One:Many In Person Exhibition
Wildseed Centre / Gallery
Oct 5, 2024 — Nov 2, 2024
In November 2014, the non-indictment of Darren Willson in the murder of Mike Brown, alongside murder of Jermaine Carby by Peel Regional Police triggered the establishment of BLMTO, and a resurgence of Black radical organising across Turtle Island. Inspired by Jamaican maroon societies of late 1700s, the Haitian Revolution of early 1800s, Toronto’s Black Action Defence Committee of the 1980s and other uprisings for Black liberation, Black Lives Matter movement began in so-called-Canada all but 10 years ago. Featuring 3 new multidisciplinary works, archival protest footage and a permanent 2-storey installation, “One:Many” is a group exhibition that asks:
In what ways does Black abolitionist activism assert our shared capacity to grow and/or sustain ecosystems of care?
What is our collective commitment to resisting police violence and all other manifestations of anti-Blackness, within and beyond Tkaronto?
How do we celebrate, contemplate and/or engage with the labour of Black artist-activists as pollinators of ideas and imagination?
At its core, “One:Many” is inspired by Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, wherein she considers the perpetuity of uniting, growing and dissolving through Change. Similarly, envisioning what results from Change is central to Black artivism, alongside its capacity for conveying new ways of living from one person to the next. Creative interventions with space, place, concepts and conventions are all at the forefront of Change, inspiring audiences to participate in radical acts of self, community and land-care.
Enlivened by Butler’s Parable and the environment, Pollinating Landscapes (2023) by Charmaine Lurch is a 2-storey permanent work inside Wildseed Centre, located just outside the confines of the Gallery. Forged through collective fabrication alongside Black and allied members of the community, each pollen grain within Landscapes is uniquely constructed, emphasising the power of rhythmic symbiosis.
While meditating on ways to engage with memories of Black Lives Matter activism on 49th parallel north, including a 5 Year Anniversary of Pride disruptions in Toronto and Vancouver was critical. Edited by Chrris Lowe, Say Love (2021) is a collection of community videos and photos taken during BLMTO and BLMVan activism in 2016 and 2017.
Meanwhile, Allie Amplify’s RAD (2024) uses textiles as a medium for exploring temporal contemplations of Black experiences. Their wearable art is a triptych that captures playful interpretations of Blackness in all its diversity. Drawing on our universal proximity to innocence through childhood, parenting or otherwise, Imani Edwards captures expressions of freedom in Seeds of Wonder (2024). Through her photography, Edwards mediates on the value of nurturing a youthful sense of wonder and ecosystems of care. Finally, Theodore Walker Robinson uses expressionist “cane paintings” to depict how movement is experienced by Blind/Low vision people in Toronto. Repetitive Stress Injuries (2024) is a bold provokation on how visually impaired persons experience inaccessibility in the city, challenging their audience to contemplate barrier-free futurities.
Through “One:Many”, each artistic intervention provides us with new sets of perspectives through which we might reflect on 10 years of Black liberation efforts on these lands. It also examines contemporary challenges and opportunities within our communities, and microcosms of future worlds we are actively generating. “One:Many” reaffirms our shared visions for a more liberated future rooted in disability justice, LGBTQIA2S+ justice, and anti-colonial solidarity. Not only across Turtle Island, but in Congo, Haiti, Palestine, Sudan and beyond. “Until we are free,” we must continue using all possible modalities to affirm our shared commitment toward liberation for all oppressed peoples (Diverlus, Hudson, and Ware 2020).
Curatorial Essay by Jessica Kirk, Executive Director
This exhibition will open on Nuit Blanche (October 5, 2024), beginning at 7:00 PM and ending at 7:00 AM. Admission is free.
We are seeking volunteer support during Nuit Blanche. If you are interested, please visit our volunteer form.
Notes for Access: One:Many runs from October 5th, 2024 to November 2nd, 2024.
Special thanks to the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for its funding support. Additional thanks to Nuit Blanche for including “One:Many” Fall Exhibition in its 2024 Festival.
For press inquiries, please contact media@wildseedcentre.com
Location: Wildseed Centre
Pictured: Featured Image by Imani Edwards
About The Artists and Artwork
Allie Amplify (they/she) is a Black Mad artist, activist and educator, as well as the founder of Amplify Collective. With a diverse background in communications and the arts, her practice takes many forms, and has always been centered around community advocacy. Amplify Collective is a creative community based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Their work has been featured at the ROM, Mackenzie House Museum, Harbourfront Centre, Tarragon Theatre, Pride, Fashion Week, Rendezvous with Madness and more!
Turn up the volume with Amplify.
