MakeRoom Partnered with Union Station to curate a 4 month exhibit in Toronto’s busiest transit hub. Sponsored by TD.

6 Artists Shown |  300,000 Daily Traffic | 14 Million Media Impressions

The exhibit theme of “Black Joy is Resistance” came to life during many honest conversations between Union, artist Gloria Swain and MakeRoom Inc. MakeRoom Inc. was looking to create space for joy during Black History Month. In discussing how joy can relate to resistance, Gloria Swain explained “Black Joy is Resistance” when she spoke about the racism she has experienced and how she chose joy and love as an act of resistance. This led to an open call to investigate this question and subsequently six artists were selected.

The exhibition aims to explore what joy as an act of resistance means, while subverting the common associations of Black History and identity with sadness and mourning. Black Joy is Resistance celebrates the Black voices that too often have been forced to fit into boxes to appease the gazes of others.

• The exhibit featured 6 artists selected through our open call process.
• Union Station collaborated on the final selection of the artists.
• We also selected 2 community jurors to assist in the curation process.
• The art was featured in Union Station’s West Hall near the main entrance on 4ft x 8ft panels.
• MakeRoom was responsible for: Curation, Artist Communication and Media Presence.

• Union Station hosted a launch event in celebration of the new exhibit.
• The event hosted various news media and prominent members of the arts community.
• There was also a panel discussion that included the 6 artists from the collection as well as Trevor Twells, founder of MakeRoom Inc.

• The exhibit was covered by various news outlets such as: CBC, The Toronto Star, ByBlacks, Flow 98.7, CTV, The Globe and Mail and CityNews.
• This media coverage garnered more than 14 Million media impressions.