A museum of migration in Toronto — now premiering the Block by Block Exhibition at the Toronto Public Library's TD Gallery until November 20th ⬇️
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ALT Sureya Ibrahim's daughter smiles at the camera while standing in front of her mother's profile in the Block by Block Exhibition and pointing at it.
ALT A young boy reaches out to a school off-camera while he describes memories of that school to a group of other participants listening.
ALT An older Indian woman wearing a red and black sari, Suganthine Sivakumar, chats with a younger Indian woman wearing a sundress, Sarika Navanathan.
ALT Waleed Khogali Ali leans back in his hair and speaks into a microphone wearing a yellow fleece at the Building Inclusive Cities symposium.
ALT A gold background with the title "What are your hopes for your community?" The central image is a pink post-it note with a child's writing on it reading:"Friends and memories and people and peace and love." Around the note is a collage of images from past Block by Block programming and storytellers: a man pointing to the note, a little girl holding up her handmade kites, a guitar player holding his guitar, Harriet Sheppard and her son, Walied Khogali Ali, a granddaughter talking to her Tamil grandmother, a girl smiling and pointing to the note, a tour guide smiling speaking into a microphone.
ALT two young women in the Block by Block Exhibit looking a different elements in blue, magenta, and deep gold.
ALT an image from TWM’s Newcomer Day event in a white tent with posters from each neighbourhood and many young people reading the posters.
ALT Sureya Ibrahim smiles next to her magenta bio and headshot in the Block by Block Exhibit.
ALT the Hwa Feng Yun dancers in Milliken Park posing in magenta costumes and a man with a tambourine behind them
ALT Parkdale musician Waleed Abdullhamid sits with his guitar in the Block by Block Exhibition launch.
ALT in Masaryk Park, Opal Spaks talks to another smiling storyteller
ALT Elsaida Douglas leans against her wall decal in the Exhibition, showing her in Regent Park next to a mural of her own face.
ALT A hot pink background with the Block by Block Exhibition sign post logo, with the quote: “I hope it’s still a place for immigrant families to lead their lives. To have a low-income community right in the middle of downtown is so special. If I stopped seeing all the aunties and uncles walking around—that's when it would be unrecognizable." —Mandeq, Regent Park Storyteller
ALT A light blue background with the Block by Block Exhibition sign post logo, with the quote: “I hope people who grow up in Parma Court learn about what it represents and do something powerful to make it a place for everyone. I want to be a part of that change.” —Jahmeika Reid, Victoria Park Storyteller
ALT A purple background with the Block by Block Exhibition sign post logo, with the quote: “Community is an expression of the very best parts of you, but also the parts of you that you have to learn to integrate. Your mirror." —Monique Blackman, Agincourt Storyteller
ALT A dark blue background with the Block by Block Exhibition sign post logo, with the quote: "Parkdale's vibrancy is built by its residents, who have established this neighbourhood as a diverse and supportive community. By displacing residents, we risk losing what makes Parkdale special." —Kitty Raman-Costa, Parkdale Storyteller
ALT Two young women sit in folding chairs on astroturf in the Block by Block Exhibition looking through the photo album, with a screen showing storyteller Yan Chen in the background and a wall decal about Networks of Care
ALT A young man in a yellow sweater bends forward to read the back of the Networks of Care pegboard in the Block by Block Exhibition with other visitors in the background
ALT An elderly man looks at wall decals about Arriving and Settling in the Block by Block Exhibition while other visitors interact with other elements in the background
ALT A woman wearing a mask reads Sureya Ibrahim’s bio on the wall of the Block by Block Exhibition with a young man in a yellow sweater behind her
ALT People stand in the Block by Block Exhibition’s first hallway reading the Historical Timeline and neighbourhood profiles
ALT Harriet Sheppard and her son in a yellow sweater stand on either side of her magenta pink profile in the Block by Block Exhibition.
ALT Sureya Ibrahim smiles at the camera while standing in front of her profile in the Block by Block Exhibition.
ALT Elsaida Douglas stands next to a large magenta pink wall decal describing her contributions to Regent Park.
