Photography workshops teach participants to mirror migrant life, struggles

Photography workshops teach participants to mirror migrant life, struggles

CALGARY, Alberta–A project funded by the Community Initiatives Program of the Alberta government led by grassroots organization Migrante Alberta is turning ordinary migrants into amateur photographers with the goal to capture their life and struggles in still frames.

Photographer Nwel Saturay is leading some twenty-four Filipino participants in a series of photography workshops entitled: “Kwento’t Litrato (Stories and Photographs): stories of Filipino migration in Alberta told through photography.”

The project received funding from the provincial government’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on March 8 this year. In a letter, the ministry believed the project will have “a positive effect on the quality of life in the community”.

“When we developed the project, we wanted to leave the migrant community with something more than a one-off coffee table book – we wanted to teach them how to use photography to document their experiences and share their unique stories,” said Saturay.

Following five sessions each in Calgary and Edmonton from May to July, the project is culminating with an exhibit of the work of the participants. The exhibit will be launched on August 17 at the cSpace King Edward on 29thAvenue SW in Calgary at 5pm. Members of the media are invited for coverage.

The exhibit will run from August 17 to 30th in Calgary. Similarly, the exhibit will run from August 31 to September 7 at the city hall in Edmonton.
The compiled work will also appear in a coffee table book to be published early in 2020.

(PRESS RELEASE)