space for grief

EXTENDED TO SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18

November 4 - 17, 2023
Open Daily from 9:30am - 5pm
Evergreen Brick Works

Space for Grief is is an award-winning public art installation that explores community bonding and healing through grief. Industrial architecture and organic plant materials create a surreal environment for reflection and meditation, while prompts guide visitors to reflect on experiences in their lives. An accompanying soundscape, composed specifically for the installation, act as a soundtrack for one’s memories.

A set of tracks composed and performed by Ziyan Hossain and Rakat Zami serve as an auditory accompaniment to the installation. The tracks are designed to serve as a soundtrack to your memories.

Space for Grief aims to delve into understanding the many ways we need to process our grief and heal as individuals, local communities, and the public at large. Through this we hope to support ways to destigmatize practices, policies and emotions associated with grieving.

Why now?

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for this project. The pandemic brought grief to the forefront for many - losses of loved ones, but also losses of ways of living, community, employment, ways of working and the ways we interact. 

The pandemic brought change to many and many traditional ways of expressing grief were lost. 

We heard an overwhelming number of stories our team heard about loss and grief during the pandemic, along with stories about lack of support. As such, we felt now was the perfect time to explore the nature of grief.

Why is this needed?

Grief has become taboo

As rituals and practices have changed over time, “society in general seems to find it hard to be alongside those who have experienced loss” (Walter, 2010).

Lack of inclusive and/or accessible spaces to grieve

Grief is expected to be reserved, to be expressed and experienced privately, or in more exclusive places (ie. religious environments), leaving many with no place to go, nor express and share this grief. In processing grief, many individuals and groups may engage with long-held rituals and traditions through religion, but, there is a growing number of people that do not have access to religion, and/or lack a place to go when seeking support with grief. 

Negative health impacts

This lack of support and space for loss and grief can lead to loneliness and/or social isolation. In addition, when grief is suppressed, it seeps into other parts of our wellbeing, negatively impacts a person's health, resulting in physical and mental health issues  (Sas, 2016).

These, and other factors, have left many people without ritual and support during some of the most difficult times in their lives. 

Location

Evergreen Brick Works
550 Bayview Ave
Toronto, ON, M4W 3X8

Open Daily from 9:30am - 5pm

Why Evergreen?

Named one of the top 10 ecotourism destinations in the world by National Geographic, Evergreen Brick Works is one of Toronto’s most dynamic public places.

Evergreen’s commitment to the environment, innovation and urban community are extremely inspiring to us and represents a strong alignment in values. The location also allows us to experiment and expand on what creating public spaces for grief in a city could look like, moving from a social services space like the library to an indoor/outdoor destination and gathering place.

Partners

Presenting Partner

The Team

  • Fran Quintero Rawlings is an artist, researcher and facilitator passionate about creating interactive experiences and is curious about the intersections between art, social justice and broader systemic change. Fran is drawn to create speculative experiences through installations and exhibits that provoke important social conversations around equity, wellbeing and gender. In 2019, Fran completed her Master of Design at OCAD University with research on designing more inclusive death and grief practices in western culture. Since then she has been exploring these themes in her artistic practice through installations and exhibits.

  • Ziyan Hossain is a musician, composer and foresight/systems practitioner, specializing in projects exploring culture, technology, science and innovation. Ziyan has been a practicing musician for over 20 years, involved in performance, composition, event programming, and curation. In 2018 he released a critically acclaimed album with Canadian metal band Sundecay.

  • Calla Lee is an interdisciplinary designer, researcher, and visual communicator who uses an intersection of art and data to understand how people and systems relate, interact, and overlap with each other. Her work explores art, culture, community, entrepreneurship, and the spaces in between that connect us to each other. Through co-design and collaboration, Calla seeks to create interesting and provocative conversations and spaces that engage people’s curiosity in order to catalyze systemic change for the future.

  • Madi Chambers is a collaborator and strategic planner with a focus on capacity-building for impact-focused initiatives. Firmly rooted in a vision for a more equitable future, she centres her skill set on system design and framework development to bring people together for meaningful collaboration. Her work spans across art, community building, climate and food justice, and includes the development and management of multiple Toronto-based farmers’ markets, and nonprofit startups.

  • Mimosa Haque (she/her) is a Toronto based Floral Artist, classically trained Odissi Dancer, Set Decorator and Sound Facilitator-in-Training. Strange Phool (formerly Strangelove) is Mimosa’s evolving floral practice that is deeply inspired by nature, its imperfections, and our interactions with it. She is at heart a lifelong student - eager to learn from everything and anything and is fiercely passionate about caring for community and uplifting marginalized voices. She has an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Neuroscience & Psychology from University of Toronto and a Graphic Design certificate from OCADU.

  • Rakat Zami is a music composer, record producer, and sound designer. His expertise ranges from producing records to writing music and designing sound for visual media such as films, documentaries, advertisements, and animations with nearly a decade of experience in the field and a diverse clientele such as Nestle, Unilever, OCADU CO, and BRAC to name a few. His music compositions are featured in various short films on multiple OTT platforms with the latest being “Foreigners Only” released under 20th Century Digital. Rakat is also a live sound engineer with experience in leading live sound production teams at stadium-sized concerts and events.

Contributors

  • Ahniin, my name is Toni Sunday. I am from the Anishnaabe Nation of G'chi Mnissing. I am Golden Eagle Women (Ginekwe) of the Bear Clan (Mkwa ndodem) and a 2nd  generation residential school survivor. I am currently studying at Fleming College, pursuing a diploma in Forestry. I’m currently on the board of directors for the Peterborough Native Learning Centre.

  • Yasmin Afshar (she/her) is a writer and city builder who is interested in where and how we live, and the influences this can have on our identity and wellbeing. Her curiosities are broad but almost always tie back to a landscape of some form, whether that be physical, theoretical, sensory, or emotional. In her current role at Urban Strategies, she works at the nexus of urban planning, design, and community engagement, bringing her deep appreciation for the impact that connection and belonging can have on our lives, along with the importance of histories and lived experiences to place and space, into her work. She is currently writing a book about loneliness and belonging across geographies.