McMaster’s Terry Fox Club is hosting their first run since the start of the pandemic on Sept. 21 at McMaster Track Field
McMaster University has been hosting a Terry Fox run since the tradition began in 1984. In 2020 and 2021, the event had to be conducted virtually due to COVID-19, but this year, on Sep. 21 at 10:30 a.m., the Terry Fox Club is bringing the tradition back to campus.
The Terry Fox Club at McMaster raises money for the Terry Fox Foundation, who donates the funds for cancer research. The club also hosts several fundraisers throughout the year, though their most notable is still the annual Terry Fox Run.
Despite limitations during the peak of the pandemic, the Terry Fox Club continued to host events over the past two years year. The club hosted one event last year where they sold T-shirts and bracelets and raised $700. With their in person events this year, they hope they can surpass that record.
The Terry Fox Run will take place on the McMaster Track Field and will begin with speeches, followed by the self-paced run. Towards the end of the event, there will also be closing speeches.
Kristine Braun, vice president of the Terry Fox Club, along with the rest of the team are very excited to be bringing the run back to McMaster for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“I'd say a lot of people are coming to campus right now for the first time. And I think one thing that they can bring from high school is Terry Fox, in a sense, because he's always around, like through our childhood, through high school. And this is one way that we can get out there and then also support a good cause like cancer research,” said Braun.
"I think one thing that they can bring from high school is Terry Fox, in a sense, because he's always around, like through our childhood, through high school."
Kristine Braun, vice president, Terry Fox Club
The Terry Fox Club hopes that students participating in their event also have the opportunite to meet other students
Braun explained the club will also be hosting a fundraising competition for students living on residence. Each residence is encouraged to raise between $500-$1000 and the residence that can raise the most will receive a prize.
“That's a way that the residences can also connect during September since they're all meeting each other for the first time. It all adds a little bit of fun to the whole event,” said Braun.
For more information visit the Terry Fox Club via their Instagram @TerryFoxMcMaster.
Residence orientation representatives and Maroons share the work that went into making Welcome Week a success
Behind Welcome Week 2023 are students who volunteer their time to help empower and welcome first-year students as they start this next chapter of their lives.
Laurie He, a fourth-year sensory motors system student, is a residence orientation representative for Bates Residence and Moulton Hall this year. RORs are assigned specific residences and help students settle into their new homes during Welcome Week.
“We help get the first years settled in like to their new home…I know at times they're experiencing homesickness or just everything is very new, in a completely new environment for the first years. Our job is kind of to make them feel as welcome as they do in their homes,” explained He.
Daisy Thang, a third-year communications student and a Multimedia Assistant at the Silhouette, was a McMaster Students Union Maroon this year. The Maroons aim to connect with students at Welcome Week and throughout the year.
Thang shared that this year's Welcome Week training was more immersive than in past years and helped her feel prepared for events of the week.
"They switched up the format, so it was actually more situational. They had us in smaller groups, it was a lot more dynamic. We were able to kind of have more one-on-one, or small group sessions where we were able to be more collaborative and kind of act out the scenarios. I feel like that prepared us way better for the situations that we'd be put in during Welcome Week,” said Thang.
Both He and Thang said they loved meeting the incoming students. He shared that her favorite event was Capture the Watermelon, hosted by Boulton and McKidden residence representatives. They used the event as a way for students to meet in an enjoyable way and start off the week on the right foot.
“I think that was like a great way to like just have the first years get friendly with each other… I think it was a great time for everyone. I think 100 people participated in it because it was 50 versus 50 people and then a lot of their friends came in they supported them. I think it was like a great introductory event to welcome week,” said He.
Thang explained how well-run this year's Welcome Week was, especially compared to her own Welcome Week in 2021.
“2021 was the first full-scale welcome we've had since COVID-19. So I think there were definitely kinks that need to be worked out. I feel like this year, we were able to kind of like ride off that high from last year's Welcome Week and people were a lot more in tune. I think it was very well organized, credit to the planners and I feel like this was a very healing experience,” said Thang.
