About
Harbourfront Centre’s KUUMBA Festival, presented by TD Bank Group through the Bank’s Corporate Citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, is Toronto’s largest and longest-running Black Futures Month Festival. This year, KUUMBA celebrates a legacy milestone: its 30th anniversary. For decades, the festival has been a vital platform for celebrating Black futures, embodying joyful expression through the vibrant integration of artists, creators, and audiences in the multidisciplinary fields of music, theatre, dance, spoken word and more.
We look to transcend historical narratives of trauma and repression, uniting the community and sparking exchange around the creative and intellectual achievements of the Black diaspora. Cultivating an inclusive atmosphere that centres on meaningful dialogues and celebratory expressions, KUUMBA recognizes the paramount contributions of Black creators shaping the future of art, culture and society.
KUUMBA, le plus grand et le plus ancien festival du Mois de l’avenir des Noirs à Toronto, est une plateforme essentielle pour célébrer l’avenir des Noirs grâce à l’intégration dynamique d’artistes, de créateurs et de spectateurs dans les domaines multidisciplinaires de la musique, du théâtre, de la danse, de la parole et bien plus encore.
Upcoming Events
Past Events
KUUMBA 365
Harbourfront Centre’s KUUMBA 365, presented by TD Bank Group through the Bank’s Corporate Citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, is a dynamic initiative celebrating Black cultures all year long. In partnership with The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, the annual program invites new artists each February to explore and create works through the Black cultural lens, with commissions centred on the disciplines of literary, spoken word, dance and theatre arts. Committed to investing in Black futures, KUUMBA 365 proudly supports the transformative work and achievements of Afro-Canadian artists today, tomorrow and always.
Harbourfront Centre’s Cultural Engagement Manager and Curator of KUUMBA 365, Diana Webley, shares about the inspiration for our second edition. Artists Katlyn Addison, Lua Shayenne, Esie Mensah and Syreeta Hector delve into their creative process and what KUUMBA 365 has meant to them.
2025
The second edition of KUUMBA 365 invites four artists to respond to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery’s Fall 2024 Exhibitions. Choreographers Katlyn Addison, Lua Shayenne, Esie Mensah and Syreeta Hector choose one or more works to respond to through the Black cultural lens using dance as the artistic medium of choice. Their creative process is documented through diary entries and personal interviews, culminating in a live dance performance.
2024
For the inaugural edition of KUUMBA 365, three artists responded to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery’s Fall 2023 Exhibitions in a series of videos. Artists Randell Adjei, Dwayne Morgan and Paulina O’Kieffe-Anthony chose one or more works to respond to through the Black cultural lens using spoken word. Their creative process was documented through diary entries and personal interviews.
KUUMBA presented by
Supported by
This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au gouvernement du Canada.