The Young Visionaries (Student Work): “The Experiment” By Jacky Vuong
“The Experiment” is yet another one of the amazing pieces that was shown at our first exhibit — “The Persona”.
The short film was written, produced and directed by The Young Visionaries’ own Jacky Vuong and it combines Jacky’s love of photography and cinematography by creating a compelling narrative through a series of dramatic black and white photographs.
The beautifully shot project was created to be an introspective commentary on Jacky’s journey as an artist and you should definitely check it out!
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My City My Story Is Now Seeking Students!
My City My Story is a Toronto-based photography residency created by The Young Visionaries’ Strategic Consultant, Kate Fraser.
Kate helped to develop The Young Visionaries and her organization involves 10 young artists. My City My Story students are given a forum to share resources, take advantage of mentorship and they are also provided with critical feedback, so as to develop a series of photographs about community, identity or social justice.
The space is supplemented with knowledge sharing by like-minded artists and educators from academic, community and industry backgrounds. Over 6 months the group will explore their personal connection to their art form and subjects and build their technical skills through the creation of deeply felt works produced with the highest standard of artistic integrity.
The program will culminate in a group show in the 2013 Scotia Bank Contact Photography Festival.
All Toronto-based youth that are interested in becoming a part of My City My Story should download and fill out the following application form!: tinyurl.com/9wytonf.
All applications are due on Sunday, September 30th!
More information on the residency is available via Facebook: tinyurl.com/9k9h7qd.
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The Young Visionaries (Student Work): “ImaginaryLINES” By Ana Maria Higuera
Ana Maria Higuera is one of our talented students and for her personal project she created her first short film — a mini/experimental-doc touching lightly on the personal immigration stories of 5 people who have immigrated to Toronto and the music (Maracatu) that has helped them make Toronto their home away from home.
Maracatu de Baque Virado is an Afro-Brazilian rhythm which originated in the city of Recife, Brazil. It is part of a much larger cultural manifestation which has its roots in the times of the slave trade. It involves dance, and Afro-Brasilian religion and in the contemporary context is expressed during the time of carnival in Brazil.
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“Visions of Visionaries With David LaChapelle”
David LaChapelle is one of the most inspiring, revered and well-known visionaries of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has been recognized on a grand scale for his work as a photographer and filmmaker, but his versatility and vision have allowed him to work in a number of mediums.
About a year ago, the legendary artist sat down with MADE Magazine during his stay in Berlin “and really had some time to talk about various aspects of life and his sudden resignation of the commercial magazine world a couple of years ago.”
MADE Journalist, Niigo describes the encounter as follows:
“I remember meeting David the first about 4 years during an exhibition here in Berlin. The more surprised I was seeing him again and how much he has changed. His whole attitude and aura seems to be so much more calm and balanced. Just normal. No diva attitude, no superficial party mood. It was great listening to this guy, his thoughts, his story, who he was, who he became and why he is how he is.”
I found the interview incredibly insightful, and the part that was the most interesting to me was one wherein LaChapelle described his excessive work ethic being fueled by an intense fear of failure (which he has successfully overcome over the course of the last few years).”
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The Young Visionaries (Events): “The Persona”
We’re excited to announce and invite you to our first event ever!
“The Persona” is an amalgamation of all of our students’ work and will feature their personal/thesis projects!
The event will be taking place at Basement, through The Manifesto, at 37 Bulwer Street, on Friday, June 1st at 6:00 PM and will be ending late. Film screenings will begin at 8:00 PM, music will be provided by DJ Combo and catering will be provided by The Big Norm Show!
Thank you to all of our gracious sponsors, supporters and affiliates, including ArtReach Toronto, HipHopCanada, Peace Quest, The Remix Project, Schools Without Borders, The City of Toronto, The Grassroots Youth Collaborative, Detonate Group, ArkMedia, Stolen From Africa, Lighthouse Innovations, a j a n i photography: digital image solutions and The Manifesto!
We would also like to thank our own Tanisha Clarke for designing the above digital advertisement/flier!
You can RSVP through the Facebook event for “The Persona”, here: tinyurl.com/85jzh6d or by e-mailing contact.young.visionaries@gmail.com.
Once again, there has been a slight change of plans and film screenings will begin at 8:00 PM!
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“Annie Leibovitz — Conversations At KCTS 9″
Annie Leibovitz is arguably the most prolific photographer of our time and she is certainly the most accomplished portrait photographer that the 21st century has seen. With that being said, we have studied a great deal of her work through The Young Visionaries and recently, all of our students received a digital copy of “Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens” — an amazing documentary about the artist’s life (in its complex entirety).
In the above video, Seattle’s KCTS 9 public television station sits down with Leibovitz to discuss her evolution as a visionary, over the course of the last six decades.
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