A group of beginner photographers who hail from more than 10 different countries are bringing their artwork to the Bob Prittie (Metrotown) library branch in January.
The exhibit is a result of a photography workshop held earlier in the fall. It was organized by Elena Lis and MaryBlanca Battenberg, who met while taking English classes through the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program.
Battenberg owned an art gallery back in her native country of Mexico, but had to close it when she moved to Canada six years ago. Lis, meanwhile, emigrated from Ukraine last September, and had worked as a photographer for more than a decade.
Shortly after meeting, the pair decided to merge their two passions – photography and showcasing art.
The idea was to offer a free, basic photography class to newcomers and ask them to shoot “Burnaby through the eyes of immigrants and refugees.” The finished product would then be put on display, which it was for one day at Burnaby Family Life in October.
Now Battenberg and Lis are bringing the exhibit to the library, but this time, for a longer period of time, from Jan. 3 to 12.
“Sometimes through art, we can express how we’re feeling about our new life,” said Battenberg, a full-time English student, who admitted she still struggles to fit into Canadian society.
“In my case, to find a good job because first the language; and second, my (educational) background has no validation here in Canada, so I had to start from scratch,” she said.
Lis was a bit luckier when it came to finding employment in her field. She said she was surprised when she got the call that she got a job at Photos Unlimited, a photography business with locations in Walmart and Sears.
Battenberg believes in the “power of art” and its ability to heal, and that’s why the photo exhibit is so important, she said.
“We are facing many challenges as immigrants and refugees. One smooth way to integrate is through art. We are from many countries – Ukraine, Iraq, Russia, Iran, Colombia, Mexico and Bangladesh. We collaborate together.”
She added the photography workshop (made possible through a small neighbourhood grant from Vancouver Foundation), allowed participants to discover Burnaby on their own, whether it was from their balcony or on top of Burnaby Mountain.
The exhibit at the library came about with a little help from Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table (BIPT), which connected Battenberg and Lis with Bob Prittie staff.
Even though Burnaby is a “super diverse city,” it has its own challenges, according to Sangeeta Bhonsale, BIPT’s coordinator.
“People are not sure how to communicate with each other. We don’t have enough spaces to go and meet up, so one of the priorities of (our) strategic plan is improving intercultural connections in Burnaby,” she said.
Bhonsale added she’s asked the artists to write a brief description of why they took the photo they did.
“I would like to hear what’s behind them,” she said. “Everybody’s going to be able to relate. Each one of us is on a journey of our own. It doesn’t have to be that you’ve come from another country to have a journey of change. Change is part of our lives.”
