Fall 2026 Exhibitions at the McMaster Museum of Art

Join us Thursday, September 17, at 5pm for the opening reception of M(M)A’s Fall Exhibitions – Interior Chinatown: Morris Lum | 林耀基在華埠 and Connected Histories: The Telegraph in Nigeria. Admission is free for all, and no registration required.

Artists and curators will be in attendance. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Interior Chinatown: Morris Lum | 林耀基在華埠

Morris Lum (Canadian, b. Trinidad, 1983), *Gate of Harmonious Interest, Victoria*, 2023, photographic print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Bright White Paper using Epson archival inks, 40 x 50 inches, Museum of Art Collection Trust, 2026.

Curated by Yan Wu
August 25, 2026 – December 4, 2026
Reception: Thursday, September 17, 5–8pm (remarks at 6pm)

Interior Chinatown: Morris Lum | 林耀基在華埠 is the artist’s first institutional mid-career survey. Bringing together works from a photographic practice spanning more than a decade with newly commissioned pieces, the exhibition approaches Chinatown as both subject and method in Lum’s work. Restaurants, storefronts, places of worship, association halls, interiors, streetscapes, and community spaces appear quiet, often uninhabited, yet charged with social life. Shaped by access, trust, repetition, and care, these images reveal Chinatown not only as a place to be represented, but as the world through which Lum’s practice has taken form.

This exhibition is produced in collaboration with Markham Public Art and the Varley Art Gallery of Markham.

The artist acknowledges the support of:

Connected Histories: The Telegraph in Nigeria

Duckworth, E. H., (British,1894-1972), *Mechanicians in the Posts and Telegraphs Workshop, Lagos*. Copyright © 2026 the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies, Northwestern University Libraries. Courtesy of the Melville J. Herkovits Library of African Studies E. H. Duckworth Photograph Collection, Northwestern University Libraries.

Curated by Nnamdi Nnake
September 1 – December 4, 2026
Reception: Thursday, September 17, 5–8pm (remarks at 6pm)

Drawing on Nnake’s research at McMaster University, this exhibition explores how telegraph networks contributed to Nigeria’s economic, political, and social development. It traces how telegraph technology was transformed by local Nigerian contexts, though it was introduced to promote British imperial interests. Featuring historical telegraph apparatus, large-format images and practice sets, this exhibition highlights both the infrastructure and everyday experiences of telegraphy in colonial Nigeria, while underscoring the contemporary legacies and future relevance of the technology.

The telegraph symbolized colonial power, but it also fostered innovation, labour, and community among Nigerians, and it interacted closely with the landscape. Despite its significance, Nigeria’s telegraph history remains underexplored. The exhibition addresses such gaps by examining telegraphy’s material dimensions, raising questions about innovation, technology-in-use, maintenance and repairs, showcasing how communication systems shape and respond to society.