Black History Month occurs every February in Canada and is a dedicated time to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians. Our featured cover artist this issue is someone I consider exceptionally brilliant. Michelle Msami is a UFV alumna and winner of the 2025 UFV Bachelor of Fine Arts Annual Graduate Award. She’s been featured at The Reach, was last year’s cover artist for UFV’s literary magazine Louden Singletree, and has been hired by the City of Abbotsford as a featured artist. Msami was born and raised in Botswana and is a multidisciplinary artist whose primary medium is painting.Â
Msami describes her art as existing in a space that stands still. And what does it mean to stand still for a moment alongside someone or something? It means to clear yourself of all your you-ness and attempt something of a communion with another — to try to understand by listening, seeing, and feeling. I invite our readers this issue to suspend themselves for a moment. To standby, to clear their minds and experience on a sensory, emotional, and human level. I believe this is the only way that we will become more in tune with each other, more empathetic toward each other, and ultimately a more loving, gracious, and resilient society.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after. She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.