Wikipedia

PhotoSensitive (organization)

PhotoSensitive is a Canadian nonprofit collective with the goal of spreading social awareness through black-and-white photography. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, it was founded by Toronto Star photographer Andrew Stawicki and Toronto Star photo editor Peter Robertson.[1] PhotoSensitive has raised funds for various charities, including donations to Daily Bread Food Bank and The Hospital for Sick Children.[2] More than 100 Canadian professional and amateur photographers have participated in PhotoSensitive projects.[3][4] In 2010, PhotoSensitive celebrated their 20-year anniversary.[2] In 2018, founder Stawicki was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross [5] (civil division) by the Governor General of Canada for his work on this project.

PhotoSensitive
Company typeNonprofit organization
Founded1990
FounderAndrew Stawicki
Peter Robertson
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Area served
Canada
Key people
Andrew Stawicki, Founding Photographer
Websitehttp://www.photosensitive.com

Exhibits

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Overview

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Name Premiere
It's In Their Eyes 1990-1992
Precious Time 1994
Hand of Hope 1995
Them = Us 1997
Braille = Equality 2000
Child Poverty: A National Disgrace 1999-2000
HIV Positive 2002
Destination Toronto 2004
Life of Water 2004-2005
Beyond the Wave 2005
Summer of Hope 2005
AIDS: Picture Change 2005-2006
The Strength Within 2007
Vibrant Communities in Focus 2007
Living With 2007-2008
Inspiring Possibilities 2009
Cancer Connections 2008-2010
TIEd Together 2011
The Fuel of Life 2011
Kids Who Can 2012
Picture Change 2013

It's In Their Eyes

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PhotoSensitive's first project, It's In Their Eyes, started in 1990 focused on Toronto's hungry, homeless and under-housed population. Twelve photographers in partnership with Daily Bread Food Bank created a photo essay that documented the people Daily Bread served.[6] The exhibit launched on April 5, 1992.[7]

Precious Time

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The next project, Precious Time, was a partnership between PhotoSensitive and The Hospital for Sick Children.[8] SickKids Hospital gave PhotoSensitive's twelve members 24-hour access to the hospital for eight months.[9][10] The 120 photo exhibit was launched in 1994 with the goal to raise money for SickKids' Herbie Fund.[11]

Them = Us

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Launched in 1997,[12] Them = Us was organized by the Harmony Movement,[13] and curated by Vancouver-based artist Tom Graff.[14] PhotoSensitive invited twelve new photographers to the collective.[15] Them = Us was PhotoSensitive's first nationwide project. The National Movement for Harmony in Canada published a Them = Us photo book titled Harmony in 1998.

In 2008, Them = Us was exhibited at the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies annual conference.

Braille = Equality

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Braille = Equality was created in 2000 in a partnership between PhotoSensitive and the CNIB (the Canadian National Institute for the Blind).[16] It was launched on February 9, 2000 on Parliament Hill.[17] Since its launch, Braille = Equality has been shown across Canada, in the United States and in Melbourne, Australia.[16]

Child Poverty: A National Disgrace

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Starting in 2000, Child Poverty: A National Disgrace was a partnership between PhotoSensitive and Campaign 2000 in response to rising child poverty in Canada.[18] The exhibit of 70 images by 24 photographers launched on November 26, 2001.[19]

Destination Toronto

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In response to Toronto's outbreak of SARS, PhotoSensitive documented the vibrance of the city as Destination Toronto.[20] David Miller and James Bartleman launched in the Brookfield Place in February, 2004.[21]

Life of Water

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Life of Water was the first exhibit to be launched with a book.[22] PhotoSensitive sought to document the entirety of water's impact on Canadians. PhotoSensitive invited photographers from across Canada to start shooting for Life of Water in 2004.[23] The Brookfield Place was launched by David Ramsay, former Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, and saw 160 black-and-white photographs on September 7, 2005.[24] The Life of Water book contains an essay by David Suzuki.[25]

Summer of Hope

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During the summer of 2005, James Bartleman, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, launched reading camps in five First Nations communities—North Caribou Lake, Kingfisher Lake, Muskrat Dam, Neskantaga and Fort Albany.[26]—to fight high youth suicide rates.[27] James Bartleman secured a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation for PhotoSensitive to document the Summer of Hope

Vibrant Communities in Focus

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Created in 2007, Vibrant Communities in Focus celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.[28] Twenty-seven photographers visited twenty-seven of the Trillium Foundation's most successful agencies and non-profit organizations from across Ontario.[29] Vibrant Communities in Focus exhibition was opened in Toronto and then traveled across Ontario.

Living With

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On Tuesday 4, December 2007 seven PhotoSensitive photographers left to spend ten days in Rwanda to shed light on the state of HIV/AIDS in the country.[30] Living With is the collective's third international project and was in partnership with Carleton University and the National University of Rwanda.[31] The 50 photo exhibit launched in Brookfield Place on July 22, 2008.[32]

Cancer Connections

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Started in early 2008, Cancer Connections was shot by PhotoSensitive in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society and dedicated to June Callwood.[33] The project called for submissions from not only photographers, but ordinary Canadians that had a story to tell.[34] Cancer Connections contained 1,000 photos from all walks a life across Canada.[35] Cancer Connections launched on May 20, 2008 in Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Ontario.[4] The final national show was held on June 10, 2010 in Major's Hill Park, Ottawa, Ontario.[35]

TIEd Together

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PhotoSensitive partnered with Prostate Cancer Canada to create TIEd Together to raise awareness for prostate cancer.[36] The exhibit featured photographs of men who were fighting or who had survived prostate cancer, including Jack Layton.[37]

