Humber professor Brian Hastings says telling the untold stories of Black Canadians is at the core of a new exhibit at Lakeshore campus.
“The biggest thing is that every February, for as long as I've been alive, I've heard about Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks. There are others who deserve their fair shot,” Hastings says. “We are all over and doing things that deserve to be told.”
Faculty of Media, Creative Arts and Design (FMCAD) members Hastings and Sharleen Mascoll hosted the opening of the exhibit Black Excellence in Canada: Immersive Stories that Inspire last Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The exhibit features student posters sharing stories of Black Canadians and alumni spotlights.
Hastings says the works will be shown in L1002 until March 20, with additional work displayed in the F building.
He says the exhibit aligns with Humber’s Black Heritage theme.
The plan was to curate strong work created by students in Humber’s media departments, emphasizing storytelling, and they ended up centring on Black History Month, Hastings says.
Black History Month’s theme, “Black Brilliance: Stories that Shape Us reminds us that storytelling is a powerful source of identity, belonging and community of connection,” he says.
Hastings says he thought the exhibit is a perfect opportunity to explore how students can tell the stories of overlooked Black Canadians and share them with the public.
“Here in FMCAD, they tell stories,” he says.
Hastings says the students’ projects were integrated into their curriculum.
Mascoll says giving the students a prompt and seeing the results is inspirational.
“This is what comes out of it, it's important to see the impact they(students) are making,” she says. “Perhaps it’s not an education for them, but the work they are doing is educating.”
Mascoll says she is filled with pride seeing alumni who had once been in her classroom now being featured.
Assistant curator at the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre, Michelle Ransom says she thinks the alumni panels and students’ projects are an effective way of incorporating Black excellence.
Hastings says his favourite piece is artwork, Sacrifice, by Timi Adeniyi.
The piece uses negative space, greenery, and blood to signify excessive self-sacrifice for the benefit of others.
Hastings says he never met Adeniyi, but she reached out and wanted to showcase her work. “She answered the call.”
Mascoll says the project has received attention from students who have asked how they could be part of it next year.
“It was met with a lot of interest,” she says.
Hastings says that is the goal, to expand beyond the FMCAD and tell these stories Humber-wide.
“We are honestly part of this broader family,” he says.
During the event, faculty members gave speeches to share the meaning of the exhibit and to thank all the faculty contributors.
Hastings was first to speak and shared what went into pulling off the event.
“A vision took shape, one focused on elevating the often-loved stories of black nations,” he said.
Associate Dean Moriba Baker, the project sponsor, said Black stories need to be told.
“Black history did not start at slavery and Black excellence did not end with civil rights and this is our opportunity to show that here today,” he said
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Dean Kimberly Daniels said storytelling is personal to her.
She compared it to scrapbooking while growing up, through gathered memories, photographs, conversations, and stories that were passed down.
“With pride and care, our history lived in the telling, it lived in the remembering,” she said.
“What makes this project particularly powerful is its cross-disciplinary, multimedia approach. It recognizes that storytelling is not done in one dimension. It lives in a multitude of ways, as we can see in this room today,” Daniels said.
Michelle Hamilton, a Lakeshore librarian technician, says the exhibit showed her what Humber can accomplish as a college community.
Humber alumna of 12 years, Chanele McFarlane says she was honoured to have her story told.
She says having her work shown has pushed her to continue amplifying her voice.
“The way that the stories are displayed and hearing the remark or having a chance to interact with people has been really touching for me,” McFarlane says.
McFarlane brought her daughter to the showcase.
She says it was great to have her young daughter see the work she has done and to “hopefully inspire her to do the same.”
McFarlane says although she has always believed in the power of a story, she realizes how important it is for people to see and hear others’ stories.”
“We often hear, you can't be what you can’t see,” she says. “If we don't have spaces and events like these, it will be hard for people to see what they can be.”
Hamilton says she liked seeing stories of leadership from the alumni who have started their own companies and initiatives.
“These are young people doing phenomenal things in the world,” she says. “There's someone that could walk in here today, see a story, and that could encourage them and inspire them to keep going.”
