OUTREACH: Gallery 44 x Nia Centre for the Arts

Going into my last year of high school, I was stressed about the next chapter of my life. I had just considered dropping out in the previous school year due to feeling hopeless about the state of my overall health. While I had the opportunity to complete a visual arts program in high school, I struggled academically with other subjects and the social climate of being a Black teenager surrounded by non-black peers who shamelessly mocked and degraded my Blackness.

With the pressure of school urging me to make a huge decision about my future, I did not know what I would specialize in should I continue my visual arts education in post-secondary. I learned how to work with a wide variety of mediums and techniques but nothing I felt confident in or passionate about. Still, I really wanted the opportunity to explore photography which was not part of the art program curriculum. Although courses were offered by my school,  I did not have the space in my course schedule to take them. I previously explored digital photography through workshops with Harmony Movement but I did not learn in-depth technical knowledge, nor have access to a camera after the summer program. Coincidentally around that time, my mom was working in the same building where Nia Centre for the arts had a temporary office located on the same floor. With her encouragement and introduction to the staff, I registered for this OUTREACH Program focused on B&W Analog Photography.

I was introduced to shooting manually on a film camera and developed photo prints in Gallery 44's darkroom. This was quite a profound experience for me because I had first-hand experience with the power and impact of community arts education. I realized that I wanted to specialize in photography in my post-secondary education and after completing the program, I was given the David Barker Maltby Award. Which afforded me the ability to purchase my first SLR film camera - a Nikon F90X. These images were taken during workshops with a Pentax camera provided by Gallery 44. This was just the beginning of a chain of events that allowed me to further develop my practice and skills as a photographer. I recognize that I could not have even begun this journey if it wasn't for the support of my mom who affirmed my desire to be an artist and for the many connections made to the communities and people who make community arts education possible and accessible to Black youth.