CBC: Winnipeg photography project gives voice to the women of North Point Douglas

July 14, 2016 —

…The North Point Douglas of today is, for most, a much different place. Arguably one of the most stigmatized areas of Winnipeg, issues of safety — particularly for women — are paramount, and no one knows that more than the women who live there. Which is why The Voice From Point Douglas: A Community-Led PhotoVoice Project, a show opening this weekend, is so imperative. Presenting photographs exploring neighbourhood concerns and strengths through the lens of nine women in the community, it aims to give them a space to share their challenges, while creating an opportunity to highlight the potential for positive change.

Emma Bonnemaison, a graduate student in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba and the project’s coordinator, wanted to create a project that merged peace work with arts based approaches to community development.

“I wanted to create a research project that was community led,” Bonnemaison says. “In other words, the people that are most affected by the issues are the ones leading the research and art-making while also identifying solutions to community concerns. The project’s main focus is identifying safety issues for women — physical, structural, spiritual, and emotional — as a way to ignite positive changes for women and contribute to processes of decolonization.”

community engagement, graduate students, Peace and Conflict Studies