Daily BrewPHOTOS: Vancouver calendar chronicles Downtown Eastside’s ‘hope and joy’
[“Sibling Ride-alry” by Priscillia Tait features her sister’s children in Salsbury Park.]
It’s the kind of calendar that keeps on giving. Since 2003, the Hope in Shadows photography contest has chronicled life in Vancouver’s hard-bitten Downtown Eastside community — celebrating the souls that inhabit the area in an annual calendar.
The three-day contest is open to low-income residents of the neighbourhood, often on the margins and sidelined by circumstances such as addiction or abuse or poverty. Participants are issued a disposable camera and each is provided a free copy of the calendar.
The calendar is the brainchild of Megaphone magazine, a social enterprise publication which is sold year-round by homeless or low-income people, who get a cut of every magazine sold. They also sell the calendar buying them for $10 and selling each one for $20, pocketing the difference.
[“Pink Flamingod” is a self portrait by Stephen Scott. He sells from his Davie and Thurlow Sts. corner spot.]
Since it began, vendors have sold more than 75,000 calendars. Arsenal Pulp Press published an anthology of stories behind some of the images, which won the City of Vancouver Book Award.
[“True Love” by Spike Peachy. The photograph won the Julie Rogers Memorial Award for Best Portrait.]
For the first time, the newest edition features exclusively photographs taken by the magazine’s vendors. Thirteen photos were whittled down from 1,000 for the 2017 calendar.
“It’s a glimpse into the world vendors see,” said Jessica Hannon, Megaphone executive director, in an email to Yahoo Canada News. “We often forget when we hear stories of poverty that the people experiencing it have rich, complex lives - like anyone. It focuses on the bright spots … things that bring them hope and joy.”
Those last words were the theme of this year’s contest. And the top shot was taken by Mike McNeeley, one of Megaphone’s 200 vendors. Titled “Dignity” it features Trevor Widen, a member of the Haida nation, standing firm and beaming at the camera.
“It’s a very beautiful thing to witness — that someone is proud of who they are and their heritage,” said McNeeley in a statement about his winning picture.
[“Dignity” by Mike McNeeley features Trevor Widen of the Haida Nation, who has been living in the Downtown Eastside for 40 years.]
[“Dude, Thank You for Playing My Favourite Song” by David Deocera. The subject is playing on one of the free-to-play Keys to the Streets pianos at the Woodward’s building.]
[“Inspiration” by Peter Thompson of Nlaka’pamux Nation. Thompson took this photo of Melanie Coon of the Enoch Cree Nation on Aboriginal Day. The photo also won the Vancouver Vendor Choice Award.]
[“Hope on the Courthouse” by Ted Hawryluk shows Super InTent City while it still stood on the courthouse lawn in downtown Victoria.]
[“Photo Synthesis” by Davin Boutang won Best Artistic Photo after a misunderstanding led Boutang to snap a photo of his friend Mike holding a photo of his picture.]