“2021 was the first full-scale welcome we've had since COVID-19. So I think there were definitely kinks that need to be worked out. I feel like this year, we were able to kind of like ride off that high from last year's Welcome Week and people were a lot more in tune. I think it was very well organized, credit to the planners and I feel like this was a very healing experience."
Daisy Thang, Maroon, McMaster Students Union
Both He and Thang shared that they hope first years were able to put themselves out there during Welcome Week, whatever that looks like for them.
Thang expressed that even if the social aspect of Welcome Week didn’t resonate with you, there are endless activities and groups on campus throughout the year that may better fit your comfort level and personal goals.
“The big takeaway would be. . .it's okay if you stay in your dorm. Its okay if like these huge crowds were daunting and you didn't want to put yourself out there and make yourself uncomfortable. There are limits to that and your feelings are still valid throughout,” said Thang.
“The big takeaway would be. . .It's okay if you stay in your dorm. Its okay if like these huge crowds were daunting and you didn't want to put yourself out there and make yourself uncomfortable. There are limits to that and your feelings are still valid throughout."
Daisy Thang, Maroon, McMaster Students Union
To see more coverage of Welcome Week 2023 visit the Silhouette on TikTok.
New university task force works on clearer protocols around use of AI tools in the classroom, provides provisional guidelines ahead of the fall semester
The recent rise in generative artificial intelligence use has pushed universities to address the lack definitive and researched protocols for its use in the classroom.
On May 1, 2023, the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching launched their Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning Task Force. The task force’s goal is to better understand the impact of generative AI through an educational lens and develop recommendations for policies around its use for at McMaster University.
"Task Force members representing all six Faculties included faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, staff and senior administrators. The efforts of this diverse group of experts are summarized in a Final Report. . .The Final Report will also include recommendations for continued work across all areas of the University, which may include research, teaching and learning and staff work,” said Kim Dej and Matheus Grasselli, co-chairs of the task force, in a written statement.
On Sept. 10, they will submit their recommendations to Susan Tighe, provost and vice president (academic), after which they will undergo further review before being released.
Until this is completed the provisional guidelines have been released by the university to help guide the use of generative AI in the meantime.
As McMaster prepares to release its specific policies and guide for generative AI, everyone is encouraged to use the provisional guidelines and resources provided on the Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning website.
Transparency is at the core of these guidelines. Instructors are permitted to integrate generative AI tools, such as Chat GPT, into their courses, if they so choose, but they must communicate clearly with their students the extent to which these tools will be and are permitted to be used.
When it comes to student work and assessments, while instructors are again permitted to integrate generative AI tools into these tasks, unless told otherwise, students should operate with the assumption that the use of these tools is not permitted.
If members of the McMaster educational community have any comments or concerns about the Provisional Guideline provided and future guidelines they are encouraged to share through the task forces form.
HARRC executive director discusses new resource for reporting hate crimes, a joint intiative with HCCI
Hate crimes have unfortunately been a longstanding in issue in Hamilton. To offer another form of support for the community the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre and Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion have worked together to develop hate crime reporting tool WeSupportHamilton.
HARRC supports Hamilton community members who have experienced racism and works to educate community on race-based issues while HCCI works to create an inclusive community through community engagement and workshops.
The WeSupportHamilton website was launched on May 8 and offers community members a platform to report hate crimes and access additional support resources. Some of these resources include legal aid, counselling and health services.
“WeSupportHamilton is a website that is designed to allow individuals in our community to report their experiences in the way that they would like it in the way that they would like. So it allows them to be able to say "how I want to be supported, I want my story to move forward",” said Lyndon George, executive director of HARRC.
WeSupportHamilton is a website that is designed to allow individuals in our community to report their experiences in the way that they would like it in the way that they would like. So it allows them to be able to say "how I want to be supported, I want my story to move forward."
Lyndon George, executive director, Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre
The website's concept was supported by years of research and community-based conversation. Ameil Joseph, an associate professor of social work at McMaster University, and Kojo Damptey, a sessional Instructor at McMaster, were especially important throughout the entire process.
In 2019, Joseph and Damptey supervised Shubham Maini and Nawshaba Ahmed who wrote a report that explored the basis for online hate reporting. From there, with help from the aforementioned McMaster members, George shared that focus groups were utilized to help shape what was important to support the Hamilton community.
