Staff at the Chatham-Kent Museum and Thames Art Gallery were set to reopen their doors Feb. 2.
The two facilities, located inside the Chatham Cultural Centre, had been closed since the start of January due to restrictions from the province.
The CK Museum is featuring an exhibit called Let Us March on Till Victory Is Won: The Struggle for Racial Equity in Chatham-Kent and Ontario from Feb. 2 to April 16. This traces the story of the National Unity Association and their work to end segregation in Chatham-Kent, as well as the ongoing fight for equity in Canada.
The museum developed the exhibit in partnership with the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, Uncle Tom’s Cabin & Historic Site, the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society and Buxton Next Generation. Artist Mariah Alexander, a great-grandchild of National Unity Association founding member Arthur H. Alexander, created original artwork.
The Thames Art Gallery and ARTspace, located on King Street West in Chatham, will feature three exhibits related to family.
I’ll Be Your Mirror, the exhibit in the main space of the Thames Art Gallery, showcases international artists who feature their parents in their work. It will run until March 26.
“Their works, while poetic and endearing, do not flinch from tracing the challenges family relationships confront in the face of immigration, racism, gender identity and loss,” a news release said.
The art gallery previously put out a call to the community to submit photos which capture their feelings on family. These submissions, collected in an exhibit called We Are Family, will be displayed in the Cultural Center corridor gallery and the ARTspace public window gallery, as well as online at www.tagartspace.com , until March 26.
Local artist Michaela Lucio will have an exhibition at ARTspace called A Small Good Thing. It will feature photographs found in her family albums, primarily from the childhood of her mother. The exhibition dates will be announced later.
The museum and gallery will be open for pre-booked visits Wednesdays to Saturdays between 11 am and 4 pm Bookings can be made at www.chatham-kent.ca/CKMuseum and www.chatham-kent.ca/TAG .