By: Christian Collington, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca
When the Emancipation Art Exhibition first debuted in the Helson Gallery nearly a decade ago, it was a modest affair featuring just five artists.
By the summer of 2025, that number had quintupled, with 25 artists filling the walls of the cultural centre in Georgetown.
Behind this growth is Francesca Durham, an independent art curator based in Burlington, whose work has transformed the local gallery into a vibrant “gathering place.”
Durham has curated exhibitions for the Halton Black History Awareness Society (HBHAS) as well as for the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton (CCAH).
For the emancipation exhibition, Durham has spent the last 10 years seeking out voices that were once difficult to find.
“In the early years, it was a challenge just to find a pool of artists,” Durham said. “I had to have many referred to me from the Toronto vicinity before I could work my way back into the interior of the Halton Region.”
Throughout her tenure, Durham has observed a profound shift in the art being produced by the Black community.
In her view, the work has matured from a place of “reclamation” to a state of “complexity.”
‘Correcting erasure’
“In the early years, many of the submissions focused on history, visibility and correcting erasure,” Durham explained. “But as the exhibition matured, so did the work.”
Artists began taking more risks and leaning into emotional nuance, she said, adding she has seen a “shift toward abstraction, softness and joy alongside the political and historical narratives.”
This evolution was on full display during last year’s exhibition. Durham said when she took a moment during the reception to step back and observe the room, she saw artists deep in conversation with visitors, sharing personal stories in a space that felt truly alive.
“People weren’t just passing through; they were lingering,” she said. “The cultural centre shifted from being a place people visit briefly to a destination they return to intentionally.”
Challenging the audience
Durham’s curatorial eye is trained on more than just esthetics. During the jurying process, she and her team, which included past curators like Judy Daly and current leads like Kara Bruce, look for pieces that challenge the audience.
One standout from the 2025 show was the work of Dionne Simpson, who utilized a unique “de-weaving” technique. Inspired by West African textile traditions, Simpson removed threads from materials to re-weave them into new narratives.
“I am personally drawn to artists whose materials carry these kinds of messages,” Durham said. “Techniques like de-weaving speak to repair and the undoing of past narratives. We aren’t just asking if a piece is beautiful; we are asking what it is asking of the viewer.”
Residents can experience Durham’s curations this winter and spring.
The CCAH’s “Out of Many Cultures, One People” art exhibition will run at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Culture Centre, located at 2302 Bridge Rd. in Oakville and Milton’s FirstOntario Arts Centre’s Holcim Gallery (1010 Main St. E.) until Feb. 28.
Her “ST!LL BLOOM!NG” exhibition, which Durham described as a “ceremonial walk in 10 steps,” begins on Feb. 7 at the Art Gallery of Burlington (1333 Lakeshore Rd.) and will run until May 24.
The Emancipation Art Exhibition will return to the Helson Gallery this summer, continuing its legacy as a cornerstone of Halton Hills’ cultural life.
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