“We had some students conduct research focus groups on what the support could potentially look like, what people would like to see come out of that and looking into why this is needed within the community and really pulling in important information,” said Koubra Haggar, programs manager at HCCI.
As WeSupportHamilton is used for reporting hate incidents that people in Hamilton endure, they are planning to try to synthesize the information to serve as data, which could be used to develop educational material to understand better hate crimes that occur in the city.
Haggar also shared that by putting the community of Hamilton at the forefront of this project, they hope that it will allow those who may have distrust in sharing their experiences with police to have another avenue by which they are able to feel that their experience is recognized and respected.
“The majority of people...at least that I've interacted with, don't report incidences of hate to the police at all. . . just not thinking that it's worth it, or not feeling safe doing that or not knowing or thinking that it would be productive in the long term,” said Haggar.
Given that the website was released a few months ago, George explained the main goal now is to share the resource. They hope that the Hamilton community, including McMaster students, will slowly become more aware of the resource so that they can use it if they see fit.
Moving forward, they hope to further expand the scope of the website. George explained that ultimately this is a resource for community by community; the website will always be adjusted to best fit the needs expressed by the community, including students.
“WeSupport can be one of multiple steps. . .a student can take [when] looking for that type of support. We would always be happy to kind of help out when needed and they don't need to feel like their [information] is going to be going anywhere…Just knowing that they do have support in Hamilton, and then we can connect them to resources that are in the community,” said Haggar.
WeSupport can be one of multiple steps. . .a student can take [when] looking for that type of support. We would always be happy to kind of help out when needed and they don't need to feel like their [information] is going to be going anywhere…Just knowing that they do have support in Hamilton, and then we can connect them to resources that are in the community.
Koubra Haggar, programs manager, Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion
Haggar and George encouraged McMaster University students to utilize the resource if they find that it can be of help to them.
Overall, both HAARC and HCCI hope this resource empowers members of the Hamilton community to share their experiences and seek the support they need.
The Student Wellness Centre hosted four events throughout June, providing opportunities for 2SLGBTQIA+ students to connect with each other
At McMaster University, different student services and clubs have been celebrating Pride in a number of different ways. The EngiQueers took students to march in the Toronto Pride parade. The Faculty of Health Sciences hosted a talk with nurse and equity advocate Ellie Reyes about providing thoughtful, respectful care for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
This year, the Student Wellness Centre also hosted four events to celebrate and recognize all 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
They kicked off the series with their “Embracing Gender Diversity” in-person drop-in group. They also hosted a “Food for Thought: 2SLGBTQIA+ Friendly Student Cooking Session” where they made veg stroganoff. The SWC’s “Queer Movie Night” took place on June 15 with the movie being “Saving Face”. They finished off the month with a Pride social which included guided painting, snacks and games. This last event was exclusively for 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
Taylor Mertens and Zeinab Khawaja, health promoters at the SWC, worked diligently to bring students these events. They both expressed that the hope with this programming was to have a space exclusively for members of the queer community to meet and expand their own network of classmates.
“It’s an opportunity to connect, do something creative and just meet other students with similar identities. Which can be really hard for a lot of students. There’s a lot of loneliness and not knowing where to meet other 2SLGBTQIA+ students,” said Khawaja.
It’s an opportunity to connect, do something creative and just meet other students with similar identities. Which can be really hard for a lot of students. There’s a lot of loneliness and not knowing where to meet other 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
Zeinab Khawaja, health promoter, Student Wellness Centre
The earlier inclusion of events open to 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, questioning folks and straight allies and then later events exclusively for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community was purposeful.
By creating events that are open for questioning students, they hoped students would also have a space where they could comfortably explore their identity and then feel more confident to attend 2SLGBTQIA+ community exclusive events in the future.
Mertens and Khawaja explained that this progression was also meant to be supportive for individuals who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ but may not feel comfortable entering an exclusive space yet.
“Entering a closed space can be a little difficult for people and feelings of not being gay enough, not being queer enough, “not being “x” enough” essentially. The idea is that we’re kind of building up for that. So hopefully, we will have people attend multiple events and feel a little bit more secure and supported to be able then to go to the Pride Social and stuff like that,” said Mertens.
