It’s Been a While

Created by Mammalian Diving Reflex and Commissioned and Presented by the City of Toronto’s Museums & Heritage Services as part of its Awakenings programming; through the lens of young people, It’s Been a While addresses the lack of representation in the stories of Toronto’s history and focuses on the stories that may have been hidden. Storytelling is an integral part of our collective and individual understanding of the world, starting from early childhood. Young people are usually told stories, but now the stories are re-told once more by 20 youth across Toronto and the GTA.

This oral history project opens up 10 heritage sites for them to explore. The youth examine and question the sites with their sharp eyes and fresh sense of reality: They re-imagine Toronto’s past and tell its stories as they see them.

Take a look at the project here.

Project Credits

Commissioned by City of Toronto Museums & Heritage Services, for Awakenings.
Directors: Virginia Antonipillai and Ngawang Luding
Project Producers: Virginia Antonipillai, Tina Fance and Ngawang Luding
Artistic Advisors: Wendell Williams, Anthony Tran, Kanon Hewitt and Darren O’Donnell
Sound Designer: Nicholas Murray
City/Site & Youth Liaison: Ron James
Curator: Umbereen Inayet

It’s Been a While was created with support from the Ontario Arts Council’s ‘Artist-Presenter Collaboration Projects’ and Ontario Trillium Foundation’s ‘Resilient Communities Fund’.