Theaster Gates, Billy Sings Amazing Grace
In collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada
Theaster Gates is a visual artist, archivist, curator and musician whose practice explores Black identity and history through material investigations into labour, spirituality, vacancy and spatiality. The film Billy Sings Amazing Grace (2013) chronicles a rehearsal of the artist’s musical ensemble, The Black Monks, with soul singer Billy Forston. The ensemble is grounded in the Black musical traditions of the American South, such as blues and gospel, as well as ascetic and Eastern monastic practices. Enacting a conversation traversing cities, classes and generations, the ensemble plays their improvised rendition of the hymn Amazing Grace as a tribute to Forston.
Down Home: Portraits of Resilience
Down Home: Portraits of Resilience features intimate portraits and personal narratives by nine artists. This exhibition celebrates the enduring strength of African Nova Scotian and Black Canadian communities. Down Home is the culmination of a one-year Curatorial Mentorship Program led by Dalhousie Art Gallery Director and Curator Pamela Edmonds, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Oluseye: by Faith and Grit
In Oluseye: by Faith and Grit, curated by Pamela Edmonds, Nigerian-Canadian artist Oluseye reflects on Black Nova Scotian culture and the African diasporic experience. His installations transform salvaged materials into evocative forms that interweave historical and cultural narratives of endurance and belonging.
