Syrus Marcus Ware

Last updated
Syrus Marcus Ware
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Montreal, Quebec
EducationBA in Art History, Visual Studies; MA in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, University of Toronto; PhD in Environmental Studies, York University
Known forVisual Artist
AwardsVanier Scholarship
Slyff Fellowship
Steinert & Ferraro Award
TD Diversity Award

Syrus Marcus Ware is a Canadian artist, activist and scholar. He lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is an assistant professor in the school of the arts at McMaster University. [1] He has worked since 2014 as faculty and as a designer for The Banff Centre. Ware is the inaugural artist-in-residence for Daniels Spectrum, a cultural centre in Toronto, and a founding member of Black Lives Matter Toronto. [2] [3] For 13 years, he was the coordinator of the Art Gallery of Ontario's youth program. During that time Ware oversaw the creation of the Free After Three program and the expansion of the youth program into a multi pronged offering.

Contents

He has published four books and in 2020 co-edited (with Rodney Diverlus and Sandy Hudson) Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada, a bestselling collection of reflections on the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada. [4]

Early life and education

Syrus Marcus Ware was born in Montreal, Quebec and is the twin brother of entomologist Dr. Jessica Ware. [5] He attended Etobicoke School of the Arts for high school before transferring to Forest Hill Collegiate Institute. Ware studied art history and visual studies at University of Toronto and University of British Columbia, earning his Honours Bachelors in 2002. He studied with Joanne Tod and the late David Buller. During his studies he was the coordinator for the Centre for Women and Trans People at the University of Toronto. [6]

Ware began his Masters of Arts in sociology and equity studies in education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 2006, graduating in 2010. [7] Ware began his PhD in the faculty of environmental studies at York University in 2014 and successfully defended this doctoral thesis in 2021. [6] [8] He is a Sylff Fellow and a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships scholar. [9]

Career

Ware's work explores social justice frameworks and Black activist culture through performance, large scale drawing, installations, paintings and dance. He specifically focuses on issues surrounding gender, sexuality and race. [10] Ware's art centres around his beliefs in social justice and activism. [11]

Ware was selected to be part of the Toronto Biennial of Art inaugural 2019 and 2022 exhibitions. At the 2019 Biennial he created Antarctica, a performance and interactive installation about white supremacy and climate change and Ancestors, Do You Read Us: Dispatches From The Future, an 8 channel video work created with Mishann Lau and set in 2072 in a world where Black and Indigenous people have survived climate change and race wars. His work has been shown at locations and events that include the Sydney Festival, the Art Gallery of Burlington, the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Art Gallery of Windsor, The University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, The Gladstone Hotel, and the Art Gallery of York University. [12]

In 2021, Ware was commissioned to write a new play, Emmett, for Obsidian Theatre and CBC Gem. The play is set in a near future in a decidedly different landscape and follows Medgar (a reimagined, future living Medgar Evers) on the day that everything changes. The performance was filmed in Toronto in 2021 and features actor Prince Amponsah. Directed by Tanisha Taitt, the production began broadcasting on CBC Gem on February 12, 2021. [13]

Community radio

For 17 years, Ware was the host of Resistance on the Sound dial, a community radio show on 89.5 CIUT FM. In the show he combined activist music with political interviews and conversations with activists and artists, such as Octavia E. Butler, New Zealand transgender MP Georgina Beyer, Ursula Rucker, Tumi & the Volume and Bob Moses from SNCC. He also participated in other shows on the station including Wench Radio, Radio OPIRG and By All Means.[ citation needed ]

Activism

Ware is a long time abolitionist - he has been an activist for 25 years. He was a core team member with Black Lives Matter - Toronto. He is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter - Canada and Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism. Ware collaborated with Blackness Yes! for 19 years in order to create events like the trans and black stage at Pride called Blockorama. [14] Ware is also one of the founding members of both the Toronto based Prison Justice Action Committee and the Gay Bi Queer Trans Mens HIV Prevention Working Group, which created "Primed: the Back Pocket Guide for Trans Guys and the Guys who Dig em" - the first sexual health resource for trans men who have sex with men in the world. He also helped to create TransFathers 2B, the first parenting course for trans men considering parenting in North America, based in The 519 Community Centre. [15] He currently sits on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation.

