For Immediate
Release
January 24, 2011
From the street to the
gallery and back…
We are pleased to invite everyone to the opening
celebrations of PHOTOVOICE, a photo-based exhibition by youth on Friday February 4th from 5
– 8 pm at the Art Gallery of York
University (AGYU), located in the Accolade East Building at York
University.
The AGYU is pleased to collaborate with the
Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth (OPACY), Westview
Centennial Secondary School, Success Beyond Limits, and The Spot on PHOTOVOICE, with this multi-faceted
project. This exhibition takes place in the AGYU Special Projects space from 4 – 20 February 2011.
This is not your traditional photo show. Using
the poster as the vehicle to tell their story, the young artists represent
their neighbourhood, their communities, and their ideas in an accessible format
synonymous with art and activism. Available to diverse publics, the
photo-poster project appears in schools, the legislative, the street, and the
gallery. Their carefully constructed digital compositions illustrate over two
years of work – from conception of the images to displaying them: bringing it
from the street to the gallery and back.
The purpose of the project was to provide
autonomy for the participating students, allowing them to use visual art as a
vehicle to elevate their voice and bring forward concerns specific to their
generation. PHOTOVOICE is a participatory research tool that uses
creative arts, dialogue, and storytelling to enable young people to identify
and express the issues in their community and to explore the connections to the
systemic and policy issues that affect them.
Featuring work by Faduma Abshir, Ademola Adewusi, Marshan Beals, Melanie Halasz, Keira
Herry, Noterlee Johnson, Khalid Khan, and Nana Tieku.
The Art Gallery of York University is a
university-affiliated public non-profit contemporary art gallery supported by
York University, The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the
City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and our membership.
The Office of the Provincial Advocate reports
directly to the Legislature and provides an independent voice for children and
youth, including children with special needs and First Nations children. The
advocates receive and respond to concerns from children, youth, and families
who are seeking or receiving services under the Child and Family Services Act
and the Education Act (Provincial and Demonstration Schools).
The AGYU is located in
the Accolade East Building, 4700 Keele Street Toronto. Gallery hours are:
Monday to Friday, 10 am–4 pm; Wednesday, 10am–8 pm; Sunday from noon–5 pm; and
closed Saturday. Admission to everything is free.
www.theAGYUisOutThere.org
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Do you have questions or require further
information or images? Please contact
Suzanne Carte-Blanchenot, Assistant Curator, AGYU, +1.416.736.5169 or scarte@yorku.ca or Soni Dasmohpatra,
Child and Youth Advocate, OPCAY, +1.416.325.4113 or soni.dasmohapatra@provincialadvocate.on.ca
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