Artist Danilo McCallum is revolutionizing the way we view art on social media. McCallum, a Toronto-based artist who creates afrofuturistic works, has taken to Instagram to create an ongoing database of Toronto’s black talents.
“There are so many movements in Toronto, artistic movements . . . it’s about unearthing and shining light on Toronto history and Toronto contemporary artists,” he tells The Star.
McCallum also points out that the functionality of Instagram makes it a great platform for discovering new things. Over the years, many business and even popular news sources have been launched from Instagram accounts, so the move seems pretty logical.
“If you are interested in (an artist) you can go into the tunnel and down their rabbit hole and find out more about their work,” says McCallum.
Having a digital record for black artists in Toronto is especially vital as the city lacks a permanent venue for artist to showcase their work.
In addition to his online efforts, McCallum is also holding a show at Daniels Spectrum called Black Toronto 2116. The show centers on the Afrofuturistic themes that McCallum has explored in his own works and highlighted during “Black Future Month” shows.
McCallum hopes that with the creation of an online database, black artists in Toronto can be celebrated year-round.
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