Jamii's Annual
Canadian Multiculturalism Day
Celebrations
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5th Year!
5th Annual Event of Celebrating Cultures
June 27 at 7 pm
The Jamii Hub @ 264 The Esplanade
Celebrating Cultures: A Tribute to Canadian Multiculturalism Day!
Esplanadians joined us for an enchanting evening featuring Dijlah, an all-female music band that brings together the rich traditions of Arabic and North African music, expressing the resilience and aspirations of women. Additionally, audience members immersed themselves in the inspiring CALYX photo exhibition, created by a talented group of women from Jamii's LAINI initiative led by photographer Sabrine S. Hakam, as they explore the diverse dimensions of personal identity.
We were happy to have The Esplanade community at The Jamii Hub to celebrate the richness of our vibrant community, empower women's voices, and embrace the beauty of diversity with us at this extraordinary event!
Funders & Sponsors:
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Photos by Laura Dittman
Celebrating Cultures - 2022
Live at the Kisanii Hub
In Partnership with
June 27, 2022
David Crombie Park | The Esplanade & Princess St
In light of nationally recognized Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Jamii invited community members to engage with the rhythm and sounds of music and dance from various parts of the world. The event included dance by Ballet Creole accompanied by Carribean steel pan music by Trevor Redhead and Susette Vidale, Japanese Yosakoi dance led by Takako Segawa and performed by Kochi Yosakoi Ambassador KIZUNA International Team, Indigenous hoop dancing by Emilee Ann Pitawanakwat, and clarinet performence by Majd Sekkar. The event was wrapped up with a photo exhibit unveiling by Murphy Owusu and panel discussion with the photographer who responded to our 2022 season theme "Water is Memory" through the lens of his camera.
Video and Edit by Recro Digital Marketing
Photos by Abel Tesfaldet & Delphy Photography
"Water No Get Enemy"
Photo Exhibition
Jamii produced and unveiled a photo exhibition featuring Murphy Owusu's work as part of Canadian Multiculturalism Day celebrations in David Crombie Park. This exhibition, presented from June to December 2022, is a selection of 8 photos and it takes us on a journey with Murphy as he reflects on his travels from his home country Ghana, to São Tomé, Ethiopia, and Turtle Island. Through his lens, Murphy reminds us that, despite colonial legacies that separate us from it, we are a part of Nature – the land, its waters and other-than-human life forms.
Visit Water No Get Enemy for more information about the photo exhibition!
Video and Edit by Recro Digital Marketing
Credits
Live at the Kisanii Hub Produced & Presented by Jamii
Jamii Team: Afnan Yakot, Hadeal Karrar, Iris Unlu, Isorine Marc, Maysam Ghani,
Nadifa Daud Mohamed, Yusra Yacout
Host: TrudyLee Gayle
"Water No Get Enemy" Photo Exhibit: Murphy Owusu
Live Performer: Trevor Redhead, Suzette Vidale, Allan Ramsaran
Dancer: Ballet Creole
Japanese Yosakoi Dance: Kochi Yosakoi Ambassador KIZUNA International Team
Clarinet: Majd Sekkar
Indigenous Hoop Dance: Emilee Ann Pitawanakwat
Stage Manager: Julia Beaulieu
Event Photographer: Abel Tesfaldet
Event Videographer: Recro Digital Marketing
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June 27, 2021
"The Wedding" is a three-part project that invited professional artists and members of The Esplanade community to explore what a mixed-culture wedding looks like (PART I), what are the emotional triggers of wedding ceremonies (PART II) and the emotional roller-coaster of wedded life (PART III). Part I was filmed on June 27th as a celebration to Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Part II in July and Part III in October - all filmed as a one-shot, at the heart of The Esplanade community - David Crombie Park.
With Part I of this wedding you will see, we explore different ceremonial traditions, based on the artists and participants' own cultures. Amongst other traditions, we brought together a Brazilian procession, a Chinese tea ceremony, an Indigenous blanket ceremony, and an Albanian shami burning dance. Even though it is now considered normal to recognize each other’s cultural heritage, do we actually celebrate and acknowledge intercultural mixing, and if so, how? Can we bring our cultures together while retaining our cultural traditions, our sense of identity and uniqueness?
"The Wedding" is an invitation to explore these questions, together.
Check out the full series HERE.
Produced and presented by:
A PROJECT SUPPORTED AND FUNDED BY:
Government of Ontario
ShowLoveTo - City of Toronto
Canadian Stage
St Lawrence Neighbourhood Association
June 27, 2020
On June 27th 2020, the community of The Esplanade came together to celebrate Canada's Muliculturalism Day, funded by Canadian Heritage and Canada Council for the Arts, and in partnership with Canadian Stage. We treated the audience with a beautiful performance bringing to life a series of eight visual portraits that were created as part of Wind Stories.
A unique way to share and celebrate each other stories.
FEATURED ARTISTS: Ashima Suri, Jonelle Sills, Jeremiah Sparks, Michael Caldwell, Paulina O’Kieffe-Anthony, Sue Croweagle, Heidi Chan, Raha Javanfar, with hosts Ryan G. Hinds & Indrit Kasapi.
Photos and videos: Laura Dittmann
June 27, 2019
In 2019, in the context of multicultural day, Jamii brought together three visual artists who were invited to capture the diversity of the people of the Esplanade with live portrait drawings. Accompanied with lively music and cultural stories this event was a celebration of the rich cultural fabric of our community.
Visual artists: Alicia Herbert, Alison Garwood-Jones, and Andrew Patterson worked on capturing people through portraits encapsulating the beauty within us in their own artistic style.
Live performances from:
Haitian storyteller Djennie Laguerre
Indigenous storyteller Jim Adams
Québécois musician and singer Valérie Descheneaux
Syrian violinist Iman Abdul Razzak
and Albanian theater director Indrit Kasapi
Visual artist Alison Garwood-Jones also wrote a blog post about our event read it HERE.
In partnership with Théâtre Français de Toronto and CORPUS.
With the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage and Ontario Arts Council.
Photos by Gillian Mapp