Fundraising Campaign

Help us purchase Heidi McKenzie's Crescent Moon sculpture!

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Crescent Moon is a remarkable ceramic sculpture featured in Heidi McKenzie's recent Gallery 1C03 exhibition Reclaimed: Indo-Caribbean HerStories. 

This sculpture is inspired by the jewelry traditions of Indo-Caribbean Muslim women, echoing McKenzie’s own paternal heritage. The name McKenzie is an anglicization/simplification of her family’s original name, which was likely Makhanjee.

Crescent Moon illuminates the stories of Indo-Caribbean indentured labourers who were paid in silver shillings for their very hard work on sugar cane, cocoa and banana plantations. Labourers who were illiterate could not access banking systems, so they had their earnings melted and made into silver jewelry. Wearing jewelry served to establish status as it symbolized a transformation of people’s indentured labour to visible wealth. Coins, boxes, and other design elements such as the Islamic crescent moon endured, while local variations incorporated Caribbean aesthetics.

McKenzie created Crescent Moon to connect her to this tradition of Indo-Caribbean indentureship jewelry in the absence of having actual inherited jewelry. Her sculpture also creates space for a wide audience to learn about and reflect upon this history.

Gallery 1C03 is currently raising funds to purchase Crescent Moon for the University's permanent art collection so that we can display it on campus for all to appreciate for years to come. The sculpture would be displayed in the University Library with a QR code linking to information about the artwork and the stories it honours.

Artworks like this support teaching and research by sparking dialogue about underrepresented histories. As a permanent part of the University campus, Crescent Moon will inspire important discussions about the suppressed stories of BIPOC communities.

To make a gift toward the acquisition of Crescent Moon, please click the link at the top of the page. Alternately, you may contact Gallery Director/Curator Jennifer Gibson. All donors will receive a charitable taxreceipt for their gift.