ROM Marks Generation-Defining Moment with New Exhibitions Chronicling the Pandemic

Royal Ontario Museum Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Bloor Street Entrance.

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Two bold new ROM-original exhibitions, opening free to the public this fall, explore the artistry, innovation and emotions evoked by the global crisis

Toronto, ON, August 31, 2021 – This fall, ROM invites visitors to commemorate a distinct moment in history with two bold new original exhibitions chronicling how people and communities have survived and thrived through the global pandemic. Unmasking the Pandemic: From Personal Protection to Personal Expression (opening September 18, 2021) and My Pandemic Story: Youth Create Portraits of a Pandemic (opening October 23, 2021) capture the innovation, artistry, and powerful emotions of the past year-and-a-half through the work of artisans, makers, and the extraordinary creative expressions of Ontario’s youth.

“These exhibitions mark an unprecedented moment in history and an opportunity for this Museum to preserve that moment for future generations,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “The creativity displayed in these exhibitions speaks to the power of the imagination to overcome and lift us above the most challenging circumstances.”

Unmasking the Pandemic: From Personal Protection to Personal Expression (September 18, 2021 – March 27, 2022*) presents over 100 masks made by artists, designers, and makers from around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing over 20 countries that stretch across the globe from Mexico to the Philippines, the masks convey stories of resilience, cultural identity, and our collective humanity in the face of a global crisis. The exhibition also celebrates the creativity of over 40 Canadian makers, including works by 15 Indigenous designers and artists. Described by its curators as a “labour of love,” this exhibition will captivate visitors with themes of poetry and protest, survival and strength, heroes and warriors, and artistry and innovation. The exhibition is supported by the Hal Jackman Foundation.

My Pandemic Story: Youth Create Portraits of a Pandemic (October 23, 2021 – March 27, 2022*) is a powerful presentation of children’s artwork expressing their pandemic experiences. Launched online this spring, ROM invited Ontario children aged four-to-18 to reflect on their pandemic experiences and channel their emotions into an art project in any medium they chose. In response, youth from Thunder Bay to Toronto created over 2,300 artworks – some independently, others with families or as part of school projects – that form an important portrait of this unprecedented moment in history. This fall, over 50 of these works will be featured in the Museum in the My Pandemic Story exhibition, shining a light onto youth’s experience of the global health crisis and its impact on an entire generation. Exploring themes of deep struggle, perseverance, positivity and more, My Pandemic Story opens a door to critical conversations communities face in the years ahead as we emerge from pandemic life.

Selections for display in the exhibition were made through a collaboration between internal ROM staff and external advisors. In addition to ROM staff from curatorial, learning, Indigenous education, and inclusion, the external advisory board includes: Melissa Grelo, Canadian television personality and ambassador for GEM, an organization that mentors high school girls who face different barriers to success; Dr. Joanna Henderson, Clinical Psychologist, Director of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health at CAMH, and Executive Director of Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario; Aaron Sanqui, Youth Ambassador, North Simcoe site of Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO); Christina Saunders, Cree Educator and Instructional Leader for the Urban Indigenous Education Centre and Principal of Kapapamachakwew Wandering Spirit School; and Syrus Marcus Ware, Assistant Professor at the School of the Arts, McMaster University and core-team member of Black Lives Matter – Toronto. The Hospital for SickKids Mental Health Access Program’s child psychiatry research team, including Dr. Jennifer Crosbie and Dr. Daphne Korczak, served as collaborators on the exhibition.

Distinctly different but linked broadly by theme, both exhibitions will be presented free to the public on the Museum’s first floor with no general admission ticket required. Unmasking the Pandemic will be presented in ROM’s “Thorsell Spirit House,” and My Pandemic Story will open across from it in the ROM’s foyer at the entrance to the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.

Press materials for Unmasking the Pandemic are available upon request; further details on images and artwork for My Pandemic Story will be available soon. 

*Note: The closing dates of these free exhibitions have been extended from February 21, 2022 to March 27, 2022.
 


 


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Image credits:
Photo 1: Mask made by Chinese Canadian artist Don Kwan made from Joss paper ("spirit money"). Title: “Veneration for Mom and Dad”.
Photo 2: “Anonymous” by Om. Image of a stack of coloured books with a faceless person sitting on top, reading.

Note: Outlets wishing to share mental-health resources with their audiences can provide the following information:

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

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ABOUT ROM 
Opened in 1914, Royal Ontario Museum showcases art, culture and nature from around the world and across the ages. Among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum is home to a world-class collection of 13 million art objects and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new and original findings, ROM plays a vital role in advancing our understanding of the artistic, cultural and natural world. Combining its original heritage architecture with the contemporary Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, ROM serves as a national landmark, and a dynamic cultural destination in the heart of Toronto for all to enjoy. 

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