Mar 11, 2023
- Wangechi Mutu, “Water Woman” (2017) & “Mamaray” (2020)
seen from Sweden
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Japan
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Germany
seen from Costa Rica
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Russia
seen from India
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Russia
- Wangechi Mutu, “Water Woman” (2017) & “Mamaray” (2020)
Trey Reed, September 15, 2025
Demian DinéYazhi’ (Diné), “My ancestors will not let me forget this” (2020)
Installation view of Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar at the Chicago Cultural Center
The exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center opens with the installation “Homegoing.” The work is a suspended image depicting a screenshot from Ma’Khia Bryant’s personal TikTok. In the photo she’s laying her edges, her jet-black hair shining, her baby face clean and free of makeup. Below the printed photo is a collection of candles, stuffed animals, and a bouquet. On April 20, 2021, Ma’Khia was killed by an Ohio police officer in what was later determined a justifiable homicide. She was 16 years old.
In the gallery titled Rest and Recess: The Courtyard, the exhibition transports the viewer to the Caribbean where Black girls play together unburdened and hopeful. A tree, sculpted by Robert Narciso and made from branches from Rekia Boyd’s family home, sits in the center of the room casting a protective shadow over everything. From its branches hang yellow paper hearts scribed with the hopes and dreams of little Black girls. The sound of their joyful cacophony activates the space.
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Coreen Simpson, "Self-portrait" (New York, 1970s)
"Whiteout: How Canada Cancels Blackness", George Elliott Clarke
CBC video: Stolen Children | Residential School Survivors Speak Out
Since their first arrival in the “new world” of North America, a number of religious entities began the project of converting Indigenous Peoples to Christianity. This undertaking grew in structure and purpose, especially between 1831 and 1969, when the governing officials of early Canada joined with Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, United, and Presbyterian churches to create and operate the residential school system. The last federally-run residential school, Gordon Indian residential School in Saskatchewan, closed in 1996. One common objective defined this period: the aggressive assimilation of Aboriginal peoples.
[ legacy of hope ]