BLACK IN TIME: Uncovering Hidden Histories of Black Canada

"Black in Time," the new installation by the African Canadian Explorations Collective (ACE), blends art, history, and technology to highlight the long, often overlooked presence of Black people in Canada. Created by photographer David Ofori Zapparoli and educator Donna Paris, the installation features striking portraits accompanied by deeply personal stories about historic Black communities across the country.

Dimitrije Martinovic – Local Journalism Initiative

Visitors can access these stories through QR codes, listening to oral histories with single-use headphones or reading transcriptions available on-site. This multi-sensory experience offers more than a glimpse into individual lives; it invites reflection on the collective journeys of Black Canadians that have shaped the country.

What sets "Black in Time" apart is its location in the Daniels Spectrum building in Regent Park, a neighborhood steeped in its own complex history. Home to many residents of African, Asian, and South Asian descent, Regent Park provides an ideal, resonant setting for an installation that explores identity, belonging, and the reclaiming of history. It’s a place where cultures intersect and coexist, and the stories shared in "Black in Time" echo the lived experiences of those who call this community home.

The project takes on an added personal significance with David Zapparoli’s connection to Regent Park. Having grown up in this community, his return as an artist exhibiting work in Daniels Spectrum creates a poignant homecoming. His journey from Regent Park to the national stage of Nuit Blanche mirrors the installation’s theme of exploring how one’s roots and experiences inform personal and collective identity. For Zapparoli, this installation serves as a tribute not only to the wider history of Black Canadians but also to the community that shaped his own creative vision.

In its essence, "Black in Time" is about visibility and acknowledgment. By placing ancestral oral histories at the forefront, the installation challenges the erasure of Black narratives from Canadian history, ensuring that these stories are heard and remembered. The accessibility of these stories—through both technology and public display—democratizes the experience, making the hidden legacies of Black Canadians available to all who visit. And in Regent Park, where a multiplicity of diasporic histories converge, this act of remembering resonates deeply.

The installation stands as a reminder that art can be a powerful medium for reclaiming lost narratives, for reasserting presence in spaces that have too often ignored it. For those who visit "Black in Time," it’s an opportunity to engage with history not as a distant, disconnected story but as a living, breathing continuum that includes the present and future of Black lives in Canada.