Ware has stated that his intent is to dismantle white supremacy within the arts and diversify the museum field. [16]

Awards and honors

Now Magazine awarded Ware with the "Best Queer Activist" award in 2005. He received the TD Diversity Award in 2017. He was awarded the Min Sook Lee Labour Arts Award, Mayworks Festival of Working People in the Arts in 2017. Ware is a Vanier Scholar and a Sylff Fellow. [17]

In 2012, he received the Steinert & Ferreiro Award for LGBTQ activism, the largest award of its kind in Canada. [18]

Bibliography

As editor

As author

"Abolition is Love" (2023, Seven Stories Press)

As artist

Love is in the Hair (2015, Flamingo Rampant Press, also author) [25] [26]

Bridge of Flowers (2018, Flamingo Rampant Press, with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha - author)

I Promise (2019, Arsenal Pulp Press, with Catherine Hernandez - author)

Antarctica (2019, Toronto Biennial of Art) [27]

This mixed media installation piece incorporates the themes: race, Anthropocene, politics and activism, and post-apocalyptic imaginary. The mediums include furniture, sheets, paint cans and various living space setting-like props. The piece was commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art with the RBC Emerging Canadian Artists Program providing support. The videographer and Editorial support was from Mishann Lau, as well as textile support provided by Merlin Hargreaves. [27] The piece is connected with Ancestors, Can You Read Us? (Dispatches from the Future), a 2019 short file which was featured at the Ryerson Image Centre. [28] [29] [30] [31]

Articles

"Activating Diversity and Inclusion: A Blueprint for Museum Educators as Allies and Change Makers." With Wendy Ng and Alyssa Greenberg. Journal of Museum Education, vol. 42, no. 2 (2017), pp. 142–154.

"Foraging the Future: Forest Baths, Engaged Pedagogy, and Planting Ourselves Into the Future."

Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 28, no. 2 (February 2022), pp. 236–243.

"We want abolition in our lifetime." THIS (5 November 2020).

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pride Toronto</span> Annual LGBT event in Toronto, Ontario

Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, featuring several stages with live performers and DJs, several licensed venues, a large Dyke March, a Trans March and the Pride Parade. The centre of the festival is the city's Church and Wellesley village, while the parade and marches are primarily routed along the nearby Yonge Street, Gerrard Street and Bloor Street. In 2014, the event served as the fourth international WorldPride, and was much larger than standard Toronto Prides.

dbi.young anitafrika Canadian musician-poet

d’bi.young anitafrika is a Jamaican-Canadian feminist dub poet, activist, and singer for the band D’bi and the 333. Their work includes theatrical performances, four published collections of poetry, twelve plays, and seven albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha</span> Canadian-American writer

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a Canadian-American poet, writer, educator and social activist. Their writing and performance art focuses on documenting the stories of queer and trans people of color, abuse survivors, mixed-race people and diasporic South Asians and Sri Lankans. A central concern of their work is the interconnection of systems of colonialism, abuse and violence. They are also a writer and organizer within the disability justice movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faith Nolan</span> Musical artist

Faith Nolan is a Canadian social activist, folk and jazz singer-songwriter and guitarist of mixed African, Mi'kmaq, and Irish heritage. She currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Monkman</span> Canadian artist (born 1965)

Kent Monkman is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry. He is a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. Monkman lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zanele Muholi</span> South African artist and visual activist (born 1972)

Zanele Muholi is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation. Muholi's work focuses on race, gender and sexuality with a body of work that dates back to the early 2000s, documenting and celebrating the lives of South Africa's Black lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex communities. Muholi is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, explaining that "I'm just human".

grunt gallery Art gallery in British Columbia, Canada

The grunt gallery is a Canadian artist-run centre, founded in 1984 and located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They show work by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists.

