Wildseed Relaunch

Wildseed Relaunch

Black Lives Matter – Canada launches Wildseed Centre for Arts & Activism, a 10,000 sq. ft. community space to build Black power and nurture Black creation. Located at 24 Cecil Street, this center is a permanent fixture in downtown Toronto and has an important history of service and radical ideas, formerly housing Gilda’s House and the Communist Party of Canada.

About

The building is named in honour of Octavia Butler’s novel, signifying a space for transformative, radical, Black futurism.

The building will house the offices of Black Lives Matter – Canada and Black Lives Matter – Toronto, the Wildseed Black Arts Fellowship, and a number of other artistic and educational programs.

The building will house an accessible artists studio, meeting and rehearsal, recording, meeting, archival and educational space.

Sustainable operations are a priority. We are working to gain LEED certification, and seeking funding to retrofit building to be more sustainable.

The building itself is in excellent shape as is, but we do plan to renovate so that the beauty of the space reflects our politic. We are currently working with the Black Planners and Urbanists Association to realize this goal.

How: Through direct donations and grants

We were previously renting a 1600 sq. ft space located on Geary Street that we quickly grew out of, even during the pandemic.

Through the support of individual donations and a generous grant from the BLM Global Network Foundation.

BLM – Canada owns the space outright. This is a Black-owned, Black-operated space, and we are not dependent on any funding arrangements that would restrict the type of creation and activity that can be developed in this space.

The politics of space is important. So often in this city and in this country, Blackness is monitored and dampened by the rules set by someone else’s vision, for whom making their own identity through proximity to Blackness is more important than solidarity. So we’re cutting out that tension, and providing nurturing, radical space for each other.

Why: To nurture Black radical creation in Canada

When we first started organizing as Black Lives Matter, our biggest challenge was space and resources. We would expend valuable organizing time just trying to figure out where we could safely convene with one another. As we slowly shift toward reopening, we want to ensure that Black community members engaged in radical creation have a safe, accessible space to convene with one another.

Every movement has ebbs and flows, but we want to nurture sustainability and permanence. Black radical creation is here to stay, and we’re giving it a home.

Black radical and artistic creation are part of what makes this city livable for our community. We’re excited to offer room to support Black experimentation through our own programs as well as through partnerships with other groups.

In The Media