Position as Desired: Kenneth Montague’s Instagram takeover
Check out the first major Canadian exhibition to examine the history, movement and experiences of Black Canadians through contemporary photography
Yannick Anton bring us into the world of Toronto’s largest LGBTQ party, Yes Yes Y’all—a much-loved monthly gathering. Shot by a photographer who is also a longtime participant, Anton’s ongoing series of Yes Yes Y’all photographs provide a candid and energetic look at this queer-positive scene. Music is orchestrated from the dj booth and celebrated on the dance floor; this is a safe space to show love and be loved.
From the collector: Anton’s unique ability to connect with his subjects is a story in itself. His presence at the Yes Yes Y’all event is as celebrated as the DJs.
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Periodically, photographers take over the Maclean’s Instagram account. Here’s the story behind Position As Desired: Exploring African Canadian Identity, a collection curated by Kenneth Montague.
My parents emigrated from Jamaica to Canada in the 1950s, arriving well before the great explosion of Caribbean and African immigrants of the subsequent “Pierre Trudeau” years. Born and raised in Windsor, in a neighbourhood where we were the only Black family, I felt like an island: the only external signifiers of my black identity came in the form of the visual culture that I mostly experienced on tv and at the movies—and across the border, at cultural institutions such as the Detroit Institute of Arts. There, as a ten-year-old, I first encountered Harlem Renaissance artist James VanDerZee’s bold and sophisticated images of his vibrant New York City neighbourhood, and later, African American masters like Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava. As a high school student, while working as a volunteer tour guide at the North American Black Historical Museum (now the Amherstburg Freedom Museum) I learned that we, too, have a rich cultural heritage—one that I certainly wasn’t being taught in my Canadian History class.
Years later, I began exploring contemporary art that spoke to me about my own experience. Issues around race, gender, memory, migration, community, and even personal style became important themes in my growing Wedge Collection. From the start, I recognized the importance of creating a space for emerging African Canadian artists—hence the name, and the mission: a deliberate attempt to “wedge” these artists into the mainstream of contemporary art.
Position As Desired: Exploring African Canadian Identity | Photographs from the Wedge Collection is the first major exhibition to examine the history, movement and experiences of Black Canadians through contemporary photography. This touring show was co-organized with the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) where it first opened in 2010, before travelling to the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (Halifax) in 2013. It is a collection of photographs, video works and memorabilia from my personal archive—ranging from rare vintage portraits of the first African immigrants to Canada, to contemporary works by established artists. At the Art Gallery of Windsor, there is an expanded section of emerging artists and a specially commissioned video work by the In the Black Canada collective based on a series of interviews with members of Windsor’s black community.
There are many other stories to be told, and my hope is that this small, largely regional, and highly subjective selection of works from the Wedge Collection will promote further discussion concerning how each of us feels about our place in the Canadian landscape.
—Kenneth Montague, Curator