INAC research branch invites First Nation photographers to apply to document housing conditions
From Wawatay News ...
Document housing conditions with camera
Lenny Carpenter - September 20
A research bureau at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is calling for Aboriginal photographers to submit photos depicting living conditions in First Nations and Inuit communities.
The Strategic Research and Analysis Directorate (SRAD) and Indian and Inuit Art Centre are collaborating to develop a photographic exhibition for March 2009, which will illustrate living conditions in rural and ruban First Nations and Inuit communities.
SRAD Strategic Research Director Dan Beavon said the photos will complement his department's research on the living conditions of First Nations, Inuit and northern peoples.
Beavon said, of the top 100 communities in Canada, only one is a First Nation, while 92 First Nations represent the bottom 100 communities. The ranking is based on living conditions, education levels, income per capita, and employment rates.
"The research is only half the story," Beavon said, whose department produces research reports, journal articles and textbooks on the demographic and socio-economic conditions of Aboriginals in Canada. "I'm looking for other mediums to communicate this result."
The photographs will combine with maps and graphs based on SRAD research about levels of wellbeing in rural and urban First Nation and Inuit communities, and be featured in an exhibition at the Third Aboriginal Policy Research Conference.
Work selected for the exhibition will becme part of INAC's Indian and Inuit Art Centre. A panel of professional photographers across the country will identify up to 15 photographers who will be invited on a contractual basis to photograph communities for the exhibition.
To apply, applicants must be of First Nations, Metis or Inuit ancestry, and be of at least 18 years of age. To apply and submit photos, or more information on the project or photo requirements, photographers can contact Beverlee Moore at mooreb@ainc-inac.gc.ca.
The deadline is Nov. 30.
For more information visit the call for photographers posted online at the INAC web site at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/ra/exh_e.html