THE
FALL 2019
POWER OF DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
ALL-ROUND C R E AT I V E G E N I U S
CAPTURE TOMORROW
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MORGAN SEARSWILLIAMS BEHIND THE SHOT:
“I work to create a space where we can be vulnerable and peel off our layers of hurt and hardness that we build up. This series focuses on how queer love can transform an individual.”
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IN THIS ISSUE 9
RESOURCES WE LOVE
10 CHRISTINE LOVE HEWITT’S WANDERLUST 14 REPRESENTING WITH DIGNITY A PANEL DISCUSSION MODERATED BY LAURENCE BUTET-ROCH 24 MORGAN SEARS-WILLIAMS’ TRANSFORMATIVE QUEER LOVE AND CARE 26 E ARS, EYES, VOICE: BLACK CANADIAN PHOTOJOURNALISTS 1970s–1990s By Dr. Julie Crooks
30 CHRIS DONOVAN: COMPLICATED MARITIME CLOUDS By Rita Godlevskis 34 PAUL SEESEQUASIS’ INDIGENOUS ARCHIVAL PHOTO PROJECT 38 PATTI GOWER FROM THE FRONT LINES OF PHOTOJOURNALISM TO LEADING THE NEXT GENERATION 42 JAYU - PHOTOGRAPHY + COMMUNITY GOOD By Joshua Cameron 45 READERS GALLERY Submissions by our readers
PHOTO: LUCAS SANKEY
PHOTO PRINTS
Playground for photography
PHOTO BOOKS
WALL ART
EDITOR’S NOTE photo by: www.margaretmulligan.com
KEEPING IT REAL NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ONE ANOTHER. Photographs above language are the fastest way to convey information. Images have the power to instantly connect us and help us find compassion, feel empathy, and tell complex stories.
“Photography helps people to see.” — Berenice Abbott
I’m excited not only to showcase a range of diverse Canadian perspectives of the genre in this edition, but also to share some valuable insights on the impact that documentary photography can have, and to talk about the ethics of intention behind the lens. Working ethically is not something that can be seen right away when it comes to creating images, but I believe being ethical should be every photographer’s priority. As always, I hope you enjoy the images and stories in this edition, but I also hope they create conversations that will carry on beyond the pages: discussions about what’s great about these particular Canadian photography stories as well as about
PHOTOED E IS 10 0% MAGAZIN NADA! CA MADE IN U FO R Y K THAN O PPORT! YOUR SU
what other voices and stories we could be celebrating and supporting. This winter, in our next issue, we’re looking forward to sharing photography like you’ve never seen it done before. We can’t wait to showcase work that pushes boundaries, blurs the lines between art and photography, and tests our perceptions of what photography “should” look like. If you’ve got a photography project that takes the medium to a new level, drop us a line! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up!
Your Editor, Rita Godlevskis rita@photoed.ca
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MAGAZINE
@photoedmagazine FALL 2019 ISSUE #56 ISSN 1708-282X
@PhotoEdCANADA @photoedmagazine
PhotoED Magazine is published 3x/year, SPRING, FALL, & WINTER See www.photoed.ca for subscription/advertising information. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40634032 PhotoED Magazine 2100 Bloor St. West, Suite 6218 Toronto ON M6S 5A5
This issue was made possible with the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council.
EDITOR/PUBLISHER
ART DIRECTOR
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Rita Godlevskis / rita@photoed.ca Ruth Alves Laurence Butet-Roch Joshua Cameron Dr. Julie Crooks Morgan Sears-Williams Paul Seesequasis
COPY EDITOR
Deborah Cooper
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Joshua Cameron
DIGITAL CONTENT ASSISTANT
Nicola Irvin
COVER IMAGE From The Cloud Factory series
by C hris Donovan
#WeAreAllCreators Our expertise doesn’t come from a brochure, it comes from doing. We’re not clerks, we’re collaborators. We’re photographers, filmmakers, content producers, and artists. We’re industry insiders and social media makers. We’re over 400 Henry’s Associates across Canada, and we are all creators.
James McKay Thornhill, Ontario Henry’s Associate Portrait & Lifestyle Photographer
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GET INSPIRED:
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Check out our recommendations for more amazing home-grown documentary content
BLACK ROCK ON CBC GEM Online + FREE
OUR DOCO FAVES FROM KNOWLEDGE.CA Online + FREE The mountains are calling! This Mountain Life is a riveting portrait of human passion set high in the peaks of British Columbia.
Living near the world’s largest uranium mines is complicated. For residents on the land of the English River First Nation, you are either working for the mines or fighting against them.
Filmed over a full year at the HOpe Centre in North Vancouver, Living in HOpe follows patients and health care providers as they work together on a bold, radically human approach to mental health.
More than a decade after leaving home, Tenille Campbell, an award-winning author and photographer, embarks on a new project: telling her community’s story and its complicated relationship with the mines.
www.knowledge.ca
gem.cbc.ca
Shut Up and Say Something follows acclaimed international spoken word artist Shane Koyczan as he mines the scars of his past for truth, acceptance, and the most important poem of his life.
