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space for grief

This installation ran from
May 1 — 9, 2023

Overview

The inaugural Space for Grief experience invited visitors to walk through two connected spaces on the third floor of the Reference Library, which were designed to support and prompt reflections on and processing of grief. 

The creation of two separate spaces – one representative of an individual walk through the forest, the other of a communal sit around the campfire – was intended to hold space for the colourful and multifaceted experience of grief, which is not solely introspective and mournful but also brings with it joy, anger, laughter, and the spectrum of emotions in between. Emotions that we need to experience both in solitude and community.

These two spaces integrated natural elements which are commonly associated with grief in other cultures, whether being burial grounds or places for reflection, purification, transformation, and connection to the spiritual realm.

A soundscape, composed and performed by Ziyan Hossain and Rakat Zami, was created to accompany the walk through these two spaces. The tracks served to fully immerse visitors in the space, sonically drawing out different emotions and memories.

The experience ended with a final space: a wall of messages which hung on bird-shaped cutouts that held reflections from visitors on their experiences of and ideas on grief.

Over 500 handwritten messages were left on this wall over the course of nine days; messages of love, loss, hope, connection, memory, pain, healing.

Following completion of the installation, these messages were released in a fire ceremony that all were invited to.

Location

Toronto Reference Library

789 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W 2G8

Why the library?

As an inclusive, nonsectarian place, the library presents an ideal location to bring people from all walks of life and experiences to explore grief collectively.

The diversity of people and their vision, which strongly aligns with Space for Grief, are just some qualities that make the Toronto Reference Library a welcoming space for people to come together and build community around processing grief.

Toronto Reference Library’s vision is

“Informing and inspiring Toronto and its communities, making us all more resilient, more knowledgeable, more connected and more successful.”

Partners

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.

  • 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.

  • 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, nonprofit startups and the Neighbourhood Food Hub, an innovative model for neighbourhood-based solutions to food insecurity.

  • 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.