ALT Judy San and husband stand smiling on either side of a cardboard print of her waving in an Agincourt park in the Block by Block Exhibition.
ALT Kathi Silke stands next to a cardboard installation piece with a quote from her about Parkdale reading: When Parkdale is considered the last stop in this city for marginalized people, where do we go now?
ALT Claudia Aguilar and her husband embrace in front of Block by Block Exhibition materials including posters and a wall decal reading: What Feels Like Home?
ALT An image of a drawing reading “I love the people of parkdale” with a caption reading “A drawing by Maya’s daughter.”
ALT An image of Tanveer with his leaf collection, with a caption reading “Tanveer shares his leaf collection he brought from Bangladesh. Victoria Park’s greenery reminds him of home.”
ALT An image of Wendy Ng and daughter Wenzie skating at Albert Campbell Park in 1998.
ALT Elsaida Douglas smells a flower in the Regent Park Peace Garden, planted to commemorate those whose lives were taken by gun violence.
ALT An image of two young children hugging in front of a house window and a caption reading “Sarah as a young child with her brother in their Parma Court home.”
ALT An image of four children at a fair, 3 looking through a clown-cutout scene and the smallest child on a tricycle in front of them, with a caption reading: “Namarig and her siblings at a fair, mid-to-late-nineties.”
ALT Two small children in traditional Tibetan clothing holding celebratory items with a caption reading: “Tenwang and her brother celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year at her home in Parkdale (2004)”
ALT A young mother holds her baby with her parents on either side, with a caption reading “Suganthine as a young mother with her family at Richmond Hill Temple (2006).”
ALT 10th Grade students wander the Block by Block Exhibition, writing down notes and reading installations.
ALT Students stand in small groups in the Block by Block Exhibition, drawing at tables, reading installations, and talking to each other.
ALT Standing in front of the pink Arrival banner, students watch the Block by Block Exhibition’s videos with backs to the camera.
ALT A dozen students in the introductory hallway of the Block by Block Exhibition, reading and writing down from the Historical Timeline and Neighbourhood Profiles
ALT Four students sit in the lawn chairs area of the Block by Block Exhibition, sitting in chairs and crouching on the astroturf, reading the Photo Album.
ALT The five panelists and moderator Dr. Zhixi Zhuang sit on a couch at the front of the Learning Hub under a slideshow projection showing their headshots and bios
ALT Bryan Peart speaks into the microphone with Anegla Koh on his right and Shiralee Hudson Hill on his right.
ALT A shot from behind the rows of audience members with the slideshow and panel in the distance at the front of the Learning Hub
ALT Dr. Thy Phu speaks into the microphone with Shiralee Hudson Hill and Bryan Peart on her right.
ALT Walied Khogali Ali speaks into the microphone from a chair in the audience with two elderly gentlemen listening
ALT Tamara Anson-Cartwright speaks into the microphone with the rest of the panel listening to her
ALT An elderly man stands, holding the microphone and smiling, while other eldery people smile and watch him in the audience
ALT A close-up on Shiralee Hudson Hill speaking into the microphone while Bryan Peart listens
ALT A blue city grid background with speech bubbles reading: WHAT DO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH YOUR HOME OF ORIGIN? IS THERE A KIND OF WEATHER, LANDSCAPE, OR EVENT THAT REMINDS YOU OF HOME? “I used to think that 'Home' was a place I could point to on a map. I know now that home is where all your attempts to run cease to exist'.” “The sea, the mountains… the salty sea, air blowing on a windy evening! That scorching sun that we hide from in the olive groves. I miss home.” “Ocean. Island. Hot weather. Jackfruit.”
ALT CURRENT NEIGHBOURHOOD THAT MAKES YOU FEEL AT HOME “Watching people congregate & socialize in public spaces—TTC stops, plaza parking lots, in front of the library :) Speaking in their own mother tongues.” “The relationships I’ve built and found. The trails and tracks through mud and field. The hawk perched on the tower supporting the power lines.” “The library I’ve visited since I was young. And the neighbours I meet walking down the street and in the parks.”
