Join us for a panel discussion with a rtists Anna Binta Diallo\, Judah Iyunade\, Richard Allan Thomas\, and Chuk wudubem Ukaigwe at 11 AM in the Community Commons to celebrate the opening of the exhibition BLACK PRAIRIES. Following the discussion\, join us for the Black History Month Celebration | Regina Public Library from 12 &ndash\; 2 P M.
\nAbout the exhibition:
\nBLACK PRAIRIES honours more than one hundred years of Black/African-Canadian cultural production in the Pra iries\, spanning the 1920s to the present\, with a focus on lens-based med ia. The exhibition includes newly commissioned contemporary artwork by art ists Anna Binta Diallo\, Judah Iyunade\, Richard Allan Thomas\, and Chukwu dubem Ukaigwe\, original glass plate negatives by early 1900s Black Manito ban photographer William &ldquo\;Billy&rdquo\; Beal\, and archival photogr aphs from the City of Edmonton&rsquo\;s Frank B. Jamerson fonds.
\nB eal&rsquo\;s glass plate negatives\, taken between 1915 and 1925\, documen t homesteading life in western Manitoba from the perspective of a lone Bla ck man living in an all-white rural township during the early 1900s. Meanw hile\, the photographs in the Frank B. Jamerson fonds\, created by unnamed photographers\, depict everyday Black life in and around Amber Valley\, A lberta&mdash\;a historic community formed during the Great Black Migration of 1910. This migration saw African-Americans fleeing racial violence in the United States to seek refuge in the Canadian Prairies. The selected ph otographs in this exhibition capture the first thirty years after the migr ation\, reflecting the experiences of the first generation of Black migran ts in the region. The contemporary artists in this exhibition foster impor tant dialogues about personal histories\, a changing climate\, and collect ive experiences in the region.
\nAdditionally\, the exhibition inclu des the newly created short film For Caesar by filmmaker Cheryl F oggo. The film features Leander Lane\, the great-grandson of Julius Caesar Lane\, a founding member of the Shiloh People\, the historic African-Cana dian community in Saskatchewan.
\nBLACK PRAIRIES provides space for communal grounding and reflection on the ongoing and ever-expanding contin uum of Black life and Black cultural production in the Prairies.
\nT une into a livestream of the Artist Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=e4lFzvE5YN4
\nImage: Rosa and Mary\, Amber Valley\, Alberta c. 1940\, black and white photograph\, 5 x 6 cm. Frank B. Jamerson fonds\, co urtesy City of Edmonton Archives.
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