Kids Who Can

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Over the summer of 2011, PhotoSensitive partnered with Easter Seals (Canada) to capture the experiences of children with disabilities.[38] For Kids Who Can, PhotoSensitive had twenty-five photographers on assignment to twelve Easter Seals camps.[39] The tour was launched on June 18, 2012 at the Mic Mac Mall, Halifax, Canada.[40]

Picture Change

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Launched on July 16, 2013 at the Royal Bank Plaza, Picture Change began in 2012,[41] and is the collection of images chosen by the photographers that involved social change.[42] PhotoSensitive sent an invitation to over 100 top Canadian photographers to create the exhibit, including Doug Ball, Peter Martin and Paul Watson.[43] A Picture Change book was published accompanying the opening. It is currently touring Toronto, Canada.[42]

Publications

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  • Precious Time (1995, PhotoSensitive; ISBN 1-896465-00-5)
  • Harmony (1998, Macmillan Canada; ISBN 0-7715-7632-3)
  • PhotoSensitive Ten Years: A work in progress (2000, PhotoSensitive; ISBN 09687061-0-X)
  • Life of Water (2005, PhotoSensitive; ISBN 0-9687061-1-8)
  • Vibrant Communities in Focus (2007,PhotoSensitive; ISBN 978-0-9687061-2-1)
  • Inspiring Possibilities (2009, PhotoSensitive; ISBN 978-09687061-3-8)
  • Field of Vision (2010, PhotoSensitive; ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5)
  • Cancer Connections (2011, John Wiley & Sons Canada; ISBN 978-0-470-96449-1)
  • Picture Change (2013, PhotoSensitive)

References

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  1. ^ Quinn, Mark (1994). "Just what was seen". Family Practice. 6 (29): 2, 45–6.
  2. ^ a b Holden, Alfred (12 September 2010). "The camera as a catalyst for social change". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  3. ^ "Photo Gallery: The Fuel of life exhibit, by PhotoSensitive". Toronto Star. 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Kopun, Francine (17 May 2008). "The healing lens". Toronto Star. pp. ID1, ID4.
  5. ^ "Presentation of Honours in Toronto (2018)". gg.ca. 20 September 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  6. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  7. ^ "In Search of Dignity". Toronto Sun. 5 April 1992. pp. 8–9.
  8. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  9. ^ "Anxious moments for a father". Toronto Star. 9 October 1994. p. A1.
  10. ^ Brooke, Jeff. "PhotoSensitive". News Views. 21 (4). Eastern Canadian News Photographers Association: 12.
  11. ^ Brooke, Jeff. "PhotoSensitive". News Views. 21 (4). Eastern Canadian News Photographers Association: 11–13.
  12. ^ Callwood, June (1998). Harmony. Toronto: The Harmony Movement & MacMillan Canada. p. x. ISBN 0-7715-7632-3.
  13. ^ "How we get along". Toronto Star. 30 November 1997. pp. F4–5.
  14. ^ "Them = Us Project". Harmony Movement. 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  15. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  16. ^ a b Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  17. ^ "The dots that open doors". Toronto Star. 5 February 2000. p. H5.
  18. ^ Dunfield, Allison (27 November 2001). "In 1989 we were one in seven living in poverty. Now we're at almost one in five". Globe and Mail.
  19. ^ Eaton, Vena (25 November 2001). "Poverty's Children". Toronto Sun. pp. 52–3.
  20. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  21. ^ Hamilton, Tyler (2 February 2004). "Picture perfect view of Toronto". Toronto Star. p. B2.
  22. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  23. ^ Grice, Samantha (7 September 2005). "Liquid Assets". National Post. Toronto. pp. AL8.
  24. ^ Teotonio, Isabel (7 September 2005). "Liquid assets: a portrait". Toronto Star. p. B2.
  25. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2005). Life of Water. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. pp. 74–5, 140. ISBN 0-9687061-1-8.
  26. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  27. ^ Brown, Louise (8 April 2005). "A boon for native schools". Toronto Star. p. B5.
  28. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  29. ^ Vibrant Communities. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. 2007. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-9687061-2-1.
  30. ^ Mathieu, Emily (2 December 2007). "Photographers to focus on Rwanda". Toronto Star.
  31. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  32. ^ Loriggio, Paola (22 July 2008). "Remains of Rwanda's genocide". Toronto Star. p. AA1.
  33. ^ Campbell, Alannah (2010). Field of View. Mississauga: PhotoSensitive. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-9687061-4-5.
  34. ^ Burns, James (2011). Cancer Connections. Mississauga: John Wiley & Sons Canada. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-470-96449-1.
  35. ^ a b Zerbisias, Antonia (30 May 2008). "Cancer A thousand perspectives". Toronto Star. pp. A8, A9.
  36. ^ "TIEd Together". PhotoSensitive. 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  37. ^ "Avenues". National Post. Toronto. 10 January 2012. pp. AL8.
  38. ^ Pearce, Tralee (27 February 2012). "Scenes from the 'Best Camp in the World'". The Globe of Mail. Toronto. p. L5.
  39. ^ "The power of pictures". Toronto Star. 25 February 2012. p. IN4–5.
  40. ^ "Kids Who Can". Easter Seals. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2013.[permanent dead link]
  41. ^ "PhotoSensitive – Picture Change". News Photographers Association of Canada. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  42. ^ a b "Picture change". Toronto Star. 20 July 2013. pp. WD7.
  43. ^ Bregg, Peter (24 July 2013). "Picture Change exhibit features 100 of the best photos from Canada's top photographers". J-Source. Canadian Journalism Project. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
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