Large-scale immigrant stories exhibit coming to Markham public library

Exhibition featuring exquisitely printed historical photos runs through Oct. 27

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 6, 2023
Scarlett Liu

The annual Welcoming Week takes place from Sep 8 to 17, in celebration of this nationwide initiative to create inclusive spaces for newcomers in their communities, Markham Public Library’s Aaniin Branch is hosting an immigrant stories exhibition, contributed by award- winning writers and the exhibition’s creator, writer and designer Sholom Wargon.

In 2017, after the death of Wargon’s wife Erminia Tonelli -- who immigrated to Canada from Italy in 1972, he had a memorial exhibition in her honour, entitled "My Invincible Wife: the Erminia Tonelli Story."

Erminia's story resonated with many people; a few expressed that "her story is my story," Wargon recalled, these empathies inspired him to create immigrantstory.ca to give other immigrants the platform to share their stories.

Over the course of collecting dozens of immigrants’ stories, Wargon opened whole new doors in learning about immigration that he never had the opportunity to experience as a native Canadian, that is, people leaving their homes in other countries to seek out a new life in Canada for a variety of reasons, because of war, because of poverty, because of oppression.

“Their stories of strength, courage, determination, and sacrifice -- and the work ethic that typically accompanied these qualities -- exemplify the immigrant spirit,” he said, “We devote this growing collection of stories to the brave souls who paved the way to the better tomorrow we are now experiencing.”

The ongoing exhibition is a natural extension of the above website, Wargon wants to provide the audience a tangible expression of the immigrant journey through the stories in larger-than-life format -- with other immigration-related visuals.

The public can view massive narrative panels and even larger thematic tableaux depict the immigrant journeys of dozens of individuals and families. The 38-by-54-inch story panels can be read easily from five feet away.

“Immigration stories are all around us, but we don't always stop to consider when and how someone started calling Canada their home,” says Margarita Radzevich, community librarian in MPL, bringing the exhibit to Aaniin Library means connecting the community to immigration micro-history in an accessible way.

This unique exhibit gives Markham residents the opportunity to reflect on someone's immigration journey and maybe find some commonalities along the way, Radzevich added, hoping the exhibit, which will run through the end of Oct., to be a reminder of the importance of fostering welcoming communities.