#seventhings January 14, 2023

The Photographic Arts Community is broad and diverse. It includes not only the people wielding a camera, but the creatives working in tandem and collaboration as well as those behind the scenes. From graphic designers and make-up artists to art directors and claymators to popular personalities on various platforms, Rare Earth Outreach hopes that this week's #seventhings will inspire curiosity and conversation on what messages show up in medium.

FOLLOW Canadian Drag Race competitor Chelazon Leroux for some hot make-up tips such as this Sacred Eagle Deadly Like Auntie Eyebrow tutorial on TikTok, social media's fastest-growing platform.

DISCOVER the G44 Center for Collaborative Photography. Established in 1979, it offers collaborative and inclusive artist-led opportunities for Canadian Photographers to develop and share their work at all stages of their careers. They have a comprehensive Equity & Diversity policy and are currently accepting applications for Indigenous photography instructors.

LISTEN to Toronto-raised Julian Taylor, a talented black man with Mohawk and West Indian roots, whose career has spanned over 25 years and has most recently resulted in his album Beyond the Reservoir. We suggest getting to know Julian with this gorgeous video for Ballad of a Young Troubadour, produced by Set Or Sail (note: domain not working) and Directed by one of YouTube's Creative Women to Watch Kim Tarlo.

READ this memoir by Wab Kinew, an Indigenous broadcaster and musician who is now active in Canadian politics.

"When his father was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer, Winnipeg broadcaster and musician Wab Kinew decided to spend a year reconnecting with the accomplished but distant aboriginal man who'd raised him. Born to an Anishinaabe father and a non-native mother, he has a foot in both cultures. He is a Sundancer, an academic, a former rapper, a hereditary chief, and an urban activist. Kinew writes affectingly of his own struggles in his twenties to find the right path, eventually giving up a self-destructive lifestyle to passionately pursue music and martial arts. From his unique vantage point, he offers an inside view of what it means to be an educated aboriginal living in a country that is just beginning to wake up to its aboriginal history and living presence."

LEARN (or perhaps more accurately, start learning) about the historical and modern relationships between anthropology and ethnography and why members of the Photographic Arts Community who continue requesting or participating in photo ops depicting peoples in "traditional" costumes - even those creating stunning imagery with the purest of intentions - may sometimes unintentionally be reinforcing "othering" instead of improving "representation."

PLEASE NOTE: This is a very deep dive that is met with controversy and debate on both sides of the "representation" argument, both in Canada and globally. Our intent with sharing this article is to simply open a door. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those persons involved directly or indirectly with Rare Earth or Shooting Range.

WATCH this hauntingly beautiful and disturbing stop-motion animation. 

TRIGGER WARNING: the video below contains references and imagery representing trauma including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.

Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics dives deeply into the innate contrast between the Seven Deadly Sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Pride and Envy) and the Seven Sacred Teachings (Love, Respect, Wisdom, Courage, Truth, Honesty and Humility), as embodied in the life of a precocious Métis baby. Brought to life by Terril Calder’s darkly beautiful stop-motion animation, her inner turmoil of abuse is laid bare with unflinching honesty. Convinced she’s soiled and destined for Hell, Baby Girl receives teachings that fill her with strength and pride, and affirm a path towards healing. Calder’s tour-de-force unearths a hauntingly familiar yet hopeful world that illuminates the bias of colonial systems

SUPPORT We Matter, a youth-focussed, -informed, and led organisation that provides a platform for Canadian Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit peoples to share their stories of support, struggle and triumph for individuals facing thoughts of despair, self-harm, and hopelessness through videos, artwork, and writing. You can both GIVE and RECEIVE support, and creating content to submit requires no fancy equipment. Far too often the stories we see in media and pop-culture are driven by well-paid photographers producing content to confirm narratives with a specific and predetermined "angle" in mind instead of empowering people and providing opportunities for them to tell their own stories from their own perspectives. The submissions on the We Matter website are humble, honest, kind, inspiring, and sincere messages created by humble, honest, kind, inspiring, and sincere people. Go give them some love.