ABOUT THE COLLECTION
In 2020, the AGO established the Department of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora. The goal of this new department is to address historic gaps and erasures related to the representation of Africa and its diasporas through programming, acquisitions, and exhibitions. The creation of this department expands and formalizes work that has been underway at the AGO for several years. For example, in 2019 the museum was able—with major support from Toronto’s Black communities—to acquire The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs, a singular collection of more than 3,500 historical images from a range of Caribbean islands. Through its “Friends of Global Africa and the Diaspora” committee, the department is committed to expanding its holdings of modern and contemporary art by African and diasporic artists, with recent acquisitions by Moridja Kitenge Banza, Sandra Brewster, Andrea Chung, Leasho Johnson, Bidemi Oloyede, Emmanuel Osahor, and Marc Padeu.
Also under the purview of the department is the Murray Frum Gallery of African Art, dedicated to showing works by modern and contemporary African and African diasporic artists. Refurbishment of the Gallery has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.
