• Peel's transition

News Release: February 5, 2019

Celebrate Black History with Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives in Brampton

Brampton, ON (Feb 5, 2019): From art exhibitions to special guests, PAMA invites you to discover Black History throughout February and beyond. Audiences of all ages are welcome to engage in their own cultural heritage and celebrate diversity through these upcoming events:

New Exhibition
North is Freedom: The Legacy of the Underground Railroad
A Photographic Journey by Yuri Dojc
February 16 – June 30, 2019

This photographic essay from Canadian photographer Yuri Dojc celebrates the Canadian descendants of freedom-seekers who escaped slavery in the United States in the years before the American Civil War. Their stories are both personal and historical. These Canadians are attuned to their histories a

nd proud of their ancestors' courage.

"This project shows we are all one family...I am as much black as I am white. I am of African slaves as I am of Irish immigrants. I am multiracial, and we are all cousins."
- Carl Stevenson, fifth generation descendant of John H. Meads of Baltimore

This exhibition is sponsored by TD Canada Trust and created in partnership with the Owen Sound Emancipation Festival.

Mississauga Connection added specifically for the PAMA show!

Arlene Duncan is a multidisciplinary performer whose family has been in Canada for at least 3 generations. Her great-great grandfather Benedict Duncan fled Maryland on his own and farmed in what is now Mississauga for some years before moving his family to Oakville where he was the sexton of St. John’s United Church.

Samuel Adams was an escapee and blacksmith who built the Turner Chapel in Oakville, Ontario. He eventually garnered wealth after inventing a machine that lifted flat construction stones from the lakebed.

“I’m proud of the spirit of courage, pride and self-determination that led my ancestors to venture out into the unknown and carve out what would become a new life for them selves and their future descendants. It’s wonderful to see the descendants of these courageous freedom seekers - and how like a pebble in the water we’ve all sprung from that one decision: to no longer remain enslaved.”
– Arlene Duncan of Oakville, Ontario

Descendant of Benedict Duncan and Samuel Adams
Maryland

Programming Highlights for All Ages
Guest lecture with Award-Winning Author Karolyn Smardz Frost
Saturday, February 16 | 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Underground to Canada: Stealing Away to the Promised Land

This talk is included in the cost of PAMA admission. Registration is Required

Family Sunday FUNday
Sunday, February 17

• Storytelling with Sandra Whiting | 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
• Family Art & Stories | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
  Read Viola Desmond Won't be Budged! by Jody Nyasha Warner and create your own identity collage

These events are included in the cost of PAMA admission

Annual Family Day Event (free admission)
Monday, February 18 | 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

• Meet local artist Mosa McNeilly who will lead in the creation of a community art project based on Underground
• Railroad quilt codes.
• Enjoy a family storytelling performance with Diana Brathwaite and Chris Whiteley: Sugar & Gold, Story ofUnderground Railroad in Canada. Performances at 10:30 a.m. and repeated at 2 p.m.

Winter Exhibitions Reception (free admission)
Sunday, February 24 | 1:30 - 4 p.m.
Join us for a wonderful afternoon with featured speakers, a special performance by the Heritage Singers Canada and light refreshments.

Connections Art and Book Club in partnership with Brampton Library
featuring The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Thursday, March 7 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.

This is a free group. Registration is required by calling 905-793-4636.

PAMA is a place to explore and learn about Peel Region’s culture and heritage, as well as use conversation, questions and stories to help make new and fascinating connections to the surrounding community. Throughout the year, PAMA offers a variety of workshops and programs for all ages, families and adults. With so many different programs to choose from, PAMA has something for everyone. Operated by the Region of Peel, PAMA is located at 9 Wellington Street, East in Brampton. Visit pama.peelregion.ca to learn more.

Media Contacts

Lisa Cox
Communications Specialist
Region of Peel
905-791-7800, ext. 4615

Erin Fernandes
Marketing Co-ordinator
Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives
905-791-4055, ext. 7596