Community members, scholars, performers and artists gathered last Thursday (Jan. 22) in the Dal Arts Centre's Sculpture Court to celebrate the opening of the Dalhosuie Art Gallery's newest exhibition, It’s About Time: Dancing Black in Canada 1900-1970 and Now.
“One of the central questions of this exhibition is where we are allowed to dance, where it is safe to dance, and where it is fun to dance,” said Dr. Seika Boye, the exhibition’s curator.
Dr. Boye is a co-investigator on Gatherings: Archival and oral histories of performance, a seven-year project funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), that aims to develop infrastructure, archives, publications and an online presence documenting the history of performance in Canada.
Gatherings supports the national tour of this exhibition, which was originally commissioned by Dance Collection Danse, Canada’s only dedicated dance archives, where many of the materials in the exhibition were sourced and where it lives when not on the road.
The exhibition explores four major themes:
- Representation and reception: How Black people were shown and written about with respect to dance
- Performing artists and the stage: Professionals who influenced and defined culture and entertainment
- Dance in and for communities: The influence of social dance culture
- Legislation and protest: Bans and laws that impacted who, where and how communities could dance
Roberta Barker, co-investigator for Gatherings and a professor of theatre studies and women & gender studies at Dalhousie, said at the opening, “One of the things to note about [Dr. Boye’s] incredibly rich and deep exploration of the archives of Black dance in Canada is its tremendous capacity to not only showcase the complexity, the agency, the resilience, the resistance, and the sheer joy of African-Canadian communities, but also to start new conversations in new fields of research.”
In each iteration of the exhibition thus far, Dr. Boye invites local artists to respond and contribute. Ibe Ananaba, Anja Clyke, Allen D. Crooks, kay macdonald and Preston Pavlis, pictured below at the opening, were among the Nova Scotians whose work is showcased in the exhibition.
The event featured readings by Dal alum and celebrated poet George Elliott Clarke, songs by local musician Aquakulture (whose new album, 1783, comes out on Feb. 6), a youth performance by Studio 26 Dance Company, and a choreographed dance by kay macdonald.
“It felt very much like a community celebration,” says Pamela Edmonds, director and curator of the Dalhousie Art Gallery.
Photographs included from Alan Crooks’s Lose Yourself to Dance, for example, highlight a 50th anniversary family celebration and vow renewal at the East Preston Recreation Centre.
“People recognized community members in them — their friends, grandparents, attendees,” said Edmonds.
Edmonds had been following Dr. Boye’s work for years and knew the project would be a great fit for the Dalhousie Art Gallery.
“I hope that [people who visit the exhibition] feel that they’re discovering. I hope people come away learning about dancers they might not have known about and recognize the importance of dance in everyday life,” she said.
And the importance of archiving, too.
“We want people to come to the show and see the actual objects — the stage makeup, tap shoes, newspaper clippings, performance programs — but there is also of materials at the project’s online archive at dancingblackcanada.ca”
Edmonds adds that there’s a section for future research and invites community members with memories and stories to submit them to the project.
“It really is a conversation, right?”
Visit the exhibition during gallery hours (Jan. 23-Apr. 12) and join for events and programs including an artist panel on Feb. 10. Admittance is free at the Dalhousie Art Gallery.
The exhibition will also be highlighted as part of Dalhousie’s flagship African Heritage Month celebration taking place on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
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