Gallery 44 acknowledges that it is situated on stolen land. We work and create on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, the Wendat and the Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is home to many First Nations, Inuit and Métis and is protected by the Dish with One Spoon wampum agreement—a treaty that extends to Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations and invites us to share the land peacefully through mutual cooperation. Gallery 44 is inspired by the spirit of this agreement and through our work, seeks to share space and build equitable and reciprocal relationships across communities.

Acknowledging the original custodians of the land is a pivotal first step toward reconciliation; however, acknowledgements should also facilitate responsible actions. More needs to be done by settlers, by our government and by us as arts practitioners to be positive stewards, and to educate ourselves and others on the enduring legacies of colonial violence.

We acknowledge that photography has close ties to colonialism: photography was used as a tool of European imperialism and many image-making and circulation practices today continue to perpetuate the harms of capital, racism and violence.[1] As our modes of working shift toward digital space, we recognize that technology infrastructure is also built on the settler-oriented logic of resource extraction and land exploitation. Gallery 44 commits to using our platform as a vehicle to uphold dissenting histories—amplifying underrecognized practices that have complicated eurocentric narratives for generations. We wish to engage the medium towards new futures that move photography beyond its colonial roots in transgressive and boundary-pushing ways.
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We do this by initiating exhibition and education programs driven by artists with culturally-specific knowledge who bring practices of care to challenging topics.

Current and recent examples include:

• Land and Photography: Perspectives on Sovereignty and Diaspora
• Christina Battle in Conversation with Tia-Simone Gardner
  
• Ethics in Photography: Relationship Building Workshop with Jeff Bierk
• Systema Naturae, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Anahita Norouzi
• OUTREACH
• G44 Photo Mentorship
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At this moment of severe climate crisis, it is important to acknowledge that Indigenous communities continue to live under inequitable conditions, impacting all aspects of life, from access to housing, healthcare and safe water to equipment and infrastructure. We recognize that Indigenous epistemologies are critical for learning to care for the environment and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Gallery 44, as an organization, chooses to take responsibility for climate action and encourages climate consciousness amongst our community.
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Operational decisions at Gallery 44 that reflect this commitment include:

• Continued tenancy at 401 Richmond, an adaptive reuse building that incorporates sustainable building efforts and a commitment to environmentally sound practices in restoration, operation and maintenance, run by a certified B Corp property group. 
• Conscious decision-making to lower waste in exhibition production by participating in community-driven activities like the Artist Material Fund, resource sharing within the building and Toronto arts community, and reducing quantity of printed matter. 
• Continued operation of production facilities as a co-work space, reusing second-hand materials and equipment and facilitating similar exchanges amongst our membership.
• Purchasing from local retailers and promoting education around alternative, non-toxic darkroom materials and practices.
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Finally, we are committed to reviewing this Land Acknowledgement and associated initiatives on an ongoing basis and will use the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as an annual prompt to do so.

On the occasion of our first annual review of this acknowledgement, we recognize that the housing crisis has only become more urgent, but also, that this is an ongoing, generational issue for both urban and rural Indigenous communities.

Given this context, Gallery 44's Access and Inclusive Action Committee developed the following prompts for Board, staff and committees to consider our geographic position in downtown Toronto where land is at a premium and people can’t afford to live and work. What does it mean to take up space here?

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

• Alongside this lack of access to housing and work space, how can we act with solidarity, what services can we provide?
• How does our presence within the community facilitate artistic practice, offer accessibility?
• If we feel we are already doing this work: is it working, can we improve it, who are we serving, who can we serve better?
• What would dream solutions be, if we had no barriers or limits?

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Updated: September 23, 2023

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February 19, 2025
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In 2021, Gallery 44 developed stronger policies and practices to promote goals of anti-racism and anti-oppression, and adopted a strategic plan that includes initiatives to embed in our organization a commitment to these goals as a foundation for all future planning. 

Today, Gallery 44 is responding to the call to speak out against genocide and the state of Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinian people. While ceasefire can be a first step in de-escalating conflict, it is not a formal agreement to permanently end military operations. Our anti-genocide position applies to all crimes committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part, in any part of the world—for example, in Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar—now, and historically. 

As an artist-run centre with a commitment to anti-oppression, we review and consider strategies, actions and practices that actively challenge systems of oppression on an ongoing basis. As such, we have considered, and are
joining the Canadian working group endorsing the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

Gallery 44 will, to the best of our knowledge, work towards boycotting and divesting from Academic and Cultural products, events and institutions that are complicit in the Israeli system of oppression that has denied Palestinians their basic rights as guaranteed by international law, or has hampered their exercise of these rights.

We continue to provide space and context for meaningful dialogue between artists and publics, and we encourage our communities to learn more about PACBI—specifically, its principles on boycotting institutions and not individuals, rejecting censorship and upholding the universal right to freedom of expression.

June 2, 2020
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Gallery 44 denounces police brutality and systemic racism that continues to enact violence towards Black, Indigenous and POC communities in Canada and the United States. We are deeply saddened and angered by the ongoing violence towards Black communities and stand in solidarity against these oppressions.

G44 understands that galleries are not neutral spaces and recognizes that our society is built on various structural inequities, including systemic racial discrimination, and that these inequities continue to create barriers to access and participation. We are committed to being a positive force to eliminate such barriers, and to uphold anti-racism as part of the core value and mission of our organization. 

It is important to make time to listen, understand and stand up against systemic and individual acts of violence and racism. We must continue to educate ourselves particularly on our own histories of racism within Canada, and wish to share this evolving list of resources as a starting point.