THE CANADIANS With an introduction by Douglas Coupland Curated by Roger Hargreaves, Jill Offenbeck, and Stefanie Petrilli Hardcover, 2016, 172 pages, $45 The Canadians re-imagines one of the most revered photobooks of the twentieth century, Robert Frank’s The Americans. Sourced from the print archive of The Globe and Mail, these press photographs illustrate Canadian culture during a time of transformation. The book begins with an insightful introduction by Douglas Coupland, bringing together themes illuminated in these images, taking us on a guided tour of a Canada gone but not forgotten. boneidlebooks.com/shop photo ED 9
PHOTOGRAPHY + COMMUNITY GOOD What do youth, cameras, and human rights have to do with one another? BY JOSHUA CAMERON
NO ONE WANTS to make their mom cry. Unless it sparks a human rights charity.
Gilad Cohen, an artist and human rights activist, had always found it hard to convey the work he was doing to his family. After Gilad showed his family a documentary about human rights abuses in North Korea, his mother broke down into tears. The film did what nothing had before: convinced his mom of the importance of sharing human rights issues through photography and film.
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Gilad began his career with projects in international development work in Kenya, Morocco, Venezuela, and Argentina. While working abroad, he took a tourist trip to North Korea for the first time. “I didn’t know much about North Korea then,” he says. “It was like going to Mars.” When he returned to Canada, he was inspired to begin working closely with North Korean refugees. Recognizing the power of film and photography, in 2012, Gilad put together a small team and launched the North Korean
LEFT PAGE, LEFT: Carlos Toh Zwakhala Idibouo. Photo by Olivia Barrett. LEFT PAGE, RIGHT: Biko Beauttah. Photo by Bushira Nakitende THIS PAGE: Anonymous. Photo by Richmond Uy.
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“WHEN WE WORK WITH ANYONE WHO HAS A STORY TO SHARE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE’RE BEING AS HONEST AND OPEN WITH OUR SPACE AS WE CAN BE, SO AS TO NOT MISCONSTRUE OR MISREPRESENT ANYONE.”
Human Rights Film Festival. From this, JAYU emerged to address a wider range of human rights. JAYU, pronounced jahyou, means freedom in Korean. The team’s goals are to educate, build empathy, forge community, and inspire — and JAYU does all of these incredibly well. JAYU currently offers three programs: the Human Rights Film Festival, an annual, week-long event based in Toronto; The Hum, a podcast series in which guests speak about inspiring human rights experiences; and the iAM Program, a photography training course offered to underserved youth in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Each year the iAM team works with upwards of 250 youth, between the ages of 12 and 25. “The program is free,” says Celeste Cole, photographer and program director. “Over eight weeks, youth get arts and social justice training from some of Toronto’s best photography mentors.” Provided with cameras, the youth are taught not only how to tell stories, but also essential work skills, such as how to show up 42 photo ED
on time, edit and deliver photographs, and send invoices. At the end of each course, they work with JAYU to create an exhibition of their work. Participants can sell their prints, and profits from every sale go directly back to the youth photographer. “Thirty-nine of our 2018 iAM youth found paid employment as photographers after graduating from the program,” says Celeste, beaming with pride. “Some of them had to open up bank accounts for the first time to deposit their earnings.” Alumni from the program also have the chance to train to become mentors in future programs. This year, for the first time, the iAM Program has a 2015 program graduate working as a mentor for the next iAM generation — truly a milestone for JAYU. Am I Wrong to Love?, the May 2019 iAM exhibition in Toronto, was a unique project for the participating youth and the community at large. “The project was a portrait series of 20 LGBTQI refugees from 10 different countries who were forced to flee because of their gender identity or sexual orientation,” said Gilad. “Each subject was paired with an iAM photographer for a portrait session.”
LEFT PAGE, LEFT IMAGE: Nouran Hussein. Photo by Mohamad Lazakani. LEFT PAGE, RIGHT IMAGE: Dalia Avril. Photo by Ammar Bowaihl.
THIS PAGE, ABOVE: Exhibition photo by Elijah Nazareth.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Anonymous. Photo by Elise Mozarmi.
TOP RIGHT: Olumuyiwa Adesina. Photo by Rebecca Lacroix.
The exhibition opening drew a massive crowd from the community, and the panel discussion including photographers and the refugee subjects from the project was impressive and inspirational. The Am I Wrong to Love? exhibition extended JAYU’s impact in the community. JAYU also set up an Am I Wrong to Love? fund to collect donations for partner organizations that help to resettle LGBTQI refugees. This exhibition brought forth some important discussions on ethics, not just for the youth photographers, but also for JAYU. “We must always treat human rights with a lot of care and sensitivity,” says Gilad. “When we work with anyone who has a story to share, we need to make sure we’re being as honest and open with our space as we can be, so as to not misconstrue or misrepresent anyone.” Going forward, the JAYU team is looking to expand its horizons and programs past the GTA, to First Nations communities in Northern Ontario that might currently lack such opportunities. Gilad states, “We want to offer more youth the opportunity not only to explore a craft, but to learn more about themselves, feel more confident, and have fun.” Find out more about JAYU www.jayu.ca/iam photo ED 43