Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture
At First Sight: Portraits of our Community
La Petite Mort Gallery
13 to 19 September 2013
The exhibition, At First Sight: Portraits of our Community, was organized by the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO) and the Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture (CNCAC) following discussions around a creative and accessible way to engage youth in Ottawa in a visual dialogue with their communities.
We wanted to teach some of the basics of photography as well as some of the aspects of being part of a group exhibition. SPAO offered a two-week workshop that attracted five youth from the Ottawa area including Haythem Ayoub (Sudan), Rawaa Ayoub (Sudan), Luisa Gonzalez Gomez (Colombia), Jessica-Derora Labovitch (Canada), and Zi Tian Zhang (China), who range in age from 13 to 17.
The workshop, taught by SPAO graduate Whitney Lewis-Smith, introduced the participants to a variety of cameras and photographic processes, ranging from homemade pinhole cameras, to film and digital cameras, to smart phones. They were also introduced to traditional darkroom processes and to creative photographic techniques.
In the texts about their lives, the youth talk about loneliness, separation, bullying, abuse, detachment, and pain. In their photographs and in the texts describing their work, however, they show insight into their individuality and growth, and describe culture, memory, relationships, religion, tradition, family, and community.
I invite you to engage in the journey of these young people and see the world through their eyes. I would like to thank each of the artists for their participation and for sharing their work with us.
I would also like to thank Randy Innes, Michael Tardioli, and Whitney Lewis-Smith from SPAO; Maria Gomez and the Board of Directors from the CNCAC; Juanita Layton from The Door Youth Centre; and Guy Bérubé, Director of La Petite Mort Gallery for their support, generosity, and counsel.
This workshop and exhibition have been made possible by a grant from the City of Ottawa.
Julie Hodgson
Curator & Development Maven
La Petite Mort Gallery