Tracing Ancestral Lines: Earth
About this Event
Supported by the U of T Scarborough Year of Poetry, the Doris McCarthy Gallery has invited Sheniz Janmohamed to respond to Cartographies of Longing as Poet-in-Residence. Drawing on her creative practice as a writer, artist, educator, and certified Forest Bathing Guide, Janmohamed has developed a series exploring the works of the exhibiting artists through guided prompts and reflections, poetry writing, and nature reconnection activities.
In this first session, participants will explore works in the exhibition that touch upon themes of lineage, matrilineal connection, and ancestry. Through grounding reflection and gentle prompts, they will be encouraged to write about their own ancestral connections and responsibility to place and the land itself. The second half of the session will incorporate a nature walk to the Ma Moosh Ka Win Valley Trail where participants will spend some time with “Mother Trees” (Mother Trees are the oldest trees in the forest, serving as a mitochondrial hub for younger trees).
Free, open to the public. Registration required. Light refreshments will be served.
Parts of this program will be held outdoors, rain or shine; please dress for the weather.
This program involves both sitting indoors and walking outdoors. The Doris McCarthy Gallery and Ma Moosh Ka Win Trail are both wheelchair accessible. If you have accommodation needs, please let us know through the registration form or contact [email protected].
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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
This program is presented in conjunction with Cartographies of Longing (September 15 – December 5, 2026). The exhibition brings together artists whose practices draw upon family histories, oral traditions, and archival fragments to map intergenerational relationships to land. Throughout the exhibition, past and present unfold simultaneously, shaped by migration, colonialism, environmental transformation, and the enduring legacies of displacement. Rather than presenting land as a fixed geography, the exhibition approaches it as a living archive, continually formed through memory, storytelling, movement, and lived experience.
Cartographies of Longing is presented by the Doris McCarthy Gallery and supported by the Toronto Arts Council; Canada Council for the Arts; Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto; and the Year of Poetry at University of Toronto Scarborough.
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Photo by Eva Tsai.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
CAD 0.00
