OUR INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE

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R E S E A R C H , S C H O L A R S H I P , AND THE ARTS

ALMOST CANADA

Photographs by William McDowell, professor in studio art, were included in the exhibition “Crossing Lines, Constructing Home: Displacement and Belonging in Contemporary Art” on display at the Harvard Art Museums in 2019.

Describing his collection of work titled “Roxham Road,” from which the photographs on display at Harvard were drawn, McDowell writes: “The North Country was once part of the Underground Railroad, a stopover point for slaves on their way to Canada. Recently, this role has been reprised as people now travel to Plattsburgh from around the world to seek asylum in Canada. Roxham Road, a small rural road near Champlain, New York, is recognized on social media as the preferred illegal entry point into Canada. I have been making regular trips to Roxham Road since June 2017 to photograph and to collect items left behind as migrants entered into Canada. These objects illuminate the lives of people who feel they’re not welcome in either the United States or their home countries.”