Contact Festival 2008: Between Memory and History

For the second year in a row the Ontario Arts Council has awarded Nikki Goldman a grant to teach photography to inner city youth through LAMP Community Health Centre. The youth sponsored by the South Etobicoke Youth Assembly who participate in the project not only learn actual tangible skills in photography but also walk away with a sense of self-esteem and pride. The project allows youth to gain knowledge in black and white photography, portraiture, processing film, darkroom procedures, digital cameras and image manipulation.

The exhibition for the CONTACT Festival provides the youth a chance to also learn about organizing an exhibition and the process behind submitting your work to a gallery. Thus the youth further their tangible skills in acquiring knowledge in a gallery exhibition while concurrently they are continually building their self-esteem, as they are able to see their finished work mounted and framed on a gallery wall. The youth increase personal pride and confidence in their artistic abilities and express themselves through their art. For these youth this is a substantial experience, as they receive inner strength from the finished product.

The 2008 CONTACT festival is titled: Between Memory and History. This theme explores the power of photography by revealing the richness and complexity that photographs can depict, whether they are records of memories or moments of history etched into the film forever. The exhibition opens Wednesday May 7 at 6 pm at the Assembly hall and runs through May 22. It includes photographs from youth from LAMP Community health Centre, Father John Redmond Catholic High School and Lakeshore Collegiate Institute.For more information contact Nikki at nikki@circledream.com or by phone at 416-525-1387.

Click here for the full event flyer!

The Student Artists of the Lakeshore Area (SALA) Present:

The Unveiling Ceremony of their new community mural at Yummy Pizza, 196 Royal York Road, on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 from 6:30pm until 7:30pm.

At the Unveiling Ceremony SALA will present their mural as a gift to the Mimico community. A number of community members contributed to the design of the mural by attending SALA’s community consultation and sharing their knowledge of the history of Mimico. The mural consists of three panels; the first representing the past, the second the present and the third the future. The central focus of the mural is a tree, which ultimately comes to dwarf the city that has grown in around it. It’s presence symbolizes the power of the natural world, as well as the knowledge that can be gleaned from one’s history.

SALA is a LAMP student employment project funded by the City of Toronto’s Graffiti Transformation Program. Over the winter the SALA team, including six staff and three volunteers, completed two murals with the intention of transforming public spaces into vibrant outdoor galleries. SALA develops the employability of youth by providing relevant training and practical work experience. Youth attended an employability skills workshop, learned to write proper resumes, and were involved in community outreach and collaboration. Team-building and problem-solving were emphasized, and artistic skills were developed under the mentorship of an Artist Facilitator.

The SALA team includes Amir Akbari, Christian Bortey, Ali Lewis, Melissa McGrath, Heather McNiece, Nathan Trudel, Michael Falagario, Kasia Hurtado-Milewska and Sara McManus.