Both Mertens and Khawaja shared that in recent years they have noticed the large influx of McMaster students that find themselves in Hamilton over the summer. Knowing this, they hope to have pride events and other programs like these to support students in the summer months.
“This year there’s a lot of international students who are around during the summer and then [graduate] students [have] to be around in the summer as well as undergrad students who are taking summer courses or just wanting to live independently. We’re trying to be more intentional about having summer programming [for] all students,” said Khawaja.
This year there’s a lot of international students who are around during the summer and then [graduate] students [have] to be around in the summer as well as undergrad students who are taking summer courses or just wanting to live independently. We’re trying to be more intentional about having summer programming [for] all students.
Zeinab Khawaja, health promoter, Student Wellness Centre
Although Pride month has come to an end, the focus on celebrating and supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals doesn't. Khawaja and Mertens shared their goals for the upcoming years with the Silhouete.
Khawaja explained their focus on the intersectionality of identity. By integrating intersectional language into the currently offered programs, she hopes that people who are often overlooked will feel included in programs hosted by the SWC.
Mertens hopes to share knowledge about active living spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ members. He has found that these spaces are often dominated by cisgender heter onormative communities, sometimes deterring 2SLGBTQIA+ members from partaking. They have more programs in the works for the school year, including drag shows and potlucks.
How stopping to explore the culture of Hamilton helped Volume 93 A&C Reporter make up for lost experiences as the world kept turning
Time is argumentatively linear. By that, I mean it continues to move forward even if you don’t realize it. Even when you try to keep yourself awake a little longer to make the day last longer, 12:00 a.m. will always mark the beginning of a new day.
The reality that time doesn’t stop at one's will is something people spend their entire lives accepting. It isn’t that the mass population believes they can stop time, but rather a sad feeling knowing there will always be time that can’t be returned.
The reality that time doesn’t stop at one's will is something people spend their entire lives accepting. It isn’t that the mass population believes they can stop time, but rather a sad feeling knowing there will always be time that can’t be returned.
These kinds of thoughts never plagued my mind growing up. As per the average child, I was just happy to exist. I found easy happiness in holding my mom's hand as she walked me to the big yellow school bus that would always stop over the same bump and made all the kids yell.
However, in recent years, I have fallen victim to the hope that time will pause with me. I know it is truly unrealistic to hope for such a thing, but alas I am one of the billions of people who cycled through a pandemic and now I'm one of the many third-year students at McMaster University who sometimes forgets which direction on Main Street West will take her to downtown Hamilton.
Though the glaring lack of knowledge about their university town isn’t uncommon among university students, the degree to which it affects people is different. When I brought up my own fears to my friends about how little I have explored within Hamilton, they admitted they didn’t necessarily have the same worry.
To them, it was a given that they didn’t explore Hamilton as much as the average student. Though it is more than fair, it was hard for me to accept how little I knew about a city I lived in.
My worries of not knowing much about Hamilton became more prominent through my position as a reporter for the Silhouette. For almost the past eight months, I have been learning about how robust Hamilton is. Every week I have had the privilege to talk about the arts, thriving businesses and new events prospering in Hamilton.
It wasn’t as if an external person was keeping me from the plethora of culture in Hamilton, but rather the glaring eye of time. As a third-year undergraduate student, so much of the year was spent trying figure out my next steps and classes, I felt as though I would lose time if I enjoyed myself.
It wasn’t as if an external person was keeping me from the plethora of culture in Hamilton, but rather the glaring eye of time. As a third-year undergraduate student, so much of the year was spent trying figure out my next steps and classes, I felt as though I would lose time if I enjoyed myself.
The first time anxious knot in my stomach had begun to unravel was for a piece I wrote earlier this year. I had thought the interview was meant to be done through Zoom, for an upcoming exhibition. Instead, it ended up being an interview that was meant to be in-person, at the exhibit. What had been a miscommunication between the interviewee and me, ended up becoming a secret blessing.
