In this episode of the Black Studies Podcast, Kenneth Montague and Liz Ikiriko continue their conversation about curating, collecting, and making art in a Black Canadian context. They reflect on the importance of community, the transformative power of art, and the influence of Black cultural workers. They also discuss their collaboration on the book 'As We Rise' and the accompanying vinyl record, which celebrate the diversity and hybridity of Black Canadian identity. The conversation highlights the importance of collaboration, the joy of discovering new music, and the power of art to tell personal stories and create connections.

Dr. Kenneth Montagu is a Toronto-based dentist, art collector, and the founding director of Wedge Curatorial Projects, a nonprofit arts organization. Since 1997, Montagu has promoted emerging and established artists via exhibitions, lectures, and workshops. His focus is African Canadian and diasporic art, which he also showcases in his privately owned Wedge collection. Montague's art activities include serving on the African Art Acquisition Committee at Tate Modern in London, UK, and the Photography Curatorial Committee at the Art Gallery of Ontario. He is currently an AGO trustee and an advisor to their Department of Arts of Global Africa and the diaspora.

Liz Ikiriko is a Toronto-based Nigerian Canadian artist and curator with over 15 years of experience working with national institutions and artist-run organizations and was a member of the curatorial committee of the 13th edition of VAMACO Encounters, the African Biennial of Photography in Mali. She is currently curator at Gallery TPW and, along with Toleen Touq founded Waveform Projects, a collaboration that studies intimate and relational curatorial practice. She held positions as inaugural curator of collections and art and public space at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto and curator of collections and contemporary art engagement at the Art Gallery of York University. She has published critical texts in Aperture, Public Journal, Sea Magazine, and Black Flash, among others.

Chapters

01:13 Reflecting on last week's episode and Stuart Hall's work

13:06 The Importance of Investigating and Celebrating Black Canadian Identity

19:25 Curating and Collecting as Celebrations of Black Canadian Identity

21:51 The Collaborative Process of Creating 'As We Rise'

44:40 The Power of Music to Inspire and Connect

Guests: Kenneth Montague and Liz Ikiriko

Hosts: Daniel McNeil and Toleen Touq

Executive Producer: Daniel McNeil

Producer: Toleen Touq

Associate Producer: Anna Jane McIntyre

Audio Engineer: Chancelor Maracle

Music: Marc Mac presents Visioneers, Ike's Mood I

Artwork: Anna Jane McIntyre

To find out more, please visit @blackstudiespodcast on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Black Studies Podcast, Kenneth Montague and Liz Ikiriko discuss curating, collecting, and making art in a Black Canadian context.

Dr. Kenneth Montagu is a Toronto-based dentist, art collector, and the founding director of Wedge Curatorial Projects, a nonprofit arts organization. Since 1997, Montagu has promoted emerging and established artists via exhibitions, lectures, and workshops. His focus is African Canadian and diasporic art, which he also showcases in his privately owned Wedge collection. Montague's art activities include serving on the African Art Acquisition Committee at Tate Modern in London, UK, and the Photography Curatorial Committee at the Art Gallery of Ontario. He is currently an AGO trustee and an advisor to their Department of Arts of Global Africa and the diaspora.

Liz Ikiriko is a Toronto-based Nigerian Canadian artist and curator with over 15 years of experience working with national institutions and artist-run organizations and was a member of the curatorial committee of the 13th edition of VAMACO Encounters, the African Biennial of Photography in Mali. She is currently curator at Gallery TPW and, along with Toleen Touq founded Waveform Projects, a collaboration that studies intimate and relational curatorial practice. She held positions as inaugural curator of collections and art and public space at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto and curator of collections and contemporary art engagement at the Art Gallery of York University. She has published critical texts in Aperture, Public Journal, Sea Magazine, and Black Flash, among others.

