Thank You For Keeping Us On Track pays tribute to the Black Canadian porters who formed the first Black Railway Union in North America (1917). Their contributions helped to stabilize the Canadian economy and lay the framework for future unions by other collectives. This work helps bring to light the under-told stories of Black Canadians contributions, struggles and triumphs in order to share a sense of empowerment amongst the Black community and a greater understanding of Canadian history. Union Station is an important historical site where many of the trains that railway porters once worked passed through. The hats depicted in the sculpture represent those once worn by the porters and as a whole, symbolize their unity and success in changing Canada’s labour force—making it better for all workers.

Learn about Jordan Sook–

In these photographs I’m attempting to portray an overlooked reality and richness of contemporary African-American life. My vision is for my images to resonate as transparent, organic and universal. The photographs I’m making are a direct response to a specific moment in time, along with my personal world views and understandings and my firsthand experience in using my own blackness as a tool for survival.

This form of photography is set apart from photojournalism and reportage. There is no beginning nor ending to this story. Life is ongoing, just as humanity and the human condition is ever-evolving. I walk outside everyday leaving myself open to the world and all that is has to show me.

These images suggest the tug of war between life and what it means to be Black in America. Sometimes this experience is clear and vivid, but often it’s invisible while being in plain sight. My calling and passion is to photograph both. These works are rooted in a universal humanity that all walking and living people can relate to – but as we find ourselves here again, I can’t stop thinking about what tomorrow may bring.

Learn about Andre Wagner–

A Ticket to the Revolution is a poem I wrote to challenge the idea of what freedom for Black people really means and how we became a people of many lands in this world without being able to choose where our home is. As a young Afro-Indigenous woman living in Toronto I struggle with feeling displaced and like I don’t belong. With this piece I decided to write about how one day we can all create the utopia of our dreams and live freely without the rules and restrictions of a modern day capitalist world. This piece is dedicated and targeted to all Black people within the diaspora, young or old, who are contributing to a future that is for us and by us.

Learn about Jayda Marley–