Student Performers Kick Off Black History Month at the ROM

By: Hannah Stewart

A  media event was held at the ROM on Thursday, January 31, 2013 to kick off Black History Month programming and to celebrate a new community access partnership.

Vistors to the Museum enjoyed an unexpected performance as over 80 students from the Toronto Catholic District school Board (TCDSB) performed celebratory cultural dance and song learned as part of their African Canadian Heritage Month school curriculum.

February marks a month-long celebration of Black History Month at the ROM, with programming capturing the diversity of Carnival from both a local and global perspective. It marks the closing of the exhibition Carnival: From Emancipation to Celebration, featuring the work of internationally renowned masquerade designer Brian Mac Farlane along with Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival photographs. Visitors of all ages will enjoy special programming on Family Day Long Weekend, and at the two day Carnival Symposium February 23rd and 24.

The event also highlighted a new community partnership between ROM and the TCDSB. This partnership enables access to the Museum during February’s Black History Month educational programming, with a total of 12,500 ROM tickets being distributed through the TCDSB, and another  4,000 community access passes through the existing ROMCAN program. This is the first of multiple, ongoing partnerships that the ROM has planned with TCDSB, community organizations, and various school boards.