Chapters

03:01 Kenneth Montague: From Dentist to Art Collector

04:39 Liz Ikiriko: A Nigerian Canadian Artist and Curator

07:33 The Impact of Representation in the Art World

10:53 Photography as a World of Possibility

19:31 The Continuous Support and Collaboration between Collectors and Curators

29:36 Exploring the Diversity of Black Canadian Identity

33:00 The Importance of Physical Space and Personal Expression

43:08 Cultural Connections and Family Heritage

53:12 Art as a Tool for Building Relationships and Supporting Artists

56:35 Towards a More Inclusive Understanding of Black Canadian Identity

Guests: Kenneth Montague and Liz Ikiriko

Hosts: Daniel McNeil and Toleen Touq

Executive Producer: Daniel McNeil

Producer: Toleen Touq

Associate Producer: Anna Jane McIntyre

Audio Engineer: Chancelor Maracle

Music: Marc Mac presents Visioneers, Ike's Mood I

Artwork: Anna Jane McIntyre

To find out more, please visit @blackstudiespodcast on Instagram

Next Time: A Global Sense of Blackness with Kenneth Montague and Liz Ikiriko

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In this episode, Nantali Indongo and Del Cowie discuss journalism, hip hop, Black Canadian artistry, grassroots community hubs, and much more. They reflect on their encounters with each other's work and their experiences in the music industry. They also explore the themes of freedom and liberation in music and the challenges and opportunities of documenting black culture in Canada.

Chapters

02:53 Encountering Each Other's Work

08:13 The Impact of Nomadic Massive

13:01 Nantali's Journey to Performance

18:19 Del's Musical Background

21:29 Convergence of Skills and Passions

23:52 Artists Who Move Rights and Liberties Forward

27:49 Music as Education for Blackness and Liberation

33:30 Challenges and Opportunities in Documenting Black Culture

43:01 Expressing Black Experiences and Black Love in Music

44:28 The Need for a Distinct Canadian Rap Form

52:51 Preserving and Documenting Black History and Culture

01:13:00 Hope for the Growing Recognition of Black Canadian Artistry

Guests: Nantali Indongo and Del Cowie

Hosts: Daniel McNeil and Anna Jane McIntyre

Executive Producer: Daniel McNeil

Producer: Toleen Touq

Associate Producer: Anna Jane McIntyre

Audio Engineer: Chancelor Maracle

Music: Marc Mac presents Visioneers, Ike's Mood I

Artwork: Anna Jane McIntyre

To find out more, please visit @blackstudiespodcast on Instagram

Next Time: “Not Just Salt and Pepper but Many Different Spices” with Kenneth Montague and Liz Ikiriko

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In this episode, Gus Casely Hayford and Julie Crooks discuss their transformative work with art institutions, the importance of rediscovering underrepresented artists, finding joy in serving the community, and much more!

Chapters

01:21 Julie Crooks' Background and Work at the Art Gallery of Ontario

03:27 Gus Casely Hayford's Background and Work at V&A East

11:00 Fostering Resilience

21:41 The Impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement

32:29 The Power of Younger Generations

33:00 Individual Contributions

35:54 Rediscovering Underrepresented Artists

37:52 Civic Duty and Public Service

38:49 Reflections on Historical Moments and Generational Shifts

42:44 The Power of Culture in Society

49:37 The 20th Century: Unfulfilled Promises

53:15 Musical Inspirations: Beyoncé and Steel Pulse

Guests: Gus Casely-Hayford & Julie Crooks

Hosts: Daniel McNeil and Anna Jane McIntyre

Executive Producer: Daniel McNeil

Producer: Toleen Touq

Associate Producer: Anna Jane McIntyre

Audio Engineer: Chancelor Maracle

Music: Marc Mac presents Visioneers, Ike's Mood I

Artwork: Anna Jane McIntyre

To find out more, please visit @blackstudiespodcast on Instagram

Next Time: Nantali Indongo and Del Cowie on Black Canadian Artistry

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In this episode, Daniel McNeil and Toleen Touq host a conversation with Sherene Seikaly and Ebony Coletu about the joint struggle of Black and Palestinian liberation movements. They discuss the significance of archiving as a practice of love and resilience, the revolutionary power of curiosity, and the importance of political friendship and collective action. The conversation highlights the need for humility and resilience in approaching archives and asking difficult questions. It also explores the transformational power of archives, the shifting nature of archives when they change location, and the role of friendship in political solidarity. The guests discuss the liberation that comes from shredding archives as a form of resistance against control and how archives can be destroyed or repurposed. They also reflect on the importance of joint struggle rather than mere solidarity and the need to challenge and critique each other in political friendships. The conversation ends with a discussion on grief, the immobility of the current moment, and the practice of sustaining oneself and others in the fight for justice.

Chapters

01:27 Archiving as a Practice of Love and Resilience

03:45 The Revolutionary Power of Curiosity

07:04 Political Friendship and Collective Action

13:00 Navigating Complex Historical and Political Contexts

45:42 Shredding Archives: Liberation from Control

47:09 The Shifting Nature of Archives

54:26 Solidarity as Joint Struggle

59:38 Challenging Dominant Narratives

01:13:23 The Power of Creative Works and Music

*The conversation was recorded on Zoom over 3 time zones. We experienced some challenges with the sound quality (especially from 25-28 minutes).

