Possibility Models & Partners
CBP exists within and alongside a broader ecology of institutions, artists, researchers, and organizations that model what it looks like to build Black-centred intellectual, cultural, and political infrastructure. We call them our Possibility Models. We are grateful for the support of our co-sponsors, partners, and advisory collaborators who make our work possible.
Funders & Institutional Support
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Connaught Community Partnership Research
Mitacs Accelerate
Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto
Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI), University of Toronto
Community & Cultural Partners
BAND — Black Artists’ Networks Dialogue Gallery and Cultural Centre
BAND is a Toronto-based, Black-led cultural centre offering gallery programming, studio space, and resources for Black artists and communities. CBP formalised a partnership with BAND in 2024, supporting collaborative public programmes including the Spring 2026 Black-Indigenous cabaret at Tranzac.
WEBSITE: bandgallery.com
Toronto Biennial of Art (TBA)
CBP is a collaborating partner with the Toronto Biennial of Art, with a Memorandum of Understanding in development as of 2026. Our curatorial and public programming work intersects with TBA’s mandate to present ambitious contemporary art across the city.
WEBSITE: torontobiennial.org
Shared Horizons
Shared Horizons is a CBP-affiliated digital archive and editorial platform for transnational Black studies. It houses editorial content, archival materials, and resources for researchers, educators, and communities invested in the Black Atlantic.
WEBSITE: sharedhorizons.org
It’s OK Studios
It’s OK Studios is a Toronto-based creative space and collaborating partner with CBP. We have co-hosted the Songwhisperer’s/Songwriter’s Symposium series at It’s OK Studios, bringing musicians, writers, and community members together for craft development and collaborative making.
Ziibiing Lab, University of Toronto
Ziibiing Lab, founded by CBP Faculty Advisory Fellow Prof. Uahikea Maile, is a kindred lab and ongoing model for our approach to community-centred research infrastructure at UofT. Ziibiing Lab’s work on Indigenous sovereignty and Black-Indigenous relational praxis continues to guide CBP’s transnational orientation.
WEBSITE: ziibiinglab.org
Collaborators & Advisors: Local
University of Toronto (UofT):
Art Museum (UofT)
Black Research Network
Blackwood Gallery (UTM)
Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies
Jackman Humanities Institute
Sexual Diversity Studies
Women & Gender Studies Institute
School of Cities
Local Organizations & Sponsors:
ArQuives
Art Gallery of Ontario
BAND Arts Gallery & Network
Canadian Film Centre
Nia Centre for the Arts
The Power Plant Gallery
Toronto Arts Council
Canada-based:
Juliane Okot Bitek (Queen’s)
Dionne Brand (Writer)
Karen Carter (Director, BAND)
Julie Crooks (Head, GAD @ AGO)
Afua Cooper (Dalhousie)
Andrea Fatona (OCAD)
Nalo Hopkinson (Vancouver)
Katherine McKittrick (Queen’s)
M. NourbeSe Philip (Writer, UBC)
Christina Sharpe (York)
Vanessa Eileen Thompson (Queen’s)
Camille Turner (Visual Arts, York)
Camille Usher (UBC)
Collaborators & Advisors: International
J. Khadijah Abdurahman (Tech Critic/Research)
Johanne Affricot (Curator, Italy)
Kemi Alabi (Poetry)
Moya Bailey (Northwestern)
Germane Barnes (Architect, UMiami)
Ruha Benjamin (Princeton)
Simone Browne (UT Austin/Curator)
Tisa Bryant (CalArts)
Treva Carrie (Cultural Worker)
Ashon Crawley (UVA)
Julie Crooks (AGO)
Roderic Crooks (Evoke Data Lab, UCI)
DJ Lynée Denise (Sound Arts & Archive)
Fred D’Aguiar (UCLA)
Eve L. Ewing (UChicago)
Nicole Fleetwood (NYU, Curator)
Saidiya Hartman (Columbia)
Terrance Hayes (Pitt)
Lauren Jackson (Northwestern)
Paige Johnson (Columbia)
Robin DG Kelley (UCLA)
Autumn Knight (Visual Arts)
Languid Hands (Performance)
Eric N. Mack (Visual Arts)
Dawn Lundy Martin (Pitt)
Airea Dee Matthews (Bryn Mawr)
Courtney Desiree Morris (Performance, Photo)
Romi Ron Morrison (Visual/Digital Arts)
Safiya Noble (UCLA)
Okwui Okpokwasili (Performance)
ianna owen (Boston U)
Morgan Parker (Writer)
Rianna Jade Parker (Curator)
Claudia Rankine (Yale)
Shana Redmond (Columbia)
Anthony Reed (Yale)
Zoé Samudzi (RISD, Cultural Worker)
C. Riley Snorton (UChicago)
Gaëtane Verna (Wexner Centre for the Arts)
Rinaldo Wilson (UC Santa Cruz)
XANA (Sound Arts)