Nia King is a mixed-race woman of Black/Lebanese/Hungarian descent, queer, art activist, multimedia journalist, podcaster, public speaker, and zine maker. She lives in Oakland, California. Within her podcast, "We Want the Airwaves," Nia interviews queer and trans artists about their lives and about their work. The title of her podcast was inspired from a Ramones song and played as a demand for media access and an insistence on the right for marginalized people to take up space.

Coco Guzmán, known also as Coco Riot is a queer visual artist from Murcia, Spain, who is internationally known for their activism and artistic exploration of gender equality and feminist issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karin Lee</span> Canadian film maker

Karin Lee is a Canadian filmmaker. She is an adjunct professor of film at the University of British Columbia. Her 2000 documentary, Made in China, won a Gemini Award.

Disability justice is a social justice movement which focuses on examining disability and ableism as they relate to other forms of oppression and identity such as race, class and gender. It was developed in 2005 by the Disability Justice Collective, a group including Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, Stacey Milbern, Leroy F. Moore Jr., and Eli Clare. In disability justice, disability is not considered to be defined in "white terms, or male terms, or straight terms." The movement also believes that ableism makes other forms of prejudice possible and that systems of oppression are intertwined. The disability justice framework is being applied to a intersectional reexamination of a wide range of disability, human rights, and justice movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TJ Cuthand</span> Canadian (Cree) filmmaker

TJ Cuthand, also credited as Theo Cuthand and Thirza Cuthand, is a filmmaker and performance artist, writer and curator of Plains Cree as well as Scottish and Irish descent. He is credited with coining the term Indigiqueer, for modern Indigenous LGBTQ people. In May 2022, he changed his name to TJ Cuthand and came out as a trans man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Canada</span> 2020 protests in Canada against police brutality

Shortly after protests seeking justice for George Floyd, an African-American who was accidentally killed during a police arrest, began in the United States, people in Canada protested to show solidarity with Americans and to demonstrate against issues with police or racism in Canada. Vigils and protests of up to thousands of participants took place in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories of Canada.

Sandy Hudson is a Jamaican-Canadian political activist, writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement presence in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria</span> Transgender-focused research chair in Canada

The Chair in Transgender Studies is the world's first research chair focusing on the study of transgender individuals, issues, and history. It is housed at the University of Victoria, located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Unlike any other university department chair at the University of Victoria, the Chair in Transgender Studies is self-funded through philanthropy and private donations. The chair is unique in that it does not grant degrees, but instead works with both community and academic communities to further the advancement of transgender studies. Aaron Devor, the inaugural and current chair, works with researchers, community members, academics, and advocates to advance the study of trans scholarship. The chair focuses on four pillars: original research, continued scholarship, maintenance and growth of the Transgender Archives, and organization of Canada's largest international transgender conference, Moving Trans History Forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dainty Smith</span> Toronto-based actor, playwright, and burlesque performer

Dainty Smith is a Toronto-based actor, playwright, and burlesque performer. She is the founder of Les Femmes Fatales: Women of Colour Burlesque Troupe, Canada's first burlesque troupe for Black women and women of colour, femmes and gender non-conforming persons. Her interdisciplinary work engages themes of glamour, afrofuturism, queer thriving, body positivity, and Blackness.

Derya Akay is a Turkish artist based in Vancouver, Canada. Akay has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Canada, Japan, Mexico, U.S., and Turkey. In 2010, Akay graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and completed a residency at the Banff Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moving Trans History Forward conferences</span> Moving Trans History Forward Conferences

Moving Trans History Forward is a series of interdisciplinary, international, and intergenerational conferences held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, at the University of Victoria, hosted by the Chair in Transgender Studies. The conferences discuss trans history and activism, and are both academic and open to the public. The conferences also explore new trans research and the issues that impact trans, non-binary, Two-spirit, and other gender nonconforming (GNC) people.

