Black Heritage Project Series: Aunt Harriet, an Ontario Oratorio

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About

Make your way to the Stratford Perth Museum Oct 11th at 2:00 pm to take part in our Black History Project Series: Launch Event that will unveil film Installation, Aunt Harriet: An Ontario Oratorio by mixed -media artist, HAUI™. After the launch the piece will run until January 2026.

The launch event will host a panel conversation between some remarkable professionals including award-winning artist, HAUI™; Canadian theatre pioneer, ahdri zhina mandiela (azm); Curator of Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, Michelle Robbins; Historian, Jade Ferguson; and Canadian Arts Journalist, Garvia Bailey as panel moderator.

Aunt Harriet: An Ontario Oratorio Description

Aunt Harriet is a meditative moving portrait exploring introspection, healing, and aging. Set against the backdrop of rural Ontario it deepens the memory of Black lives, bridging past and present – history and myth. Created by HAUI™ and featuring ahdri zhina mandiela (azm), Aunt Harriet brings forward powerful, intergenerational stories rooted in resistance, love, and legacy.

Artist Bio

HAUI™ is an award-winning mixed media artist directing, devising, and designing cross-disciplinary work for stage and screen. Notable achievements include the feature-film MixedUp (OUTtv), the immersive Private Flowers (Toronto History Museums), and directing his libretto Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White. The show was hailed for its significant contribution to the operatic canon recently winning the Dora Award including Best New Opera. Published by Playwrights Canada Press, HAUI™ served as the 2024 artist-in-residence for the City of Guelph, creating the audiovisual piece Aunt Harriet.

Panel Moderator Bio

Our event’s panel moderator, Garvia Bailey, is a widely respected voice in Canadian media. She was raised in Stratford and co-founded the award-winning podcast and media company Media Girlfriends Inc.. Her career spans nearly two decades at CBC and JazzFM, where she worked as a producer, host, and arts columnist.

Black History Project Series

We consider this initiative to be a forever project at the museum. Our resolution of learning local Black History is ongoing and we cannot do this without our partners and donors, who are helping us address this deficit within our records. As these stories continually unfold, we ask our community members to impart their Black Heritage that contains local familial and tangible memories to aid us in our celebratory mission of bringing history to life. A principle tenant of preservation is to remind everyone, “Your Story Matters” and it would be our profound privilege to share yours.

Please submit any related information or inquiries to [email protected] to help us with this initiative.

Thank you to our generous donors, KDB Law, Ron Hikel & Patricia O'Malley, Pazzo Pizzeria & Café Bouffon, Robert Wilhelm, and to our kind mentors for instituting these Black History Projects and voices in our community.

Light Refreshments and time for discussion with directed Q&A will be provided.

To Learn More about the film installation visit https://www.auntharriet.ca

https://www.haui.ca

https://www.stratfordperthmuseum.ca/

https://www.garviabailey.com/

https://www.buxtonmuseum.com/

Links

• Register stratfordperthmuseum.yapsody.com

Organizer

Stratford Perth Museum

Although the Stratford Perth Museum was incorporated as a not-for-profit in 1997, the museum’s collection dates back to the beginning of the 20th century when the Library Act of 1902 permitted local libraries to collect and display museum collections. The collection has continued to grow over the years and has been housed and exhibited in a number of homes which include Fryfogel Tavern, a factory on King Street in Stratford and the Stratford Normal School, adjacent to the Festival Theatre. In 2008, having outgrown the Stratford Normal School, the Stratford Perth Museum Association purchased its present 7 acres on the old Huron Road. The site is complemented by an 1870 Victorian buff brick home, woodlots and trails – a home with room to grow and endless potential to interpret our rich cultural heritage and to deliver indoor and outdoor programming.

Partners

HAUI™ haui.ca Public Domain Theatre publicdomaintheatre.com B Current Performing Arts bcurrent.ca Toronto History Museums toronto.ca Ontario Arts Council arts.on.ca Buxton Museum buxtonmuseum.com