Visual Arts after Indenture: Examining the visual arts produced by descendants of indentured workers | Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change

by Emily Ghaemmaghami

*Emily Ghaemmaghami, BES Honours, Environmental Arts & Justice*

This summer, I was honoured to receive the EUC Undergraduate Research Award (EUCURA), which gave me a chance to immerse myself in hands-on research, examining and exploring Indo-Caribbean art and artists.

Under the supervision of Professor Andil Gosine, I worked on the Visual Arts After Indentureship (VAAI) project, where I examined artistic practices that emerged from the histories of indentureship across the Caribbean, Guyana and other regions. My role involved identifying, documenting, and archiving the works of Indo-Caribbean artists, including Professor Gosine’s own work.

*Nature’s Wild with Andil Gosine (Returns), Oct 10 – Nov 8, 2025, Paul Petro Gallery, Toronto*

Another major component of this project was contributing to a body of research gathered for Gosine’s upcoming exhibition on Nature’s Wild at the Paul Petro Gallery in Toronto. For this, I was tasked to create a bibliography, annotated bibliography, and quantitative analysis report of varying news articles, interviews, and reports surrounding the cancellation of Gosine’s exhibition, Nature’s Wild, at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington D.C.

The research I conducted allowed me to examine the growing implication of political and institutional censorship in the arts world. By gathering and analyzing these materials, I helped with Gosine’s upcoming project while also learning how cultural debates shape whose voices and stories are seen, or silenced, in artistic spaces.

Overall, receiving the award deepened my understanding of the importance of representation in artistic spaces and the role that art plays in community resistance – giving me the confidence to pursue work that advocates for cultural representation in contemporary spaces. I am grateful to EUCURA, Professor Gosine, and his assistant Andrew Caranza, for supporting me in this journey!

Visual Arts After Indenture collects and considers visual art produced by descendants of indentured workers brought by the British to the Caribbean, Fiji and Mauritius starting in the nineteenth century.

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Emily Ghaemmaghami is a BES student specializing in Environmental Arts and Justice. Her research explores how artistic expression intersects with histories of labor, colonialism, and resistance. The VAAI project presented an opportunity for her to contribute to recognizing and documenting artistic legacies shaped by indentureship—an area where environmental and social justice converge through creative narratives. Beyond academics, her growing interest in archival research, storytelling, and community engagement, as well as her passion for visual arts, history, and culture, has aligned with the project’s goals. The EUCURA award was instrumental in advancing her academic and professional aspirations—connecting her expertise in environmental justice with a broader understanding of cultural histories and artistic resistance project.

“Visual Arts After Indenture” is an area of study and a creative project founded in 2014 by Andil Gosine to collect and showcase visual art created by descendants of indentured workers from the British Empire. Indentured servitude replaced the labor of enslaved people after the abolition of slavery in the 19th century. For more info, see the YouTube video about the project.