Art lovers keen on Caribana -- beyond the bustle of the competitions and parade -- are flocking to the Royal Ontario Museum this week to check out the festival's third annual gallery show.

Beyond The Rhythm, curated by Toronto's Joan Butterfield, features 50 paintings by 25 African-Canadian artists. It explores the survival and accomplishments of African and Caribbean people and runs throughout the Caribana festival.

"In last year's show we talked about the journey here," she told CP24.com on Thursday, July 23, the show's opening day. "Now I wanted to tell people what we have done."

In addition to scenes depicting the people and geography of the East Indies, the exhibit also included stylized portraits of several well-known faces, including United States President Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.

Scenes involving dancing or musical instruments also appear in several of the pieces, indicating its artists haven't completely moved past the rhythmic themes of past incarnations of the show, which is now in its third year.

All art in Beyond the Rhythm is based on a poem of the same name Butterfield composed for the show (see below for the full text).

It's not the first time she's used this method to focus an exhibit, but says she gets more confident as a poet with each successive attempt.

"My first poem was very short," she says. "Then the next one got a little bit longer. It's just a matter of sitting back and thinking about what will work."

The poem speaks of people who "do more than play ball, bop and jive... We are artists, writers and teachers too."

Likewise, the exhibit provides a Caribana cultural event for people who aren't necessarily interested in partying, dancing in the parade or showing off their skills on the steel pan, she says.

"We as a people are so diverse, not everyone wants to go the parade," says Butterfield. "The parade has overshadowed the rest of the event, but we're trying to show a different side of things with this exhibit."

Beyond the Rhythm continues on the third floor of the Royal Ontario Museum's Centre Block until Aug. 3.

Beyond the Rhythm
By Joan Butterfield

It's the rhythm of our journey that has kept us alive,
It's our strength as a people that has helped us survive.
It's more than the rhythm that sets us free,
We are more that what you imagine us to be.
We are people proud of who we are,
And all that we have accomplished thus far.
We do more than play ball, bop and jive,
We have achieved much more in our lives.
We are artists, writers and teachers too,
Read about us in the pages of who's who.
Doctors, Scientists and Inventors - that's what we are,
In spite of the obstacles we have come so far.
Business owners and corporate CEO's,
Actors and director's of Broadway shows.
Houses in the country, condos downtown,
Mega yachts floating leisurely in the sound.
We are proud mothers, fathers and children who,
Have hopes and dreams for our families too.
We have soul food Sundays, with homemade pies,
Backyard picnics under sunny skies.
Moonlight cruises, walks at sunrise.
Friendly gatherings for traditional fish fry's.
Our heritage is rich with stories yet untold,
Our lives continue to unfold.
We are people of courage, faith, hope and will,
With many more dreams yet to be fulfilled.
Discover - who - dwells - Beyond the Rhythm.