The Department of Family Medicine is proud to present their first ever Black History Month Storytellers’ Symposium on Thursday, February 23 from 8-10 a.m. Bringing together Hamilton and McMaster storytellers, this event will be an opportunity to showcase the beauty and resiliency of Black stories, art, and talent. With a curated line-up of local artists from poets to dancers to musicians, we hope to amplify the power of storytelling, while celebrating and honouring Black existence and resistance through the arts.
We are so excited to share that we will be having a free Caribbean-inspired breakfast available for all attendees, starting at 7:50am. We are proud to announce Aunt Jean Creams as our official caterer, bringing to us her specialty hot cornmeal porridge, homemade bread rolls with ham and cheese, homemade cinnamon buns with authentic island cinnamon syrup and gluten-free corn bread.
We welcome you to register for this free, hybrid event. The in-person event will be hosted in the 2nd floor auditorium of the David Braley Health Sciences Centre (DBHSC) and is open to all community members. There is a maximum capacity for in-person attendees, so please register as soon as possible. For those that choose to attend remotely, the event will be live-streamed, and you will receive virtual meeting details on the week of the event.
A Cause to Support: Nia Centre for the Arts
This year we have chosen the Nia Centre for the Arts: First Black Arts Centre in Toronto as our cause to support. The Nia Centre is a Toronto-based not-for-profit organization that supports, showcases, and promotes an appreciation of arts from across the African Diaspora. While supporting creative capacities and the development of a healthy identity in Black Youth, the Nia Centre creates countless opportunities for community building through artistic and cultural experiences. We are proud to share that the McMaster Museum of Art partnered with the Nia Centre to pilot a Curator-in-Residence program to support an emerging Black curator as they work across community and institutional settings with the aim of producing a public exhibition. The Nia Centre has been raising funds for their re-development, and their grand opening is scheduled for early this year as they take the honour of being Canada’s first professional, multi-disciplinary centre for Afro-diasporic art.
In honour of celebrating Black Canadian history, we will be inviting $10 (bill) donations as we share the story of Viola Desmond – an iconic Black civil and women’s rights activist, a businesswoman and the first Canadian woman on a Canadian bill. We will also be having a Toonie Drive as another option for those that wish to donate. All donations collected will be donated to the Nia Centre for the Arts.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our EDI & Anti-Racism Partner – Nirosha Balakumar at balakn1@mcmaster.ca.
