“Faces In Between”: A 3MW Collective Exhibition [Reveiw]Posted in Arts, Canada, Media Archive on 2013-02-13 23:58Z by Steven |
“Faces In Between”: A 3MW Collective Exhibition [Review]
Jenney Donkey
2013-02-12
At an event, a party, a gathering or any place where I meet new people, I am invariably asked the Question: Where are you from?
“Toronto,” I answer. This is not the response they are looking for and I know it.
“No, but where is your family from?”
“My parents were born in Toronto and so were my grandparents. All about ten minutes away from where I currently live actually.”
Their frustration mounts.
“No, but what’s your background? This is Canada. Everybody comes from somewhere.”
I respond differently each time I’m asked. Sometimes I give the précis answer, sometimes I make them guess and sometimes I flat out refuse to answer.
When people are not satisfied when I say I’m Canadian, I find myself scrambling to answer the question in terms of what will make my observer comfortable. I cling to a mixed identity that is ancestrally correct (though incomplete due to family secrets) but doesn’t quite fit with how I see myself.
I identify as Canadian.
My background is Irish, Italian, English, Black, possibly Scottish and possibly more.
In many ways, it is Toronto, the city of my ancestors, that informs my history and identity rather than some distant country that a person I never met came from.
Yet, the question persists…
…Because I am so often questioned and analyzed, I was naturally drawn to “Faces In Between”, an art exhibition by 3MW Collective showing at Daniels Spectrum in the Artscape Lounge. 3MW Collective seeks to create a progressive discussion about mixed race identity. 3MW is comprised of three mixed-race identified artists Rema Tavares, Ilene Sova and Jordan Clarke….
Read the entire article here.