities in Toronto.
Additional Resources
The Toronto Sign
The current vinyl wrap on the Toronto Sign is an artwork titled Patterns of the People, designed by Toronto artist Danilo Deluxo McCallum to honour the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD). The City’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism (CABR) Unit issued a call for artists in October 2019 and Danilo Deluxo McCallum’s design was selected by a community jury for the first wrap of the new Toronto Sign. The wrap will refreshed approximately every 12 months.
Image: New 3D TORONTO Sign, Nathan Phillips Square, September 2020.
Joshua Glover Sculpture
Joshua Glover arrived in Canada in 1854 via the Underground Railroad after escaping slavery in the United States, settling in Etobicoke. Quentin VerCetty’s sculpture depicts Glover gazing confidently into the future, throwing away the crushing chains of slavery with his mutilated cyborg arm. He clutches his books close to his chest knowing that it is knowledge that will set him free and provide the power and spiritual endurance to overcome the indignities and sufferings of the past.
Image credit: Quentin VerCetty
Awakenings
Experience Toronto’s many stories through the Awakenings program, a series of art projects created within Toronto History Museums by Black, Indigenous and artists of colour, operating under the principles of anti-oppression, anti-colonialism, and anti-racism. All available for you to engage with online. Explore an unseen view. Awaken a new perspective. Join the conversation.
Image: Still from Reverence by Teaunna Gray, part of Awakenings
The Remix Project
The Remix Project is a multidisciplinary arts training organization, devoted to strengthening the creative community by supporting the next generation of industry leaders. Focused on each student’s personal and professional development, the charity was created to help level the playing field for talented youth who face barriers in pursuing careers in arts & entertainment.
Image credit: The Remix Project
Nia Centre for the Arts
Founded in 2009, Nia Centre for the Arts has connected thousands of young people and emerging youth artists to mentors, opportunities to build transferable skills and employment. The Centre has offered programs in music, spoken word, literature, visual arts, theatre, dance and interdisciplinary arts often in partnership with established artists and arts organizations.
Image credit: Nia Centre for the Arts