What does Thomas J. Price’s Bronze Monument mean for Toronto?

On Wednesday, July 30^th, 2025, the crowd gathered outside the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) for a moment that felt historic. Eyes turned toward the towering bronze installation Moments Contained (2020), the newest work by internationally acclaimed British artist Thomas J. Price.

The 2.7-metre statue depicts a young Black woman in casual clothes, her hands in her pockets, her stance calm and reflective. The choice to present a character so ordinary in scale and pose made the extraordinary nature of the piece even more powerful. At the intersection of Dundas Street West and McCaul Street, the unveiling drew applause and music. Toronto’s own Shakura S’Aida performed alongside a gospel choir led by Kiara Picart, adding soul to the moment.

Price was born in London and trained at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art, where he still lives and works. His sculptures and installations have been exhibited across the globe, including:

• The Power Plant (Toronto)
• The National Portrait Gallery (London)
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park (West Bretton)
• Victoria and Albert Museum (London)
• Kunsthalle Krems (Austria)
• Kunsthal Rotterdam

Major galleries also hold his works, from the Brooklyn Museum and Studio Museum in New York to the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia and The Legacy Museum in Alabama.

In a past interview with curator Shehera Grot, Price explained that he deliberately avoids portraying specific individuals. Instead, he invents composite figures, imagined people who still feel deeply familiar. His goal: to shift how we understand monuments and who deserves to be remembered.

“Moments Contained indicates a moment, an opportunity for understanding, connection, and empathy,” Price has said. “It represents emotions and their recognition, even if the other person is nothing like you.”

The AGO extended the conversation beyond the unveiling. In Baillie Court, Price joined curator Dr. Julie Crooks for an intimate public dialogue. Billed as a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of today’s leading contemporary artists, the event delivered.

Price spoke candidly about his journey into the mainstream European gallery world. He described challenges, roadblocks, and systemic exclusion, but also persistence and breakthrough. The honesty of his reflections resonated. For many in attendance, his path mirrored the struggles faced by other Black creatives pushing against entrenched systems.

The installation of Moments Contained was made possible by a community of donors, including: the Chandaria Family, Tyrone and Life Edwards, the Gordon and Lorraine Gibson Family Foundation, Dr. Liza and Dr. Frederick Murrell, and several anonymous families. Their commitment ensured this bold addition to Toronto’s public art landscape.

For Dr. Crooks, who leads the AGO’s Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, this moment represents a turning point. Under her leadership, the department is expected to bring more groundbreaking work and fresh voices to the forefront.

Public monuments shape how we see ourselves. For decades, bronze statues in major cities celebrated colonial leaders, military figures, and powerful men. Rarely did they honour women, let alone Black women in everyday poses of quiet strength.

By presenting an imagined young woman (neither celebrity, nor historical figure) Price invites us to confront absence in public memory. He asks us to see dignity in ordinary Black life. In doing so, Moments Contained reshapes who belong on our city streets and in our collective story.

This was an event that redefined: presence, representation, and empathy in Toronto’s cultural landscape, and it is only the beginning of what’s to come from the AGO’s growing commitment to voices that have too often been ignored.