“What’s left when an individual is undervalued, underpaid, unsupported and unappreciated? When there is high turnover in talent, what happens to the arts, and how can we fix this damaging colonial structure?”
Manar Abo Touk
Manar Abo Touk (she/her) is a Syrian-born Canadian independent art curator and a PhD student in the Department of Art History at Concordia University in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal focusing on contemporary Syrian art. She holds an MA in Museum and Gallery Studies from Kingston University, London, UK, and a BA with double majors in History and Theory of Art and Arts Administration from the University of Ottawa. Abo Touk has worked at institutions such as the Canadian War Museum and Studio Sixty Six Gallery in Ottawa, and the aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto. Most recently she held positions as the Arts Manager and Curator at Al Riwaq Art Space in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, Alberta.
“This issue marks a transition in BlackFlash’s 40-year publishing history. Our fall 2023 issue is the last commissioned by our former managing editor Maxine Proctor in collaboration with our editorial committee. It is also (as transitions go) the first produced in collaboration with our new managing editor, Jasmin Fookes.”