“RAD (2024)” is a trio of wearable art that celebrates the past, present and future of Black liberation. This work explores the impacts of activism on individuals and communities, and the variety of the Black experience.
“RESIST (2024)” honors where we have been, battles both won and lost. The bloodshed of our community is represented within this piece, as is the weight carried by those who have survived. We are the shadows.
“ADAPT(2024)” is grounded in where we are, strong and resilient but still fighting. The bright colors reflect the volume of our united voices and the intensity of our passion for change. In a world that doesn’t value rest, we hustle, we dance, we shout. We are the warriors.
“DESIRE (2024)” looks forward to a vision of a relaxed future where we take up ample space and no longer need to fight. The soft materials and voluminous shape highlight our need for rest and comfort. We remember our ancestors and the work it took to get to where we are. Now the healing can finally begin. We are the dreamers.
Social Media:@amplifycollective @allieamplify
Imani Edwards (she/her) is a visionary Art Director and Photographer whose work intricately weaves the threads of storytelling and visual art. Driven by a desire to see beyond what is visible, Imani’s work unearths the multitude of experiences that shape our shared existence. Her lens becomes a powerful tool for exploring the dynamic interplay of movement and stillness, capturing moments that resonate with profound emotional and cultural significance. Imani’s photography serves as a testament to the power of visual storytelling, inviting viewers to engage with the deeper meanings and hidden stories within every frame.
“Seeds of Wonder (2024)”
When we think of the word “childhood”, most will recall fond memories. joy, laughter, imagination. It is a time of innocence, exploration and discovery- at least for most children. For Black children their innocence is neither presumed nor protected by the White world we live in, and sometimes even within the Black community. The adultification of Black children has stripped them of the formative experiences that shape their sense of self. As Whitney Houston states, “I believe the children are our future” (Houston, 1986). If we trample the light within our children, we extinguish the liberation of our future. My project envisions a world where Black childhood joy is celebrated and preserved when little boys and girls are seen as they are, not burdened by the labels of “young man”, or “little woman”. Creating memories of children in their natural sense of wonder, with the help of my community, family and friends images will feature Black children outside, playing, being free and smiling. These photographs will serve as a testament to the beauty and innocence of Black childhood, reminding us of the importance of protecting and nurturing the light in every child.
Social Media: @imni.edwrds
Theodore Walker Robinson (they/them)
Theodore Walker Robinson is a Black, low-vision, hard-of-hearing, nonbinary broadcaster, singer, textile artist, and nonprofit executive. Theodore was born to parents of Maroon Jamaican and Afro-Chinese Trinidadian descent. As a singer, Theodore explores transgender voices in Jazz music. Their textile art practice explores West African heritage fabrics and Blind / Low Vision methodologies and pedagogical practice. As a creative consultant, Theodore focuses on providing recommendations to arts and culture agencies on accessibility for people with disabilities.
“Repetitive Stress Injuries (2024)” is a painting project by Theodore Walkier Robinson, a Blind/Low Vision painter who uses their mobility cane to depict live movement of the visually impaired in the inaccessible, un-navigable city known as Toronto. The gestural movements of each painting reflect on the energy spent wayfinding as a Blind/Low vision person in the city. This project displays two large scale abstract expressionist “cane paintings” stretched on canvas which depict the movements of Theodore’s white cane on the asphalt streets of Toronto. Each of these paintings are 7-10 feet wide and approximately 5 feet in height.
Social Media: @theodore.walkerrobinson
Chrris Lowe is a director & photographer with a focus on telling stories that are visually driven and injected with both deep authenticity and colorful expression. Her work focuses on the varied experiences of BIPOC folks, an intentional choice that she has made as a Black, queer, woman director. Chrris’ stories explore humanity with a distinct style and perspective, adaptable to commercials, music videos, branded documentaries and everything in between. She creates striking worlds and immersive narratives that capture the raw and honest facets of the human experience. Ultimately leaving a lasting impact, empowering viewers to delve deeper, ask questions, and explore their own curiosity, establishing her as a compelling force in the world of storytelling.
Say Love: A Retrospective on Toronto and Vancouver Pride Actions, 2021
Video and Photo Archival Compilation
Videographic Contributions: Cicely Belle Blain, Michael Toledano
Photographic Contributions: Uranranebi Agbeyegbe, Michele Pearson Clarke, Angelyn Francis, Paige Galette, Anique Jordan, Rebecca Rose
Social Media: @chrrislowe
- Organizer(s)
- Rochelle Ellar
- Fellowship Coordinator
- Rochelle@wildseedcentre.com
For press inquiries, please contact media@wildseedcentre
