Group Exhibition Narratives of Home

Since November 2014, Canada has resettled over 40,000 refugees, almost 3,000 of whom now call the Greater Toronto Area home. Many of these families, and the Canadian agencies and sponsors that have welcomed them, continue to be photographed and reported on in the news.

During the 2017 March Break, CONTACT and The Ismaili Council for Canada, Toronto, presented a new workshop to empower 18 newcomer students with the tools to tell their unique personal stories through photography. With guidance from Laurence Butet-Roch and Ian Willms of Boreal Collective, the students (aged 12 to 19, from 12 nations) applied storytelling techniques to share their perspectives on home.

Narratives of Home showcases some of the photographs created over the course of this five-day workshop, revealing what the youth—several of whom arrived in Canada within the last year—find familiar and strange about their new home. Many of their images focus on the people and places that are important to them, and include intimate vignettes from their lives. In addition to the photographs, vitrines display sketches, maps, and other ephemera produced over the course of the workshop.

Presented with support from Nikon Canada and Vistek Camera.