Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) shows African Canadian Art

Written by Gordon Stemper Monday, 26 July 2010 21:43

TORONTO.- The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) joins in the excitement of the Scotiabank Caribana Festival and presents From the Soul: Caribana Art Exhibit, July 23 to August 13, 2010, Canada’s largest ever single juried display of works of art by African Canadian artists. Curated by renowned African Canadian artist and activist, Joan Butterfield, the exhibition is produced by the Association of African Canadian Artists, in conjunction with Scotiabank Caribana and the ROM. From the Soul will be on display in the Museum’s Bronfman Hall, Level 2 during the citywide festival, which takes place from July 15 to August 13, 2010.

“The Scotiabank Caribana Festival is a significant annual event advancing cultural celebration in the City of Toronto. The ROM is proud to present From the Soul and offer festival attendees, Torontonians and visitors to the city the opportunity to experience a unique and powerful exhibition celebrating African Canadian art,” said William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO.

More than 160 works on canvas, several Caribana parade costumes, three dimensional bronze sculptures and award-winning ceramic pieces by 49 artists will be on display. Ms. Butterfield said, “This collection of works will arouse the conscious, still the mind and soothe the soul. Our goal is to attract a new and expanded audience to this exhibition with the hope of inspiring others with the message of courage, love and respect prevalent throughout the displays. Art is an expression of life around us and a powerful way to bring difficult topics of discussion out in the open.”

The ROM is near completion of a major capital project (Renaissance ROM) that will see the building of 27 new galleries, the liberation of many stranded collections, the addition of valuable public amenities, and the creation of dramatic new architecture in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, designed by Daniel Libeskind. This is among the largest capital projects in the history of Canadian cultural institutions, and brings the assets of the museum fully to the public again even as the ROM prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2014.

The Royal Ontario Museum is among the world’s leading museums of natural history, and of world cultures. Indeed, in combining a universal museum of cultures with that of natural history, the ROM offers an unusual breadth of experience to visitors and scholars from around the world. We realize more acutely now that nature and humanity are intertwined, and the ROM offers many examples in its collections and programs of these fundamental relationships. Visit : http://www.rom.on.ca/

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