NEWS RELEASE
TOWN OF NEWMARKET
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On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Town of Newmarket was very pleased to welcome the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, to Newmarket’s Old Town Hall to share the Heart of Africa: Retracing our History exhibit that pays tribute to Black History Month. The exhibit is a partnership with the Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association.
“There is no Ontario, as we know it today, without the incredible contributions, voices, and achievements of Black Canadians,” says Lt.-Gov. Dowdeswell. “It was a delight to visit the exhibition Heart of Africa: Retracing Our History and to join the Town of Newmarket in celebrating the work of the Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association, alongside the inspiring young women of Trust 15. The history of the diaspora here in Ontario is older than the province, and its legacy is carried on today in the young women and men who are building on the accomplishments of those before them.”
Her Honour shared this experience with a group of young women from Trust 15, a community support organization that provides youth with programs that promote and facilitate positive behaviour, creative expression and cooperative working skills. The participants also enjoyed a performance from local performing arts group Chosen Hands.
“We were very excited and honoured to have the opportunity to share this thought-provoking exhibit with Her Honour, and a group of bright young women from Trust 15” says Newmarket Mayor John Taylor. “We are grateful for our partnership with NACCA. Black History Month is the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to the important and lasting contributions that Canadians of African and Caribbean heritage have made in Newmarket and throughout our country.”
The Heart of Africa: Retracing our History is a multi-media exhibition that runs until Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 in the Serpa and Community Galleries of Old Town Hall (460 Botsford St.) The artists address themes of pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history, identity, culture, intersectionality and activism from the perspectives of contemporary African Canadians. The array of narratives are boldly expressed in portraits and other forms. The works reflect an Afro futurist esthetic, while incorporating elements of symbolism and ancestry through photography, sculpture and dance.
Please visit Newmarket.ca/blackhistory for more information on the exhibit and other events in Newmarket honouring Black History Month.
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