WHO ARE WE?
This workshop is hosted by The Image Centre's Poy Family Youth in Focus Program in partnership with JAYU. We would like to thank The Helix Foundation for their generous support of these activities.
JAYU is a Toronto-based charity dedicated to sharing human rights stories through the arts. The iAM Program program offers equity-deserving youth ages 12-29 free arts mentorship.
iAM programs are free and designed for young artists between the ages of 12 – 29 living in Ontario with no previous experience required. Equity-deserving is inclusive of Black and racialized folks, people with disabilities, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), 2-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (2SLGBTQ+), newcomers to Canada and people experiencing homelessness or precarious housing.
The Poy Family Youth in Focus program provides free, customized workshops for community organizations and youth in the Toronto area. These sessions provide hands-on, photography-based activities that encourage critical thinking about our exhibitions and explorations of image-making and storytelling processes. By engaging with new, young audiences, The Image Centre aims to promote greater inclusivity, equity, and accessibility in a museum context.
DURATION
Session 1: March 14th (12–3PM)
Session 2: March 21st (12–3PM)
Session 3: March 28th (12–3PM)
LOCATION
JAYU Studio at 401 Richmond Street West
Studio 380, Toronto ON, M5V 3A8
PROGRAM DETAILS
Across three workshop sessions, we will each work toward the hands-on creation of our own photobooks.
We will then fill the pages with original photographs taken using 35mm disposable cameras. Participants are encouraged to create images centering around the themes of family, friendship, community, and care to compile a photo-album that is of personal significance.
Through this workshop our goal is to explore the importance of creating personal archives through physical media. Each session will integrate support from guest artist and facilitator, Erica Isomura, to support practical bookmaking instruction.
NEED TO KNOW
All workshop materials and supplies will be provided.
Presto fare will be provided to each participant on a per session basis.
After completing the workshop, participants will each receive an honorarium of $50 per attended session.
For youth ages 15-25 (those ages 15-17 must have a legal guardian register on their behalf).
Must reside within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Attendance is mandatory at all sessions.
Maximum of 10 spots available. Registration will be honoured on a first come first serve basis.
No prior experience in photography or bookmaking is required.
Please Note: Registration does not guarantee placement in this program. Confirmation emails will be sent prior to the program start.
If you have any inquiries please contact Des, iAM Program Manager at desiree@jayu.ca
MEET YOUR MENTORs:
Erica H. Isomura (Guest Artist & Facilitator)
Erica H. Isomura is an artist-writer who merges text and image. Erica's artistic practice includes bookmaking, paper arts, printmaking, collage & other mixed-media. Her work has appeared in anthologies, magazines, and publications across North America. Erica was the 2023 artist-in-residence at The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency in Steveston Village, B.C. Erica earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph, where she produced a visual book combining poetry, prose, comics, archival materials, drawings, maps, and photographs. Born and raised next to the Sto:lo (Fraser River), Erica is currently based in Toronto.
Bryce Julien (Outreach and Program Coordinator, The Image Centre)
Bryce Julien is a Toronto-based artist, a program facilitator at The Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a graduate of the School of Image Arts, Photography Studies. Central to his practice is the positioning of photographic processes as tools for critical thinking and interpersonal development. Operating in analog and alternative mediums, his work focuses on exploring the reflexive potentials latent in photographic methods and materials. By situating the camera as a collaborative agent, he seeks to understand the negotiations of experiencing with photography.
Campbell Kaye (Outreach Assistant, The Image Centre)
Campbell Kaye is a Toronto based multimedia artist, and RTA Media Production student at Toronto Metropolitan University. Exploring the intersectionality of digital mediums, his work combines photography, videography and graphic design in order to emphasize their role as complementary tools which elevate and empower artistic expression when used together in contemporary practices. Through this multidisciplinary approach, he hopes to transcend the traditional limitations of these mediums in order to create pieces which challenge the established conventions of narrative storytelling.