References

  1. ↑ Laux, Sara. "Making the revolution irresistible". Daily News : McMaster University.
  2. ↑ "Black Lives Matter Toronto founding member talks about his complex identity". British Council. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  3. ↑ "Super Queeroes: Syrus Marcus Ware". cbc.ca.
  4. ↑ "The bestselling Canadian books for the week of July 5-11, 2020". CBC.ca.
  5. ↑ "About Syrus Marcus Ware (2011)". Syrus Marcus Ware. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Non-traditional theses becoming new tradition for faculty of Graduate Studies". syrusmarcusware.com. 20 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Ware, Syrus Marcus (2011-01-01). 'No One Like Me Seemed to Have Ever Existed': A Trans of Colour Critique of Trans Scholarship and Policy Development in Post-Secondary Schools (Thesis thesis).
  8. ↑ Ware, Syrus (May 2021). Irresistible Revolution: Black, Trans, and Disabled World-Making through Activist Portraiture (Thesis). Toronto, Ont., Canada: York University (Canada). hdl:10315/39041 . Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  9. ↑ "Best of Fes: 4. Student Success: Syrus Marcus Ware". York University.
  10. ↑ "Activists Love Letters | March 6, 2014 | Main Gallery | Centre for the Arts | W600 – University of Lethbridge Art Gallery". www.uleth.ca. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  11. ↑ "Featured artist: Syrus Marcus Ware" (Document). Women & Environments International Magazine. ProQuest   211606623.
  12. ↑ "Past Projects and Exhibitions". syrusmarcusware.com. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "5 books that 21 Black Futures playwright and poet Syrus Marcus Ware loved reading | CBC Books". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  14. ↑ Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi (Fall 2015). "Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha speaks with Syrus Marcus Ware". Broken Pencil. 69 (8). ProQuest   1728291183.
  15. ↑ "Grants & Awards – Community One". Community One. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  16. ↑ Ware, Syrus Marcus. "Give Us Permanence—Ending Anti-Black Racism in Canada's Art Institutions". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  17. ↑ Scholarships, Government of Canada, Vanier Canada Graduate (31 August 2015). "Vanier Scholars 2016 - Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships". www.vanier.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ "Grants and Awards - LGBTTIQQ2S - Community One Foundation". Community One. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  19. ↑ "Book launch spotlights LGBTQ+ advocacy, history". The Fulcrum . 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  20. ↑ "Speaker's Book Award 2020 Shortlist". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  21. ↑ Agbayani, Shaina (August 29, 2018). "Marvellous Grounds". Briarpatch . Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  22. ↑ Pierre, Terese Mason (2020-01-30). "Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada". Quill and Quire . Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  23. ↑ Kennedy, Helen. "Trauma and damage placed alongside hope and resistance". People's Voice . Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  24. ↑ "Books to Read for Black Lives Matter: 5 Books on Being Black in Canada". Flare . Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  25. ↑ "Abundant Beginnings' Social Justice Books for Kiddos List" (PDF). Association for Library Service to Children .
  26. ↑ "Six LGBTQ2 children's books every parent should own". Xtra Magazine . 21 August 2015. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  27. 1 2 "Syrus Marcus Ware at 259 Lake Shore Blvd E". Toronto Biennial of Art. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  28. ↑ "Syrus Marcus Ware at Ryerson Image Centre". Toronto Biennial of Art. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  29. ↑ Ware, Syrus Marcus (2020). "Ancestors, Can You Read Us? (Dispatches from the Future)". Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes. 54 (2): 558–561. doi:10.3138/jcs-2020-0069. ISSN   1911-0251. S2CID   234534637 . Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  30. ↑ "Syrus Marcus Ware: Ancestors, Can You Read Us? (Dispatches From The Future) | The Image Centre" . Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  31. ↑ Ware, Syrus Marcus, Ancestors, Can You Read Us? (Short, Sci-Fi), retrieved 2024-02-18
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.