The Chorus
By Jessica Kirk, a part of In Transit
In preparation for this project, I sat with my grandmother to learn more about her experiences as a domestic worker and a nurse in Port of Spain (Trinidad), Montreal, New York and Toronto. She disclosed all of the ways her and other Afro-Caribbean women were mistreated, undervalued and overlooked by non-Black colleagues, employers, and governments alike. This, of course, connects to much deeper issues regarding Blackness in Canada. With documented histories of forcing displacement, restricting entry, and encouraging movement by way of labour exploitation, we know how Black folks’ relations to these lands are in many ways conditional; constantly adapting to suit political desires.
the chorus is a nod to the array of elders who keep us grounded - an invitation for each of us to consider what is lost when we make invisibilizing assumptions about who takes up care work, and how.
Full essay available at Dentonia Park from May 6-31.
The Chorus Installation
May 6th to May 31st
Dentonia Park
How can we live? An artist talk and community dialogue with Jessica Kirk, moderated by Jade Nixon
Saturday May 21st, 12-2PM
Dentonia Park
Register here
JESSICA KIRK
Jessica Kirk (she/her) is a cultural worker, artist and organizer based in Toronto. She holds an MA in Social Justice Education from University of Toronto, and her thesis was on the tensions of and possibilities for critical creative practice across Black geographies. Jess is co-founder of Way Past Kennedy Road, a grassroots multidisciplinary art collective supporting artists living at the margins. She is also Executive Director of Wildseed Centre for Art & Activism and Black Lives Matter Canada, both of which serve as fertile ground for resourcing Black liberation efforts in the city and across Turtle Island.