‘Beautiful place to be’: Dartmouth exhibit honours historic Africville community

‘A Walk Through Africville’ is on display at Ikea – and honours the historic community.

A travelling exhibit that honours the historic community of Africville is now on display at Ikea in Dartmouth, N.S.

The exhibit is called “A walk through Africville,” and offers a glimpse of what life was like in the once thriving community.

“It was open homes, open doors. It was just a vast community... from the people to the land. It was just a beautiful place to be,” says Angel Gannon, the visual artist behind the exhibit.

Gannon says she was inspired by her father Jim Gannon, who was born and raised in Africville.

“He would encourage us to know about his community and the beauty that he faced every day growing up there. And the damage of it really took a lot of his soul out of him. So, I promised him that I would continue to try and strive to help him continue to tell the stories in a different light,” she says.

Africville was home to many before it was bulldozed by the city in the 1960s, in what they called an “urban renewal.”

It displaced thousands of residents.

“The irony of the “Walk to Africville Exhibit” being in Ikea is just amazing because everybody comes here to Ikea to take things home that make their house more comfortable. And this story is all about a community that was here for over 150 years that did that too and then was erased. And erased for no good reason,” says Juanita Peters, the executive director of the Africville Museum.

The exhibit was created through various memories and mementos and replicated some of Africville’s commonly used places.

Former Africville residents and community members shared stories and memories during Wednesday’s exhibit reveal.

“Gathering like this, I think of all the old memories (and) what we lost here,” says Beatrice Wilkins, a former Africville resident.

“We were a vibrant community. We lived on the grounds for over 150 years. We were self-sufficient.”

If there’s one thing Gannon hopes people will take from the exhibit, it’s the history.

“There was a lot of beauty in this community, and I hope I can show with this exhibit that there was life. They lived there perfectly, with no issues,” she says.

The exhibit will be on display for the month of February.

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