Syrus Marcus Ware facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Syrus Marcus Ware
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Ware in 2017
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| Born | 1977 (age 47–48) |
| Education | BA in Art History, Visual Studies; MA in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, University of Toronto; PhD in Environmental Studies, York University |
| Known for | Visual art |
| Awards | Vanier Scholarship Sylff Fellowship Steinert & Ferraro Award TD Diversity Award |
Syrus Marcus Ware is a Canadian artist, activist, and scholar. He lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. He is an assistant professor at McMaster University in the school of the arts. Since 2014, he has also worked at the Banff Centre. Ware is the first artist-in-residence for the Daniels Spectrum cultural centre in Toronto. He is also a founding member of Black Lives Matter Toronto. For 13 years, he led the youth program at the Art Gallery of Ontario. During this time, he helped create and grow programs for young people.
Syrus Marcus Ware has published four books. In 2020, he helped edit a book called Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada. This book became a bestseller.
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Early Life and Learning
Syrus Marcus Ware was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has a twin sister named Jessica Ware, who studies insects. Syrus went to high school at Etobicoke School of the Arts. He later transferred to Forest Hill Collegiate Institute.
He studied art history and visual studies at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia. He earned his first university degree in 2002. During his studies, he worked as a coordinator for a student centre at the University of Toronto.
Ware continued his education, earning a master's degree in sociology and equity studies in education in 2010. He then started his PhD in environmental studies in 2014. He finished his doctoral studies in 2021. He has received important scholarships for his studies, like the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Art and Career
Syrus Marcus Ware's art explores ideas of social justice and Black activist culture. He uses different ways to create his art, including performances, large drawings, installations, paintings, and dance. His work often focuses on topics like gender, identity, and fairness.
Ware was part of the Toronto Biennial of Art exhibitions in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, he created Antarctica, a performance and art piece about climate change. He also made Ancestors, Do You Read Us: Dispatches From The Future. This video work showed a future world where Black and Indigenous people had survived big changes.
His art has been shown in many places. These include the Sydney Festival in Australia and art galleries in Canada. Some of these galleries are the Art Gallery of Burlington, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Windsor.
In 2021, Ware wrote a new play called Emmett. It was made for Obsidian Theatre and CBC Gem. The play is set in a future time and follows a character named Medgar. The performance was filmed in Toronto and shown on CBC Gem in February 2021.
Community Radio Work
For 17 years, Syrus Marcus Ware hosted a community radio show called Resistance on the Sound Dial. It was on CIUT FM. On his show, he played activist music and interviewed political figures and artists. He also took part in other shows on the station.
Activism and Community Work
Syrus Marcus Ware is a long-time supporter of abolition. This means he believes in changing systems like prisons and policing. He was a key member of Black Lives Matter Toronto. He also helped start Black Lives Matter Canada and the Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism.
Ware worked with Blackness Yes! for 19 years. Together, they created events like Blockorama, a stage for trans and Black people at Pride Toronto. He also helped start the Prison Justice Action Committee in Toronto. He was a founding member of a group that created a health guide for trans men. He also helped create the first course in North America for trans men who want to be parents. He is on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation.
Ware has said that he wants to help make the arts and museum fields more diverse and fair for everyone.
Awards and Recognition
Syrus Marcus Ware has received several awards for his work. In 2005, NOW Magazine named him the Best Queer Activist. He received the TD Diversity Award in 2017. The Mayworks Festival gave him the Min Sook Lee Labour Arts Award in 2017.
He is also a Vanier Scholar and a Sylff Fellow. In 2012, he received the Steinert & Ferreiro Award for his work in LGBTQ activism.