ALT A pink city grid background with speech bubbles reading: WHICH FOODS, SMELLS, OR OBJECTS REMIND YOU OF HOME? “King Patty’s Beef Patty. Growing up in Teesdale, it was the greatest snack. We would all as kids have them eating on the playground pretending to be a family. We were a family. We are a family.” “As I am from Hong Kong originally, what reminds me is celebrating the mid-autumn festival with moon cakes. I have celebrated it a couple of days ago. The moon is the biggest and brightest then!!" "Fish. Mango. Coconut."
ALT A purple city grid background with speech bubbles reading: What is a place you hope will change? How? “There is a huge need for more public transit – both in the city and into the city. Too many cars. Congested roadways.” “I hope politeness returns.” “More gay/lesbian awareness in our communities.”
ALT An image of Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, Associate Professor | School of Urban and Regional Planning; Toronto Metropolitan University, Building Inclusive Cities, Thursday October 27, 5 - 7 p.m Principal Investigator & Panel Moderator Dr. Zhixi Zhuang is a Registered Professional Planner and an Associate Professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan University. Founder and director of the DiverCityLab, her research explores the growing urban diversity and how city-builders can instill the values of equity and inclusion into planning policies and practices. Her work aims to understand how the intersections of individual characteristics have an impact on different lived experiences of cities, and how diversity and differences play out to shape planning policies and practices.
ALT An image of Angela Koh, Community & Youth Development Specialist | West Neighbourhood House Building Inclusive Cities, Thursday October 27, 5 - 7 p.m. Angela Koh / Xu Yingsi's work centres around community-based learning and knowledge exchange to build platforms for connected social research and policy-making. She has worked with various community groups, grassroots organizers, and non-profits overseas and in Canada. She is currently part of the Community Response & Advocacy Unit at West Neighbourhood House, and is engaging in city-wide coalition building around Inclusive Development as the Co-Chair of the West End Coalition for Housing Justice. She holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics & Political Sciences.
ALT An image of Dr. Gary Miedema, Project Manager | Toronto Heritage Survey; City of Toronto. Building Inclusive Cities, Thursday October 27, 5 - 7 p.m. Dr. Gary Miedema holds a Ph.D. in Canadian Cultural History from Queen's University in Kingston. For the past 18 years, he has engaged communities in the field of public history and heritage planning. He served as Chief Historian at Heritage Toronto, a charitable agency of the City of Toronto where he oversaw all public programs. He then moved to City Planning, and has since been leading the Toronto Heritage Survey. In that role, he has led a co-development process for the Indigenous Heritage Engagement Project, and has championed a more inclusive approach to engagement of communities.
ALT A graphic showing four cityscape borders on the left and right, with a purple city skyline below, reading: Building Inclusive Cities Symposium, How Can Oral Histories Inform Equitable Community Planning, Heritage Policy and Practices? Thursday October 27, 5 - 7 p.m. Learning Hub 4th Floor, Claude T. Bissell Building 140 George St.
ALT Suburban malls and plazas are easily overlooked. “I think it’s hard to imagine the stories behind the scenes, right?” says Zhixi C. Zhuang, a director with Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning. Zhuang studies ethnic retail and placemaking in the GTA. These malls are “vibrant community spaces,” especially for newcomers seeking out affordable shopping, information exchange, and community support. Scarborough doesn’t have a typical downtown: “Instead we have these traditional malls and strip malls that are the site for community gathering,” says Vidhya Elango of the Toronto Ward Museum, an organization that seeks to tell the untold stories of Toronto by focusing on its immigration history. Elango is a lead curator of the Block by Block program, an oral history project focusing on four neighbourhoods that have historically been home to newcomers and now face redevelopment. The mall came up a lot in Scarborough neighbourhoods like Golden Mile and Agincour
ALT It’s OK to say goodbye to a mall that isn’t serving the community with the same relevance it once did, says Tam. It would be helpful if the city had a process for gathering oral histories as part of the development process, he says. It’s also important to capture the function of these spaces, he says. If a food court has become a de facto community centre, what happens to the people who depend on it? Where will they go? Brannavy Jeyasundaram, one of the executive directors of the Ward Museum, says stories like this need to be “embedded in how this transformation is happening.”