From the director …
As we open our second round of exhibitions as The Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery of York University, we find ourselves energized by the momentum generated through our public opening celebration with over 500 guests in attendance and through the presentation of our inaugural exhibitions. Elements from these first exhibitions will become part of the fabric of our new building. The largest grandfather stone exhibited in Lori Blondeau’s Plains Horizon, selected by her from the gallery site before we broke ground for the building, has been re-sited on our exterior grounds as a remainder of what was here before us and how we began, holding histories while also guiding us as we move forward. To poetically and materially remind us that they were here and will always be here, is a small portion of Jeneen Frei Njootli’s Fighting for the title not to be pending, which will rest in the crevices of the building. Comprised of small glass beads the weight of the artist’s body, the artwork was heaped in a corner of one of our galleries as well as placed near entrances and in the cracks of our nearly perfect floors. Even as we sincerely try to return all the colourful beads, we, the artist, and Forge Projects–whose art collection we borrowed this work from–know we will be unable; and as part of presenting the work we must weigh what we collected, knowing how much remains with us.
We held our first event in our new multi-purpose room, the Pavilion, with a star-laden set of local R&B and hip hop musicians. Working with Jane Street Speaks, we invited major talents from our neighbourhood including Nathan Baya, Kibra, and Sydanie who brought their skills and generosity, opening the mic to others in the room. From all reports it was a celebration of the community’s growing history and the gallery’s long commitment to local youth, heartfeltly acknowledged by Kibra in a song dedicated to Allyson Adley, our Education and Outreach Co-ordinator. And it was foretelling of things to come as we continue our partnership with Jane Streets Speaks in hosting two showcases on February and March 13, intending to raise the roof with a brilliant line up of performers from Jane Finch including Cocanina and S!sha along with spoken word poetry by Faduma Mohamed, and an open mic. For the March showcase, Wheel It Studio’s Mobile Recording Studio co-presents Rezmade, Txnic, and Maymuna Mohamed. We also presented our first artist talk in our new building and our first collaboration with York University’s Sculpture Lecture Series hosting Jenine Marsh who gave a detailed look at the materials and subjects in her practice such as coins, flowers and fountains, all of which were featured in her work Fountain for the Thirteenth Hour, commissioned as part of Manual Assembly: Fragments of a Whole, one of our inaugural exhibitions.
Our winter exhibitions are curated by Felicia Mings who presents two solo exhibitions: An Ocean to Livity by Charles Campbell and Unfolding Worlds by Maryam Taghavi. Campbell’s exhibition fills two of our gallery spaces creating environments that express the Black body in ethereal and material manifestation as well as experience. Campbell’s Black Breath Archive has expanded to include community members from Toronto through intergenerational gatherings where new members were guided to connect with their ancestors. Also presented is Campbell’s impressive sculpture Maroonscape 3: Finding Accompong, referencing the ancient Kindah mango tree in Accompong, which in both the gallery and in actuality is a place to gather. Taghavi’s exhibition is a sculptural installation, with the artist guiding you through a world of shifting perceptions. Using language and the tradition of calligraphy, Taghavi’s installation is a play of colour, light, and scale, creating a continuously unfolding sense of space and building an environment that is in motion with the audience’s movement.

To augment the concepts in these exhibitions, Mings has designed a dense program of parallel talks and events, including an artist talk with Campbell and Taghavi; a dance performance with Andros Zins-Browne; and poetry readings with Joshua “Scribe” Watkis, David Delisca, and DJ Grumps. Other highlights from our Winter programs are two public conversations: the first Kai Recollet in dialogue with Shannon Garden-Smith, whose work is currently on view in our vitrines, moderated by Clara Halpern. The other, the last in our winter program, is a conversation between Toronto-based artist Sandra Brewster and Ohene Koama, curator at the National Gallery of Art in Guyana, on the legacy of the work of Denis Williams in relation to contemporary art in Guyana and its diaspora.
Before I sign off, I would like to acknowledge the work of Mark Bennett who has created our new visual identity, informed by the architecture of our building design. With graphic simplicity, Bennett uses the distinct shapes of our galleries, integrating them into a cohesive visual language that has infinite possibilities. The treatment of the wordmark for “The Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery of York University” uses “The Goldfarb Gallery” as the first distinguishing marker and linguistic desire path. The simplicity of this wordmark is important for its accessibility, but its subtle personality registers, adding a playful and visual interest without overwhelming the viewer. As Bennett says, “changing identities is a process” that will continue as we use our new space, listen to those we work with, and continue to shape its evolving narrative.
Jenifer Papararo
Director/Curator
Thanks to those that brought these exhibitions to fruition:
Gallery Staff: Allyson Adley (education and community engagement coordinator), Shiann Croft (YCW communications assistant), Clara Halpern (assistant curator, exhibitions), Michael Maranda (assistant curator, publishing), Jorja Maretzki (work/study student), Siah McTavish (work/study student), Felicia Mings (curator), Lillian O’Brien Davis (curator of collections and contemporary art engagement), Ehiko Odeh (gallery attendant), Jenifer Papararo (director/curator), Maria Won (gallery administration assistant)
Collections move art handlers (Summer 2024): Uroš Jelić (lead), Micah Adams, Michael Beynon, Kurt Brown, Sam Hill (registrars assistant), Matthew Koudys, Nadine Maher, Siah McTavish (YCW registrars assistant), Dax Morrison (Wieland quilt move lead), Jordan St Augustine (YCW registrars assistant), Manny Trinh, Matthew Wells, Mel Wright
Installation team for exhibitions: Uroš Jelić (lead), Phu Bui, Corinne Carlson, Jonah Kamphorst, Matthew Koudys, Jordan May, Manny Trinh, and Morgan Ziegler
Graphic design and visual identity: Mark Bennett