With limited opportunities to leave the confines of McMaster this year, visiting the exhibit in-person for the interview offered me a unique chance to experience art in real-time. As I walked around the exhibit, with the artist who had spent years creating the work, I found myself truly connecting. When I was able to put aside my initial hesitancy regarding the underlying fear of losing time, I was enjoying myself. The simple mistake made me realize how fulfilling it is to explore; how even if I may lose time in one aspect, I am enriching myself in another.
As I walked around the exhibit, with the artist who had spent years creating the work, I found myself truly connecting. When I was able to put aside my initial hesitancy regarding the underlying fear of losing time, I was enjoying myself. The simple mistake made me realize how fulfilling it is to explore; how even if I may lose time in one aspect, I am enriching myself in another.
The chance to view my own life beyond the confines of my own fears would not have been possible if not for my time on the Silhouette. The undeniable reality is that time will continue, no matter what we do.
As someone who up until recently was consumed in the fear of never fully using my time correctly, I urge you to take a chance. Visit the art exhibit showing up on your feed, go to the concert even if it seems far away, stop by the street fair that pauses the traffic and let yourself be present. Let yourself take back control of the time you fear you’ll never get back.
The 2023 class of studio arts takes on intersectionality and decolonization through their graduating exhibit at the McMaster Museum of Art
From Apr. 6 to 28, SUMMA 2023: Where We Intersect will showcase the work of this year's bachelor of fine arts graduating class.
Where We Intersect: Identities, Environments, Activisms has a focus on the stories of the artists. They each created works that fall into one or more of these three realms. The media of the exhibit is made up of a large variety, including drawings, paintings, photographs, installations, printmaking sculptures, projections and sound based works. The aim of the exhibit is to exemplify the newer generation’s resilience in the face of a global pandemic, violence, environmental devastation and existential angst.
“It's a very turbulent time that we're in and I think that this work conveys a kind of a sober, but also a hopeful kind of collective inquiry into how do we cultivate resilience in these turbulent times,” said Mosa McNeilly curator of SUMMA 2023.
“It's a very turbulent time that we're in and I think that this work conveys a kind of a sober, but also a hopeful kind of collective inquiry into how do we cultivate resilience in these turbulent times,”
Mosa McNeilly, curator of SUMMA 2023
McNeilly first met with the students in January to begin preparations for the exhibit. The first meeting was dedicated time for studio arts students to consult with McNeilly on their progress on their pieces and to plan an overarching theme for the exhibit. The students came up with the title, Where we Intersect, and after consulting with them she decided on the subtitle, Identities, Environments, Activisms.
The title is a very important aspect of the exhibit. For SUMMA 2023, it was important to the artists to explore intersection and intersectionality. The students of this exhibit were aware of this concept and as they discussed their positionality within current society, the conversation sparked the finality of the theme of the exhibit.
“There's an intersectional ethic in how [the students are] seeking to understand their relationships with each other and in their analyses of how they position themselves in terms of race, place, ability, spirituality, sexual orientation, gender and ethnicity,” said McNeilly.
The students in this exhibit truly impressed McNeilly over the time she has spent working with them. She believes they took the many forms of media to accentuate their own thoughts. Moreover, she was impressed at how they all had a focus on decolonization within their work.
They each had ideas for how they wanted their work to be presented and to step away from traditional practices. It gave her hope that the future generation of artists will embrace intersectionality in their work and question their position relative to it.
“What I find compelling about this group of emerging artists is [that there is] impetus towards decolonizing . . . [The students] were not interested in conventional, formal museum aesthetics, some of them, they wanted to push against those standards of presentation,” said McNeilly.
“What I find compelling about this group of emerging artists is [that there is] impetus towards decolonizing . . . [The students] were not interested in conventional, formal museum aesthetics, some of them, they wanted to push against those standards of presentation,”
Mosa McNeilly, curator of SUMMA 2023
Grant shares how her art has carried her to become an artist in resident at Hamilton Art Council and the Cotton Factory.
Dawn Grant has made her name in the art industry throughout the years as an artist who practices art through variety of ways, including hair, makeup, special effects and wearable arts.
Grant’s love for art was instilled early as the daughter of an artist. She began her work as a painter when she moved to Toronto for school over a decade ago. Despite having an interest in painting, she admitted she and her parents wanted a sense of security when looking for employment.
