Nia Centre unveils new 21ft love letter to the Black community

New art installation “We Have Done Enough” shines light on ongoing calls for Black liberation  

TORONTO — Today, Nia Centre for the Arts presents ‘We Have Done Enough’ an art installation designed by award-winning multidisciplinary artist Anique Jordan. This 21-foot installation challenges the viewer to consider the significant work that Black people have put into explaining and fighting against racism. 

“It’s very much a love letter to Black people across the city,” said Jordan. “The work has to be lifted from all of our shoulders as Black people, and put squarely onto the shoulders of those who insist on causing the harm.”

Massive movements around the world have reignited a reckoning with anti-Black racism and how it manifests in all sectors. For centuries, artists and activists in the Black community have used their voices, paintbrushes, cameras, writing and more to translate their grief into something beautiful. This new installation serves as a tribute to those efforts in what seems like a never-ending fight for liberation.

“It came from a feeling of disbelief in the world. That we’re returning to this constant response to the brutality and responding to violence against our bodies,” said Jordan.

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Jordan’s artistic practice centres around opening doors for engagement with new and unexpected audiences. For years, she’s been working with Black and Indigenous youth and emerging artists to uplift their voices through the arts. In this large-scale installation, she renews calls for Black liberation, signaling a movement for the Black community to build on the historic work for liberation and create a safe space for Black people to heal.  

‘We Have Done Enough’ is a recognition of all the work the Black community has done to educate and fight for liberation. What’s needed now are the resources and support to build something new. 

“This installation reinforces our mission to be an anchor for the Black community to explore the full force of their creativity, and make art that is loud and powerful,” said Nia Centre executive director Alica Hall.

“We are done with explaining what it means to be Black and our struggles. We’re here to create space, opportunity and build on the work that has already been done,” she said. 

This piece will remain on the front-facing side of their facility at 524 Oakwood Ave while it goes under construction this Fall as part of it’s multi-million dollar renovation project to transform the facility into Canada’s first professional multidisciplinary artspace dedicated to Afro-Diasporic art. Learn more here: https://niacentre.org/our-space/.

“We Have Done Enough” will also be installed across the city at the Patel Brown Gallery and various locations in Scarborough.

To ensure accessibility, please see the full-text of the installation below: 

We have done enough.⁠⁠

We have protested, we have rallied, we have cried, we have grieved, we have made art and have offered you models of difference, we have begged and held arms, we have shown love and kindness, we have been angry, we have taught our children they are beautiful, to try and offer themselves to the world in spite of it. ⁠⁠

You have taken our tools, our music, our rituals, our labour, yet we have written and taught and organized and prayed, we have offered evidence, facts and history and still are denied. We have given hope when we shouldn’t have any left. We have done it all, and right now, for many of us, there are no words left for the exhaustion, the fear, the grief, the hurt. Our mothers have told you they are scared. We are scared.⁠

We are tired, so tired.⁠

We have done enough.⁠

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Media Contact Information:

Lidia Abraha - info@niacentre.org

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