Call for Black artists to create tribute piece for Wilma Morrison

Niagara Falls is putting out the call for Canadian Black artists to create a tribute piece for late local historian Wilma Morrison.

The final design will be installed on the exterior of the city’s new culture hub and farmers market called the Niagara Falls Exchange, scheduled to open Canada Day.

Submission deadline is Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m.

The project will commemorate the life and achievements of Morrison, the Niagara Falls woman whose efforts to preserve and celebrate Black history in Canada earned her national recognition.

Morrison will have a courtyard named after her at the culture hub and there will be a permanent Black history exhibit at Niagara Falls History Museum, next door, dedicated to her.

Morrison was instrumental in saving the historic British Methodist Episcopal Church in Niagara Falls from demolition in the 1990s. Located on Peer Street, the church is where many slaves gathered after fleeing the U.S. via Niagara’s Underground Railroad.

Morrison died of COVID-19 in April 2020. She was 91.

The chosen artist for the project will receive $5,000. There is no fee to apply. The city noted that vinyl printing and installation costs are not part of the artist’s budget.

Submissions can be made at www.niagarafalls.ca/culture.