Black History Month at The Creative School

Hand-Coded: An exhibit by Ashley Jane Lewis

• February 11–March 11
• 80 Gould Street, Rogers Communication Centre (RCC), Second Floor, Catalyst, Room: RCC 230

A large, patterned quilt embedded with encrypted family recipes passed down from my grandmother, a formidable sewist and cook. Exploring family archives and alternative forms of personal data protection, this piece pays homage to the feminist, textile dependent history of computing. This work extends narratives of Black history, leaning into the sometimes disputed history of Underground Railroad tapestries, quilts and wall hangings that contained secret messages to aid slaves in their journey to freedom. 

Creative School Conversations x Black Scholars in Dialogue

• February 23, 2:00 PM–3:30 PM 
• 80 Gould Street, Rogers Communication Centre (RCC), Second Floor, Catalyst, Room: RCC 230 (Hybrid Zoom)

Join us for an enlivening conversation about Black flourishing through creative co-resilience. Toronto Metropolitan University’s four Black Postdoctoral Fellows will discuss this theme across their research areas of health, literature, subjectivities, and creative industries.

Invocation from Katherine McKittrick

Conversation with the TMU Black Postdoctoral Fellows and their supervisors

Black Postdoctoral Fellows

Adesoji Babalola | Patience Obi | Olajide Salawu | Linzey Corridon 

Supervisors

Miranda Campbell | Michael Olson | Jumoke Verissimo | Hyacinth Simpson

Summation from Ashley Jane Lewis

Reporting in Black Communities symposium 

• February 28, 8:30 AM–5:00 PM
• 80 Gould Street, Rogers Communication Centre (RCC), Second Floor, Catalyst, Room: RCC 230

You are invited to a day of learning and knowledge sharing through panels, presentations, and small group discussions to provide feedback that will directly shape the Reporting in Black Communities (external link)  resources.

Hosted by professors Eternity Martis and Nana aba Duncan in partnership with the Mary Ann Shadd Cary Centre, the Reporting in Black Communities Symposium brings together Black community members, journalists, journalism educators, and students for a day of panels, presentations, and knowledge sharing to create more equitable news coverage of Black communities in Canada.

"Where is Community Music: AfroWave TO Digital Mapping" Exhibit   

• Exhibit: February 26–March 26, 7:00 PM–10:00 PM
• Opening showcase: March 6, 7:00 PM–10:00 PM
• Location: 401 Richmond Street W, Artspace Gallery TMU: Open Walls, Suite LL106

An opening reception featuring performances by artists involved in this project will take place March 6th, 2026 at 7:00 PM at Artspace TMU with Chizzy Bashment, Seko, Aieysha Haws, Dario Dvon, Odessa Thornhill, Ditto, Lexxicon, and Elle de Lyon.

Making music is a process of relationship building. Beyond building relationships between notes, or instruments, it is also a way of building connections between people and the places it is composed, rehearsed, performed, and experienced. This exhibition maps the rich assemblage of spaces that mark the musical journeys of 10 Black GTA-based musicians affiliated with AfroWaveTO ,an organization that platforms local African, Caribbean, Indigenous Black Canadian and Afro Latinx musicians. 

Presented as part of Artspace TMU's Black History Month and Beyond celebrations, Where is Community Music? is the result of collaborations between AfroWaveTO and Mapping the Music Industries, a community-based research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

reading_group.compile: Algorithms of Oppression

• February–March
• Location to be shared after registration

Join us in a reading group focused on Dr. Safiya Noble’s critically acclaimed book, Algorithms of Oppression (external link) . Over the course of three meet ups, we will explore the challenging relationship between online algorithms and social justice principles, through the lens of Black feminist theory. Facilitated by Ashley Jane Lewis from Feb - Mar for Black and allied faculty, staff and students at The Creative School. 

Black Culture/Popular Culture Youth Conference 

• March 6-7
• 80 Gould Street, Rogers Communication Centre (RCC), Second Floor, Catalyst, Room: RCC 230

The Black Culture/Popular Culture Youth Conference brings together two days of activities on March 6th and 7th, 2026, designed and curated to celebrate Black youth voices in the Greater Toronto Area. Through art, digital storytelling, game design, and creative expression, Black youth share how they navigate digital worlds, build community, and imagine liberatory futures. Alongside artists, educators, and researchers, we will explore how popular culture shapes identity, education, and resistance. 

The Marketplace on March 6th is open to ALL and encourages members of the community to join us in celebrating Black youth creativity and entrepreneurship.  

The Symposium on March 7th will host 70+ Black high school students @ TMU to engage in a series of creative workshops and panels on digital spaces, mental health and generative AI. 

A Conversation with Sports Journalist Julian McKenzie: Hockey, Journalism, Race, and Sport Media 

• February 27, 1:00 PM–2:30 PM
• Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), 50 Carlton Street, Room: Jet Ice Lounge

Join us RTA School of Media and TMU Athletics for a conversation with sports journalist Julian McKenzie about his new book Black Aces.

If you’re thinking about a career in sports, media, or storytelling, this is the conversation you should hear before you graduate! Sports media isn’t just about the game. It’s about power, access, culture, and who gets to tell the story.

Join award-winning journalist and author Julian McKenzie (external link)  for a candid, behind-the-scenes conversation about hockey, journalism, race, and the realities of building a career in Canadian sports media today.

Julian McKenzie (external link)  is a national sports journalist and the author of Black Aces: Essential Stories from Hockey's Black Trailblazers (external link) , a groundbreaking book that explores untold stories and trailblazers in hockey history. His work sits at the intersection of sports, media, labour, and culture, and this conversation goes far beyond play-by-play reporting. It’s an honest career reality check.