Toronto’s longest running Black History Month festival, Harbourfront Centre’s KUUMBA, marks 25 years of celebrating the heritage, culture and traditions of Black Canadians with a series of talks, workshops, events and performances throughout February. The 2020 festival is curated by Ashley McKenzie-Barnes, who most recently spearheaded Nuit Blanche in Scarborough and is responsible for introducing internationally acclaimed projects and artists to new audiences in Toronto. As one of Toronto’s foremost contemporary arts festivals, this year’s silver anniversary theme is A Silver Lining: examining the past through cultural expression, ritual and memorabilia, while re-envisioning our identities through art, culture and education.

Festival highlights include: Building Black: AMORPHIA the premiere of eight new artworks using 50,000 pieces of LEGO®, sneaker design workshops led by one of the most in-demand footwear designers among the industry’s top brands and celebrities, D’Wayne Edwards (Feb. 16 & 17), the return of Trey Anthony’s Black Girl in Love (with herself): Speaking the Unspeakable Tings (Feb. 7) and a new line-up of comedians in Dat Gyal Funny: A Night of Stand-Up Comedy (Feb. 8). Also, combine art and activism with T.W.O.S: The Welcoming of Synergies (Feb. 15), the Canadian stage debut of Jon Boogz and Lil Buck of Movement Art Is.