“I studied to do makeup complexions and that was it. I just decided that I needed to take my skill from painting on canvases to painting on faces — more for income,” said Grant.
She has taken part in many projects, including helping design the visual aspects that go behind the creation of a character or create props for enhancing a scene. She loves the work she does through these projects and acknowledges they play a large part in fueling her other passions.
For instance, working as a makeup artist for a project with Revlon led to her beginnings in wearable art.
“I was working with Revlon and I was doing makeup for hair artists. One of the hair artists there, she had a sister who made fascinators— little tiny fascinators with the little feathers on it and that's what I started doing,” said Grant.
“I was working with Revlon and I was doing makeup for hair artists. One of the hair artists there, she had a sister who made fascinators— little tiny fascinators with the little feathers on it and that's what I started doing,”
Dawn Grant, Artist
However, Grant eventually began to stray away from using animal products in her wearable art and found interest in upcycling found objects for her wearable art projects. Grant believes her image as an artist of wearable works has stood out largely due to this shift in the sourcing of items for her work.
“I'd say I climbed to this wearable art side that I'm recognized now because I stopped working with feathers. It made me want to explore different organic stuff,” said Grant.
Currently, she has just been selected as the Artist in Resident for the Hamilton Art Council and The Cotton Factory. This involves creating wearable pieces for exhibition in their spaces. For the first time in her lengthy art career, she will get to create art wearables without the pressure of consumption. In terms of consumption, she finds that sometimes her art is catered towards a specific audience, occasionally sidelining her her own voice in the process.
Additionally she will host therapeutic art sit-ins, which encourage people to explore their own emotions through art. This is something she is very passionate about as she has been facilitating herself as well. She is appreciative of the opportunity and excited to explore in the position.
“I'm grateful — that's all I can say. I'm grateful . . . It's been a long time since I've been able to create openly — they want me to create artistically and go as far as my mind can go and that's amazing,” said Grant.
“I'm grateful — that's all I can say. I'm grateful . . . It's been a long time since I've been able to create openly — they want me to create artistically and go as far as my mind can go and that's amazing,”
Dawn Grant, Artist
Grant shared advice for those who are pursuing art as a career. She believes it’s important to have a form of art for oneself and to separate it from the art that is used to make money.
“I would say my biggest advice is to have two streams . . . Make your money but have your creative side,” said Grant.
For example, Grant doesn’t sell her paintings even when people have offered to purchase them. She doesn’t like the anxiety and pressure associated with painting something others would like, so she keeps painting as her personal hobby.
Ultimately, Grant continues to create work that is respected in the industry and gallery-based art fields. She has adapted to her profession and continues to take opportunities to learn more. She inspires those around her by working hard and focusing on her goals. As an artist in residence, she is using the title is to create art and to work with the community of Hamilton.
Pitch Magazine redesigns spaces for Black artists to explore the full breadth of their creativity
Expression is important to all of us. We use different forms of expressions to allow others to understand ourselves better. Pitch Magazine is challenging the limits of expression. The magazine takes works from Black artists, Black poets and writers and Black photographers to curate a print magazine.
“Pitch Magazine . . . looks to provide a platform for Black creative expression . . . What we like to do is showcase the breadth of Black creativity,” said Angelo Grant, the founder and editor-in-chief of Pitch Magazine.
The idea for this magazine came from Grant’s very own experiences as a former student at McMaster University and as a creative who wanted to share his work. When he was in his first year, studying Health Sciences, he often submitted his work to spaces in hopes to share his creative voice.
However, he found that many of his submission rejections were prefaced by the fact his work didn’t fit the vision intended for the magazine. Moreover, Grant noticed the lack of representation for Black creatives on campus.
“When I was in first year, there were a few publications on campus that were maybe doing things in the realm of arts. And I think I just felt like our voices weren't being represented — the Black Student Body voice wasn't being represented in the publications,” said Grant.
Grant does not set any themes or restrictions on the types of submissions for the magazine to highlight the diversity of Black creativity.
By not centralizing each issue of the magazine to a specific theme, Grant felt the submissions he received were more expressive of the person creating the work. Each submission was vastly different; he didn’t find any overlap in the submissions. As someone who had felt limited by these kinds of restriction of specific theme from spaces on campus, he felt good to be able to change that.
