West Wing Collection

Gélédé Queens pays homage to the sacred Gélédé tradition, blending documentary, performance, and photography to honour the Ìyàmi (Oracle) and the esteemed elderly women of West Africa. It highlights the fluidity of gender expressions in Yoruba culture and mythology, challenging the rigid gender categories imposed by colonialism on African traditions. Rooted in Yoruba spirituality, the work reclaims indigenous identities and practices suppressed since the transatlantic slave trade.

Photographed in a colonial home, the imagery reclaims spaces once symbolic of oppression, transforming them into sites of resilience and cultural pride. It stands as both a reclamation of heritage and a celebration of the strength and creativity of the African diaspora. Through its exploration of gender, spirituality, and history, this project invites viewers to reflect on the power of past and present coming together.

Destinie Adélakun is a Canadian artist and filmmaker of Nigerian and South Indian heritage. Her dynamic works in photography, film, and sculpture illuminate West African and Caribbean diaspora narratives, celebrating matriarchal rule, pre-colonial history, and spirituality. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum and Toronto History Museums, Destinie is a celebrated voice, earning the NYFA Canadian Women Artist of the Year Award (2020) and the TAF Breakthrough Artist Award (2024) for her influential storytelling and advocacy.

The Moko Jumbie is a stilt-walking character originating from West African spiritual practices and carried into the Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade. The Moko Jumbie is seen as a protective figure, a symbol of guardianship and a connection to the spirit world. Carnival itself holds immense importance as a space for cultural preservation, resistance, and cultural expression.

This piece celebrates the strength of Afro-Caribbean culture, focusing on the long-standing traditional characters, rituals, and communities that have been kept alive by the enduring spirit of our people. Aaron is captured as an incarnate Moko Jumbie during the Jouvert celebrations in Tobago, becoming a symbol of timelessness as he embodies the ancestral wisdom and carried forth traditions. The image represents the essence of immortality in passing down these traditions to future generations.

Pixel Heller is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto, whose work spans performance, photography, textiles, ceramics, and painting. Influenced by her Afro-Caribbean heritage, her practice engages with themes of Black identity, cultural preservation, and carnival masquerade. Pixel’s art explores the complexities of heritage, tradition, and the intersection of personal and collective histories.

This work explores the history of Blackness through time, merging cultural history with modern expression. The De Stijl-inspired background, with its structured lines and bold color blocks, represents the rigid frameworks of time and societal structures. In contrast, the Black subject stands as a symbol of resilience and continuity, navigating these constructs while carrying the weight of history and the promise of the future. This contrast highlights the ongoing journey of Black identity—adapting, evolving, and thriving within and beyond the boundaries of time.

Caezar’s work explores the balance between reality and spirituality through realistic portraits of Black subjects against abstract, De Stijl-inspired backgrounds. He aims to capture both the physical essence and unseen spirit of each individual. His interplay between detailed realism and structured abstraction reflects a dialogue between the visible world and deeper, spiritual dimensions. He invites viewers to journey between these realms, finding harmony in both the real and the ethereal.

My painting is a reflection on individual and cultural identity in the context of globalization. Being of Congolese and Bantu origin, I still live with the feeling of living with a lost memory, an interrupted connection to my roots that I seek to restore as best I can in a contemporary, globalizing, and materialistic world. Coming from a matrilineal culture, depicted a young woman to echo my culture and symbolize the source. She is set against a background of multicoloured palm leaves, symbolizing purification, contrasting with herself painted in black and white, symbolizing a link with history. The mask carried by the monarch butterfly symbolizes connection with the spiritual world, transformation and adaptation in an ever-changing world. The gold earrings with the eye of Horus symbolize enlightened vision and regeneration.

Heritier Bilaka is a mid-career artist. He participated in numerous group exhibitions in many cities in Canada and aboard. He is recipient of numerous awards and grants such as the Laura Ciruls Painting Award 2024, the Research and Creation Grant from Ontario Arts Council and Ottawa Arts Council 2024-2022, the Seed Award Equity and Inclusion in Arts Fund 2023. He was artist in residence at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in 2023.

Celestial Echoes is a deeply personal tribute to the resilience and brilliance of Black expression, rooted in my Asante heritage and my own journey of rediscovering identity. This artwork reimagines Adinkra symbols to tell a timeless story: Sankofa reminds me of the invaluable wisdom passed down by my ancestors, Nkyinkyim represents the resilience I see in myself and my community today, and Ananse Ntontan captures my hope for a brighter, unified future for Africa.

At its heart, a central figure, draped in rich Kente regalia, walks a path back to African roots, embracing heritage under a radiant sun that renews the spirit. The stars above symbolize the infinite connections across generations, reminding me that we are all part of a much larger legacy.

This piece bridges heritage and hope, inviting you to reflect on the beauty of cultural identity and its power to inspire unity and pride.

Rico Poku is a visionary multidisciplinary artist rooted in his rich Asante heritage. Drawing on this cultural foundation, he bridges creativity with transformative design. His art celebrates the vibrancy of African culture, blending powerful symbolism with a commitment to social justice and equity. Specializing in ink, acrylic painting, digital art, and photography, Eric seamlessly integrates traditional African motifs with contemporary aesthetics, creating pieces that are visually captivating and thought-provoking.

Celestial Heart is a reflection of resilience, identity, and the connection between past and present. At its center is a fragmented figure, symbolizing the journey of navigating life’s challenges while holding onto an undying, iridescent heart. This heart represents the inner flame that keeps us moving forward, a light passed down from generations of ancestors who achieved greatness despite adversity.

Using 3D modeling for vivid detail and layered cosmic photography for texture, I sought to connect themes of space, time, and darkness. In my Jamaican heritage, blackness symbolizes strength, much like the black in the Jamaican flag. Here, darkness is not emptiness but a source of power, cradling the figure like the night sky holds the stars. Celestial Heart celebrates the beauty of resilience, the light within us that never dims, and the profound connection between humanity, the universe, and our ancestry.

This work incorporates an image from NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Team.

Camille Kiffin is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist, originally from Jamaica, whose work merges the surreal with the tangible. She creates digital collages and compositions that blend 3D and 2D elements into vivid, immersive visuals. Through her exploration of identity and self-discovery, Camille uses bold, vibrant colours and dynamic textures to evoke emotion and invite viewers into her world of introspection and imagination.