Afternoons at the Institute: Black Art Histories Montreal Before the Internet

The Black Art Histories Montreal Group researches, documents, and preserves the contributions of Black Montreal visual artists before the Internet became widely accessible by collecting materials, recording oral histories, and building a digital archive with the goal of creating a comprehensive archive and a permanent space for curation, preservation, and research of Black Canadian art histories in the city. Following a visual survey of their research findings to date, members of the group will have a public conversation with Joana Joachim, Department of Art History at Concordia University.

Black Art Histories Montreal (BAHM) is a collective predominantly composed of anglophone and francophone members of Montreal’s Black communities, including researchers, curators, artists, writers, educators, and independent scholars of different cultural backgrounds. The working group is intergenerational and of diverse professional and sociocultural backgrounds, thus bridging gaps between academic institutions and community circles. They share a common interest and passion for the recuperation, preservation, recognition, and dissemination of the art and cultural legacies of Black visual artists who were and are active in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal. Through educational programming and outreach, they aim to ensure that the stories, achievements, and creative visions of Black visual artists in Canada are honoured and remain accessible for generations to come. Their vision is to manifest, preserve, and celebrate Black art in Montreal, radically transforming our shared cultural landscape by recognizing the achievements of Black visual artists, stimulating scholarship, and fostering collaboration across communities.

Joana Joachim is Assistant Professor of Black Studies in Art History and Social Justice at Concordia University. Her research and teaching interests include Black feminist art histories, Black diasporic art histories, Black Canadian studies, and Canadian slavery studies. Her recent curatorial projects include Estuaries presented at the Owens Art Gallery (2024) and Blackity presented at Artexte (2021).