Caring with intention
How can museums most powerfully engage with the stories of historically marginalized people? On December 18, a discussion called Ways of Caring searches for insight at the AGO.
Unknown photographer, [Looking at Polaroids], around 1970s. Colour instant print (Polaroid SX-70), 10.8 x 8.8 cm. Purchase, with funds donated by Martha LA McCain, 2018. © Art Gallery of Ontario 2018/1113
The AGO is thinking more critically about what we collect, the narratives attached to these works and how best to present them. In an effort to delve deeper into this and other pivotal conversations shaping the art world, we’re hosting a roundtable discussion called Ways of Caring which will be led by award-winning Toronto photographer and physician Zun Lee on December 18.
In anticipation of the 2021 AGO exhibition of photographs from Lee’s Fade Resistance collection – an extraordinary group of Polaroids documenting African American family life from the 1970s to early 2000s – Ways of Caring will examine what it means to hold a collection like this at a museum like the AGO. The roundtable conversation will utilize the collective ideas and experiences of Lee and guest speakers including artist Deanna Bowen, Professor Kimberly Juanita Brown, artist and writer Michele Pearson Clarke, Professor Stefano Harney, Professor Fred Moten, and writer and professor Dr. Christina Sharpe.
In a recent interview about the event, Lee explained, “I regard this event as akin to an intimate gathering of friends. Beyond the intellectual stimulation, I hope we can share personal perspectives and that the roundtable talk itself will turn out to be an act of care which will inspire the audience to think through “ways of caring” in relation to their own lives and representation.”
Ways of Caring takes place on Wednesday, December 18 in Baillie Court and will be the first of three events in a multi-year initiative to activate the Fade Resistance collection and draw out insights and possible meanings, for AGO audiences and in particular Toronto’s Black communities.
Tickets to this free event are available now.
Admission to the AGO Collection and all special exhibitions is always free for AGO Members, AGO Annual Pass holders and visitors 25 and under.