“It's really trying to accommodate people and how they express themselves. I think that's the biggest thing for me — I don't want to be limiting of people,” said Grant.
Moreover, Grant stated Black creatives are given more freedom to branch out outside of creating works solely based on their Blackness by not setting specific expectations for magazine submissions. Submission guidelines and set restrictions can often make Black creatives feel as though their voices will only be heard if they center it only on their race and related experiences.
“I really don't want people to think is that they have to have to revolve their submission around their Blackness . . . I think we want to encapsulate the full breadth of Black creative expression that doesn't just involve themes that are directly tied to Blackness that involves everything that we experience on a day-to-day basis,” said Grant.
“I really don't want people to think is that they have to have to revolve their submission around their Blackness . . . I think we want to encapsulate the full breadth of Black creative expression that doesn't just involve themes that are directly tied to Blackness that involves everything that we experience on a day-to-day basis,”
Angelo Grant, founder and editor-in-chief of Pitch Magazine
Grant gave credit for how far the magazine has been able to come to his team behind Pitch. He is grateful to have a supportive team. Koko Sanginga, Malaika Manda, Alexandria Amadasun, Adeola Egbeyemi, Pamela Edmonds and Stylo Starr are some of the many people that have ensured that PITCH Magazine continues to grow smoothly.
“I think a big thing for me when it comes to creating something like this is realizing the importance of collaboration and having people that can support you along the way,” said Grant.
Pitch Magazine currently is working on its fourth issue. As the Pitch team continues to expand the magazine, they hope people appreciate the work and get a glimpse into the vast creativity of Black artists.
The People United and Bread and Butter tell the stories of workers.
This past February, the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre opened two new exhibits in their space. The People United and Bread and Butter each tackle different but meaningful conversations.
The WAHC emphasizes its connection to the labor history of Canada by exploring how people work within the world. They do this by hosting exhibitions, workshops and programs for a range of ages and a multitude of other components. Tara Bursey, executive director of WAHC, plays a large role in many of these events.
“We are interested in the ways people work in the world, both for pay and no pay, and preserve and protect the history of labor and social movements through our programming,” said Bursey, in a statement for The Silhouette.
The People United was curated last year by Tamara Toledo, who is the curator/director of Sur Gallery. The exhibit aimed to showcase the power that people have through the work of several groups and artists. These artists are the Beehive Collective, Colectivo LASTESIS, Carlos Colín, Cristian Ordóñez and Syrus Marcus Ware.
Now, the exhibit is mounted at WAHC where they highlight the work as well. People can come to view the exhibit on Saturdays from 12 P.M. to 4 P.M. and Wednesdays to Fridays from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.
“Themes in the exhibition include Afrofuturism, protest movements in Chile, resistance to extractivist projects in Latin America, and the material culture of social movements like stamps, banners and posters,” said Bursey, in a statement for The Silhouette.
Simultaneously, the Bread and Butter exhibit is composed of works from the WAHC’s permanent collection. It explores how a variety of working people receive and view food. This includes how food is delivered to populations, the fight for ensuring everyone is able to have food, and even how food is made. The exhibit was curated with the acknowledgment of issues present pertaining to food such as food insecurity.
To highlight issues such as food insecurity, WAHC has collaborated with Strathcona Market and Community Fridges Hamont. For the past two months they have had a shopping cart placed in the gallery. The aim was to allow people to not only learn about the complexity of food through the exhibit but to actively participate in making a positive difference.
“[The shopping cart] made our second floor Community Gallery the site of not just a collection of objects, but a space of community care where visitors could be agents of positive change in our neighbourhood and beyond,” said Bursey, in a statement for The Silhouette.
[The shopping cart] made our second floor Community Gallery the site of not just a collection of objects, but a space of community care where visitors could be agents of positive change in our neighbourhood and beyond."
Tara Bursey, executive director of WAHC
Ultimately The People United and Bread and Butter touch on the stories of working people by giving a platform to artists whose work reflects the power of human action. The WAHC believes these exhibits mark the start of what will be a great year of programs.
