NORTHBOUND 2025: Songs of Sovereignty
JOIN US FOR NORTHBOUND: Songs of Sovereignty Opening Reception!
In August 2025, in celebration of Emancipation Month, NYA will present Northbound alongside curators Muse & Museums, curatorial duo Shadio Hussein and Funmi Ajala, to curate Songs of Sovereignty. The exhibition will highlight Black and Indigenous artists in North York reflecting shared histories of resistance, resilience, and survival in the face of colonialism, systemic oppression, and cultural erasure.
Songs of Sovereignty is composed of works by Black and Indigenous artists imagining the liberation of their people. Each piece presented exists as a visual “song” or story exploring how freedom is both personally experienced and interconnected on a communal and societal scale.
We are featuring original artworks by five (5) emerging and mid-career Black and Indigenous artists!
Date: Thursday, August 21st
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: North York Centre Mall Main Atrium
Address: 5150 Yonge St, North York, ON M2N 6L8
Come meet the artists and see the beautifully curated space!
Northbound
Opening Reception
Dates: Thursday, August 21st
Time: 6-8 PM
Where: North York Centre Mall Main Atrium – 5150 Yonge St, North York, ON M2N 6L8
Price: Free
NORTHBOUND 2024
Bridges, Boundaries, and Cultural Convergence
Northbound 2024 was curated by Jasmine Vanstone, a Black Jamaican-Canadian artist living in North York. In partnership with GWL Realty Advisors and North York Arts, this exhibit amplifies the voices of Angela Walcott, Jassira De Almeida, and Jasmine Vanstone, to take up physical space in a high traffic location in Willowdale. Jasmine’s curatorial vision is rooted in the amplification of Black voices in conversation with Black Futures and highlights the importance of celebrating Black voices all year round.
The Black Futures exhibition explores Bridges, Boundaries, and Cultural Convergence. Bridges are often symbols of relationships built between two entities and can be a metaphor for exchange. Boundaries are imagined or felt borders and walls that can limit the vulnerability or openness to exchange. Cultural convergence is a theory which recognizes changing relationships and experiences informed through open dialogue and appreciating the value of exchange while acknowledging and celebrating diverse cultures.
Northbound Artists 2024
Meet Angela
As a multidisciplinary Angela Walcott uses found objects as a bridge between past and present identities. Her visual narrative emerges from Caribbean, African and Latin American traditions. Various techniques are used to highlight sustainability and waste reduction in her practice through the use of living and lived natural inks and botanicals. By incorporating traditional and non-traditional methods Angela stretches the conversation with mixed media and elements of drawing, painting, ceramics, photography and typography as guides that inform her practice.
Instagram: @artistwritermaker
Meet Jassira
Jassira De Almeida is an Angolan-Canadian visual artist who creates work digitally and traditionally. She is an undergrad animation student at OCAD U. When traditionally working, graphite, acrylic, watercolour, and oil are the mediums she uses for drawings, illustrations, and paintings. She combines analog and digital techniques when making stop-motion and 2D animation. She also experiments with photography and digital portraiture. She has recently been creating representations of herself and what inspires her (people in her life, nature, music, animation). She is focused on making fun and thoughtful stories with time-based and traditional media.
Meet Jasmine
Jasmine Vanstone is a Jamaican-Canadian multidisciplinary artist, arts facilitator, arts administrator, and curator based in North York. She experiments primarily in collage, poetry, murals, and paper crafts to share visual reflections of cultural identity, wellness, and environmental justice. Through vibrant colours and lyrical abstraction, she conveys the complexity of identity by visual overlapping of layers and interdisciplinary creations. Natural elements such as botanicals, animals, and produce become symbols of cultural environments, behaviours, and blessings through their creative manipulation. Each creation documents lived experiences and reflections to ultimately serve as a catalyst for exploration and introspection, inviting viewers to engage with the complexities of identity and the profound beauty of the world around us. With passion and the power of mentorship, Jasmine’s work has been featured at Meridian Arts Centre, Finch TTC station, Nuit Blanche, Gallery 44, DesignTO, Pearson Airport, KUUMBA, StreetARToronto, JAYU, VIBE Arts, and more.
Instagram: @articulately_jasmine
Website: https://www.jasminevanstone.com/
In partnership with
