Photo Exchange with Calgary & Trinidad Youth
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 5:24AM
Youth from Canada & Trinidad took on the role of a “Photojournalist” and documented on issues that affect their lives and future. The youth will have the unique opportunity to exchange their photo stories with other youth that live in another country.
Vincent T Joachim of Antyx conducted a photo workshop at St. John’s Fine Art School (Calgary, Canada) and St. Dominic’s Children’s Home (Belmont, Trinidad). The youth live in contrasting environments and social economic situations. The exchange program’s goal is to open up the eyes of youth from different cultures so they can learn from each other.
“There are many similarities between the youth and many differences. The youth in Calgary at St John’s generally speaking live very comfortable lives. In contrast, the youth in Belmont at St. Dominic all live in Children’s Home,” Joachim states.
“Yet they all face issues that are similar that affect their future.”
Over 40 youth took part in the exchange program. Each youth receives a printed 8x10 photo from the participating country. Joachim challenged the Trinidad youth to interpret the Canadian youth’s photos. He was very surprised by their answers.
“It was fantastic to hear the interpretations. The youth applied the photos to their lives or interpreted it very close to the original artists definition. Many of the stories involved hope for the future and persevering under unusual circumstances, ” Joachim said.
Joachim also has a personal connection to Trinidad as his parents were born in the country and his Aunt & Uncle grew up in the Children’s Home.
“I am very blessed to be able to run artistic workshops locally & internationally. It feels really special to give back to the community my family is from.”
He says he is not trying to teach youth how to become professional artists but to help them visualize their problems and express themselves through the arts.
“The main idea is to open up their minds to other youth and the problems they face so they can learn from one another and show the power of the arts.”
