“As someone who only recently took identifying as a Black man seriously, I have struggled to look internally for the parts of me that are so socially visible and yet personally unfamiliar. Searching through music, movement and memory for the shadows that hide my Blackness in plain sight.” Thandiwe McCarthy
Joanne Bealy on some of the many strong local documentaries in the lineup at the Atlantic International Film Festival this year. “What these films show us is that the people of Nova Scotia are visionaries, the provincial and municipal politicians … not so much.”
A poem by Angela “Angee” Bowden, to remember that this month 400 years ago slaves first arrived in North America.
When the past is my present
And my scars still remain
And our lives still don’t matter
I am living in that pain
PSA: This dynamic dramatic musical production written and directed by Anne Johnson-McDonald, is about both the historical and present power of the people of Preston, beginning with the wisdom of an African elder proclaiming and foretelling the power and faith of the people to overcome adversity to reach the greatness of their preordained destiny.
“I wrote this piece for the brown and black children who have to walk everyday in this world under a microscope that wasn’t created to get a better view, to understand, or to be seen, but to be defeated.”
A poem and an essay by Guyleigh Johnson.
PSA: In 1989, MSVU Art Gallery, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, and the Africville Genealogical Society collaborated on the exhibition Africville: A Spirit That Lives On. We’re looking for artistic projects to present alongside a new display of the archives and elements of the original exhibition.
“But a Black poet among whites can only dare hope to be a gangsta rapper. Suddenly my every rhyme was measured and directed by the only other source of Black knowledge they had: entertainment media.” Thandiwe McCarty writes on being Black and the barriers to finding your own voice.
A poem by Chad Norman about the men of the N.C.A, and others as well, dressed in whiteness, the little fellas with big hatreds. Donald, Jared, Andrew, Jason, Doug, and even Stephen…
It’s exhausting
The way we live
Taking home microaggressions
That we never ask for
From Tired bodies, a poem by Martha Mutale, a poet from Zambia who now lives in Nova Scotia
Lots of people got angry when the provincial government announced it set aside $80 million in support of a new building for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Healthcare is in crisis, they say, and spending money on something as unnecessary and luxurious as art at this time is a very bad idea. To further explore why art matters from a societal point of view, and indeed functions as a major economic engine all on its own, I met with writer and St. Mary’s University Art Gallery director Robin Metcalfe, who has thought deeply about these matters.