Victoria is a reputable events producer and communications specialist. She has utilized her professional background as a launching pad for her own creative development. Also holding positions as Editor in Chief of RedSkin Magazine and Director of Communications for New Leaf Entertainment.

Her inspiration comes from her subjects. Victoria believes that in any environment, anyone can look artful in a photograph and she has dedicated her life to proving this.

Equipped with extensive creative experience as a professional photographer she has recently photographed for ANDPVA’S Creator Within Festival, York University Pow wow, imagineNATIVE film festival and was the photographer on a Big Soul Productions shoot Plex’s multi-award winning The Way it Should Be music video. She also works with Native artists in booking, publicity, promotional development, photography and CD album design. Her latest design for Jason Burnstick’s Where the Blood Mixes album won her the APCMA for Best Album Design 2010. Victoria is the creator of Roots 2 Rock an annual Aborignal music showcase, which this year became the Canadian Aboriginal Music Award’s official kick- off party.

Victoria Vaughan celebrates indigenous culture and industry professionals with many hands supporting her and the vision to bring awareness to the Canadian arts scene.

Jeff’s Blog

June 2011: Shane has delivered the first 10 videos. They are stunning and beautiful and honest and heartfelt. And often they are sad. It seems the kids came to trust the photographers very quickly and were at ease to speak their minds. (no surprise: this is what kids do) The title of this project: In My Own Eyes, haunts me as my ‘own’ eyes are opened more and more.

May 2011: North Bay Friendship Centre. This weekend was almost cancelled. Organizing this project is very difficult. Everyone seems to be very busy and, at the same time, understaffed. Nancy Potvin, came through and got us some really good kids. The work went ahead. The photos and the stories were awesome. Thanx Nancy.

March 2011: Shane shows me his video treatment of Dalton’s poetry. THIS IS IT! THIS WILL IMPROVE THE FACE OF THIS PROJECT ENORMOUSLY!

March 2011: Going all the way up to Moose Factory. Don’t know exactly what to expect. I know the process works… but who really knows anything. In the end: kids turn out to be kids. Nice to be back in the active saddle again, the team is great, the kids are great, special thanx to Shane.

February 2001: Met with Mitch Smolkin at HFC. The In My Own Eyes project is so similar to what I’ve done in Africa. The addition of the ‘audio’ component is very exciting and should make all the difference. Can’t wait to get to it.

Jeff has been an ‘emerging’ photographer since 1967. Jeff initiated VILLAGE GALLERIES: a digital story telling project with the Maasai of Tanzania in 2007. In 2009, Jeff helped lead The Big Book Project in Benin, Africa. In My Own Eyes is Jeff’s first chance to apply digital story telling at home.

Noticing my world constantly disrupts my everyday life in the best way! I am reminded that beneath my daily life things are vibrantly alive and that nothing in my world is fixed and unchanging and I feel a tremendous sense of richness.

I go out with my camera expecting that I will notice something that is surprising. I expect to be touched and reminded of the larger world beyond me. When this happens I fulfilled in my relationship between my visual sense and my visual world. I feel joyful.

www.jeffreyys.com
www.jeffx.org

Nadya Kwandibens is Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) and French from the Northwest Angle #37 First Nation in Ontario, Canada. She is a self-taught, dynamic photographer specializing in artistic natural light portraiture and event photography. Identifying with her Ojibwe heritage, she is also known as Makoons and is from the Loon Clan.

In 2000 Nadya began exploring photography and while working in video/ radio production, she has gathered the professional experience to easily connect with people and groups. July 2006 marked the beginning of her portraiture work and since then has travelled extensively, photographing people and events throughout Canada and the United States. Nadya has worked for numerous groups and organizations including the: National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Association for Native Development in the Performing Arts, Miziwe Biik Development Corp., imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival, Native Earth Performing Arts, Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Thunderstone Pictures Inc., Big Soul Productions Inc., Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Manitoba Music; as well as several individual artists, actors, musicans and role models.

www.redworks.ca