Many of the Black population arrived in Charlottetown with the Black loyalists in 1780 and the majority of the population grew from enslaved people. Those who came later worked intense manual jobs.  

In PEI’s 1881 Census, only 84 people lived in The Bog, showing a decline. By the turn of the 20th century, The Bog went under major redevelopments leading to the end of a primarily Black district in Charlottetown. 

The Bog produced some great Black Canadian athletes, such as George Godfrey, a heavyweight champion and The West End Rangers, an all-Black hockey team which was part of the Maritime Coloured Hockey League.

Bianca Pilar Garcia, an immigrant to Prince Edward Island, has just finished curating and coordinating an exhibition in the Confederation Centre of the Arts which opened on January 28th and runs until April 2nd celebrating BIPOC athletes of PEI to ensure The Bog’s athletic history never gets lost.

Bianca has always been a storyteller since her youth in the Dominican Republic. With a background in Digital Marketing, five years in Journalism and an education in radio, commercial and theatre, Bianca has been able to make a career from this passion while also dabbling in styling, and even acting. Since moving to Charlottetown, PEI, she has become a local influencer and community organizer and even directed T is for Té - a web series launched last Black History Month. 

Throughout her time in PEI, Bianca has dedicated a lot of her work to uplifting the Black community. “I've supported the Black art and culture in PEI by showcasing and sharing their amazing talent. I launched a magazine 2 years ago alongside with Tara Reeves and Daniel Ohaegbu. The mission was to curate cultural, lifestyle, art & entertainment content pertaining to and by the Black community, to facilitate community growth, understanding, and opportunity. With the support of our community collaborators, we created The Block Magazine which had 100 pages of stories. After that I made T is for Té. Lastly, I was the social media coordinator of the Black Culture Society for Black History Month 2021-2022.” Bianca tells us she has always been an advocate and supporter of the Black communities in PEI and the Dominican Republic.

It’s More Than Sports: A Celebration of BIPOC Athletes on Prince Edward Island features BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) athletes on Prince Edward Island from the past and the present, and a glimpse into what sport could look like in the future. Bianca explains that by “using historical photos and artifacts, contemporary photographs by Mi’kmaw photographer Patricia Bourque, drawings from Island children, and a vision statement for BIPOC sports on PEI, this exhibit draws attention to the often unacknowledged and powerful contribution of BIPOC peoples to the Island sporting community.” 

Though gallery curation may seem out of left field for Bianca she has always been passionate about galleries and photo exhibits. “When Canada Games reached out to community members through BIPOC USHR that they would like to create art for this coming Canada Winter Games 2023 it was so important for me to talk about BIPOC athletes. I presented my idea to BIPOC USHR and they were so supportive and so excited to work with me on this project. So, I thought why not create an exhibit about past, present, and future BIPOC athletes in PEI. I wanted to learn about the history of BIPOC athletes in PEI and this was an amazing opportunity and experience to share all these incredible stories of BIPOC athletes from 100 years ago.”

{https://www.instagram.com/p/Cou4KvaJd6e/?hl=en}

Bianca explains that being a curator for this exhibit and having the full support and mentorship of the gallery was great. “There was a lot of work on this project since July 2022. We have an athlete that is a student at UPEI to help with the research of looking and searching for athletes. After we had the research done, I reached out to athletes that would like to be involved in the exhibition as well as archives and museums in PEI to help to get those amazing historical photos and artifacts. Contemporary photographs by Mi’kmaw photographer Patricia Bourque helped us with present athletes. It was a beautiful experience and so grateful to have worked with BIPOCUSHR, and the gallery to help during the process and be so supportive of my vision.”

Bianca tells us that so far reception has been “beautiful” with plenty of people visiting the gallery and reaching out. To anyone who was unaware of the amazing work of Black people on PEI, Bianca shares “Black people are MAGIK everywhere. The Black community in PEI is so beautiful and so full of love and art. It's so healing and supportive. If you are visiting the Island, check out the Black Culture Society. They are doing an amazing job in the community and I'm so proud and grateful for everything that they are doing.”

It’s More Than Sports: A Celebration of BIPOC Athletes on Prince Edward Island runs until April 2, 2023.