RECONNECTED // Artist Mark Stoddart features Scarborough Legends and Community Stories through Nuit Blanche Exhibit
 |
| @MarkStoddart68 |
Familiarity feels good, particularly when it is coupled with
success and social movement. When the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championships
this past summer, thousands of Torontonians eagerly left their homes to parade
and revel downtown and show their pride and appreciation for the hometown
basketball team. When tennis professional Bianca Andreescu recently defeated
superstar Serena Williams at the U.S. Open, Canadians from coast to coast expressed
their joy, despite rallying behind Serena’s career for decades. From sports to
music, film, politics, or science, whenever one of our own excels on a public
stage, we all hold our heads a little higher. It’s only natural.
There is something pure and relatable about working hard and
then eventually seeing the results. We are inspired when we see efforts
rewarded, because it reminds us of our own abilities and that every goal and
dream once started as a mere thought, idea, or humble hope. We enjoy watching
the fruits of hard work, because we ourselves are working hard for something.
In some way.
Whether the accolades are received on a Canadian level, on a
Toronto level, or on a municipal level, it is wonderful to see communities form
in celebration and common passion. We’ve witnessed it time and time again in
sadness and in joy: a variety of cultures, ages, and backgrounds unifying based
on a common experience of community. In the eastern Toronto community of
Scarborough, this month, there is plenty to celebrate and it includes the
history of some of the town’s most influential residents and citizens of nearby
towns. It also involves one of the city’s favourite shared annual events.
Nuit Blanche—Toronto’s all-night free art exhibition—takes
place this year from sunset (7:00 p.m.) on Saturday, October 5 through to
sunrise (7:00 a.m.) on Sunday, October 6 in a range of indoor and outdoor
locations around the city. This year, Scarborough will be activating more
installations than anywhere else in the city.
Artist Mark Stoddart, a Scarborough native, has joined
creative forces with Ashley McKenzie-Barnes and her Queens and Kings of Scarborough exhibit curated for Nuit Blanche this year.
“This theatrical playground will challenge systems of social
marginalization, self-identity negotiation, and racial stereotyping within a
modern framework. From film and installation to interactive sculpture and
street art, Queens and Kings of Scarborough will honour this community as a
hotbed of culture,” said a Nuit Blanche release.
As a part of the Nuit Blanche display that will expand
across Scarborough Town Centre and nearby locations within walking distance,
Stoddart’s contribution—ReConnected—will be a featured element of the Queens and Kings of Scarborough installation.
“[ReConnected] is a chance for young inspiring artists and
athletes to realize that they have individuals who were raised within their
communities who have excelled despite various obstacles that may have been in
their way,” said Stoddart. “It’s a chance for a community to re-establish a
bond of communication and emotional connection. A time to truly reflect on the
success and accomplishments of our own, while thinking of the next wave of
rising stars to make a difference within our communities.”
ReConnected will highlight 19 individuals from Scarborough
and its surrounding districts, who have contributed to hometown pride in a
variety of ways. Their images will be coupled with an assortment of published
articles and archival photos from the Scarborough Mirror newspaper, 5” x 20”
pieces accompanied by a 15-minute video story.
The celebrated Scarborough figures include:
Queens of Scarborough:
• Mahlikah
Awe:ri, Afro-Native Canadian drum talk rapologist
• Shary
Boyle, contemporary visual artist
• Bernice
Carnegie, Educational and life enrichment speaker and the director of the
Herbert H. Carnegie Future Aces Program
• Mitzie
Hunter, Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Yusra
Khogali, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Toronto, community activist, artist,
and educator
• Carrianne
Leung, author and educator
• Natasha
Ramsahai, meteorologist and journalist
• Diana C.
Reyes (Fly Lady Di), multidisciplinary artist and performer
• Lilly
Singh, comedian, television host, and actress
• Shameless
Maya Washington, artist and creative producer
Kings of Scarborough:
• Jim
Creeggan, bassist for the Barenaked Ladies
• Dwayne
DeRosario, professional soccer player
• Jamaal
Magloire, professional basketball player and Toronto Raptors assistant coach
• Louis
March, community and youth development facilitator
• Sam
Moncada, founder of the Scarborough Basketball Association
• Dwayne
Morgan, spoken word artist and motivational speaker
• Kardinal
Offishall, rapper, record producer, DJ, and music executive
• Jagmeet
Singh, lawyer and NDP leader
• Wes
“Maestro” Williams, rapper, producer, and actor
The names are being honoured in Scarborough for Nuit Blanche
because of their unique connections to the town. They are individuals that
lived on the same streets, attended the same schools, played at the same parks,
and developed in the same neighbourhoods as the current residents of the
eastern Toronto borough. Residents know their relatives, have seen them on the
TTC, or encountered them over the years at events and local businesses. They
represent the community well, because they are of the community. They are
Scarborough.
 |
| Photo by Nathaniel Anderson |
As a visual storyteller, Stoddart has dedicated his career
to communicating truth to power. His passion for music, sports, and activism
have been important tools towards his mission of educating, empowering, and
uniting audiences. Born in 1968, the powerful history of the year’s
significance has framed his outlook, designs, and social contributions. He has
taken a childhood love of collecting t-shirts and expanded it into a clothing
and apparel line. He has partnered with historical Black figures like Dr. John Carlos who in 1968, as an Olympic sprinter, silently protested with a raised
first on the Mexico City podium during the medal ceremony. Stoddart has deliberately
built collections featuring jazz icons and other cultural leaders—his work is
rooted in social integrity and powered by the intent of his ancestors.
“Mark is looking towards the future with a passion for an
artistic medium that motivates and expands the imagination. As a visual
communicator, he feels compelled to do more than just convey information—it has
become his personal mission to create art that inspires people to act.”
Stoddart’s latest project ReConnected, in the spirit of his previous
artistic presentations, will continue to inspire, to teach, and to provide
insights and ideas to his audience. A focal point of the Scarborough
experience, by highlighting these individuals Stoddart is reminding NuitBlanche patrons of the creative forces and unique souls that Scarborough and
its surrounding Toronto communities has produced. His pride is visible and will
be transferable to all who take part in this weekend’s Queens and Kings of Scarborough exhibit. It is his hope that through the familiar faces and
stories, another generation of leaders will be nurtured on the same Scarborough
streets that Stoddart himself used to navigate, internalizing the positive and
progressive inspirations of his environment.
Written by Stacey Marie Robinson for Kya Publishing's "Urban Toronto Tales" blog.
Comments
Post a Comment