William Bell and Grandma, from the Bell-Sloman Collection of the James Gibson Library, Brock University
A Walker Cultural Leader Series and Canada 150 Exhibition and Public Lecture:
MEMORIES KNOWN AND UNKNOWN
Visual Arts faculty have selected photographs and ephemera from the Bell-Sloman Collection of the James Gibson Library, part of a remarkable collection donated to Brock University by Rick Bell in 2010. The collection features more than 300 photos and various papers spanning more than a century that document the Bell and Sloman families, who descended from former slaves in the American south. The exhibition at the Visual Arts gallery will showcase some of the material presented at the Walker Cultural Leader series lecture on January 31, when we are pleased to welcome Dr. Julie Crooks from the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her research situates the Bell-Sloman Collection as a “fugitive archive,’ built with defiance and resistance, in order to preserve, salvage and recover the histories of African Canadian communities whose stories and material artefacts are often left untold or subject to erasure.
Exhibition: Monday, January 9, 2018 to Friday, February 9, 2018
Regular visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday 1 to 5 pm.
To check viewing times of the exhibition please see the webpage.
Location of Exhibition: Visa Gallery and Exhibition Space, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University
Note: The date of the exhibition reception is Wednesday, January 31 at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The lecture follows at 7:00 p.m. A free community event. Please see below for more details.
THE BELL-SLOMAN COLLECTION AT BROCK UNIVERSITY: A FUGITIVE ARCHIVE
Dr. Julie Crooks of the Art Gallery of Ontario
Dr. Julie Crooks is our second Walker Cultural Leader in Visual Arts for 2017-18. Her public lecture will draw on current research that examines the ways in which black communities, by the mid to late 19th century, in settlements throughout Southern Ontario, used photography as a critical and powerful tool for self-representation. Crooks’ research situates the Bell-Sloman Collection as a “fugitive archive,” built with defiance and resistance, in order to preserve, salvage and recover the histories of black communities whose stories and material artefacts are often left untold or subject to erasure. The exhibition at the VISA Gallery and Exhibition Space (above) will showcase some of the material presented in the lecture.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Preceded by a reception for the exhibition at the VISA Gallery and Exhibition Space.
Location: Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, Brock University (second floor, above the VISA Gallery)
This is a free community event, but tickets are required and are available at wcl-bell-sloman-crooks.eventbrite.com