Guests: Sherene Seikaly and Ebony Coletu

Hosts: Daniel McNeil and Toleen Touq

Executive Producer: Daniel McNeil

Producer: Toleen Touq

Associate Producer: Anna Jane McIntyre

Audio Engineer: Chancelor Maracle

Music: Marc Mac presents Visioneers, Ike's Mood I

Artwork: Anna Jane McIntyre

To find out more, please visit @blackstudiespodcast on Instagram

Next Time: Curatorial Dreams with Gus Casely-Hayford and Julie Crooks

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In the season finale of the Black Studies podcast, Gavin "Gavsborg" Blair and Isis Semaj-Hall join us to talk about dub aesthetics and the rhythms, sounds, and music that help them to find new forms of belonging with time, space, and each other.

Gavin “Gavsborg” Blair is co-founder of Equiknoxx Music, a Kingston-based production and performance collective, with Bobby Blackbird. With roots in Reggae, Hip Hop, Jazz, Dancehall & Ska, the group operates across multiple genres while staying Jamaican to the core. Equiknoxx has released music for Aidonia, Busy Signal, Beenie Man, Ky-Mani Marley, Krayzie Bone, Masicka, J.O.E, Shanique Marie among others. While collaborating with Illum Sphere, Swing Ting, Mark Ernestus, Poirier, Arcade Fire and The Dirty Projectors among others, Equiknoxx continues to be revered for sharing new Jamaican expressions with the world and “making dancehall weird again” (Pitchfork magazine).

Dr. Isis Semaj-Hall is the Riddim Writer. She is a literary scholar, decolonial feminist, and cultural analyst with a creative practice that is nurtured by sound. As the Riddim Writer, she creates sound art and hosts the podcast “For Posterity” where she interviews Caribbean writers, musicians, visual artists, and inspiring citizens. As a Caribbean storytelling advocate, she has dubbed poetry and published non-fiction and fiction works. She is also co-founder and editor of the online literary magazine PREE: Caribbean Writing. With a commitment to opening-up access, her cultural analysis and critical scholarship have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, in non-academic outlets, and can be heard on the 2022 Carnegie Hall produced Afrofuturism podcast. She is currently completing her monograph “On the B-Side: Storytelling Meets Caribbean Futurism in Infinite Dub,” a critical exploration of word-sound-power, deep listening, environmental wisdom, and Caribbean identities. Dr. Semaj-Hall is the Caribbean literature and popular culture specialist in the Department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica.

Episode Transcript

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This week we are thrilled to be joined by Zélie Asava and Tambay A. Obenson to discuss cinemas of the Black diaspora. This conversation explores historically informed and forward-looking approaches to African film; the complexities of global Black communities; writing against the grain of histories and business models that revolve around Hollywood and American cinema; and much, much more!

Dr Zélie Asava is a specialist in questions of race, gender, screen studies, and visual culture. She is the author of The Black Irish Onscreen and Mixed Race Cinemas, and co-edited a Special Issue of the Journal of Scandinavian Cinema on black and ethnic minority representation. She sits on the Boards of Screen Ireland, the Irish Film Institute, the journal French Screen Studies, Catalyst International Film Festival and the arts magazine Unapologetic, and is a member of the European Commission’s ‘Capital of Culture’ panel of experts.

With over 15 years of experience, Tambay A. Obenson has emerged as a trusted voice in African and diaspora cinema. He founded Shadow and Act in 2009, building what would become the leading online platform for Black film coverage with a global perspective, and spent four years at IndieWire as a Staff Writer. Currently, Tambay is building Akoroko, a new platform focused on mainstreaming coverage of and access to films telling African stories globally.

Episode Transcript

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This is the second part of a wonderfully rich, stimulating, and wide-ranging conversation between Grégory Pierrot and Anthony C. Alessandrini about the politics and poetics of translation, the life and legacy of Frantz Fanon, Black study, decolonial praxis, and much, much more! Some of the books and films discussed in the second part of this fantastic conversation include:

• Joshua Myer’s On Black Study
• Jafar Panahi's No Bears
• Isaac Julien’s Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask
• Ousmane Sembène’s Xala
• Juliano Mer Khamis and Danniel Danniel’s Arna’s Children

Episode transcript

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