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Twenty years after its fall, the symbolic weight of the Berlin Wall continues to be an historical monument to war, politics and painful cultural divisions.

To mark the anniversary, Ryerson University, the Consulate General of Germany in Toronto and the Embassy of Canada in Berlin are presenting a two-part commemorative photo exhibition. Images of the Berlin Wall, featuring select images from The Black Star Collection at Ryerson University, and Freedom Rocks, created by faculty from Ryerson's School of Image Arts, will be open to the public both in Toronto and in Berlin. The Consulate General of Germany in Toronto is hosting the Toronto exhibition from Oct. 1 to Nov. 27, while the Embassy of Canada in Berlin will showcase the Berlin exhibition Nov. 3 to Dec. 18.
 
"Ryerson University is honoured to be partnering with the Embassy of Canada in Berlin and the Consulate General of Germany in Toronto on this unique exhibition," said Doina Popescu, director, Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre. "Taking place simultaneously at venues in Toronto and Berlin, this exhibition opens the opportunity for international research and collaboration with The Black Star Collection at Ryerson University, one of the world's great photography collections and the most significant cultural contribution ever made to a Canadian university."
 
In Images of the Berlin Wall the dynamic and moving story of the Wall is told through 220 iconic photojournalistic prints from the renowned Black Star Collection at Ryerson University. The striking images, which visually revisit the Berlin Wall and a divided Germany in the years between 1945 and 1989, are contextualized through a scholarly article by professor Arne Kislenko and associate professor Thierry Gervais.
 
The vintage black and white photos are juxtaposed with the contemporary art project, Freedom Rocks, by Toronto artists and School of Image Arts faculty, Blake Fitzpatrick and Vid Ingelevics. Making up the second part of the exhibition, Freedom Rocks involves locating what are now the fragments of the Berlin Wall and documenting their present location and histories through still photography and video. Fitzpatrick and Ingelevics photographed the publicly and privately owned pieces of the Wall and interviewed their current owners. The project acknowledges the Wall's continuing material existence and traces its transformation from concrete dividing line to transient fragment and from historical icon to personal memory. 

The Consulate General of Germany in Toronto, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is located at 2 Bloor St. E.