Unmined Territory

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“Unmined Territory,” 2023

(courtesy of GBP Creative photos)

Unmined Territory provides a unique opportunity to connect with often-unexplored stories of the Yukon.

It is a space for exploring Yukon's culture, history, and community through various lenses, encompassing not only themes of poverty, homelessness, and discrimination but also narratives of strength, resilience, and courage. 

As we mark the Yukon's 125 Anniversary and look forward to the future, we aspire to see these narratives inspire contemplation and action, encouraging us to address, celebrate, and reconcile within our community.

— The Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition 

One of our absolute favourite forms of storytelling is when we get to produce portraits alongside personal stories. The power of this medium is that the portraits themselves can act as stand-alone piece, but then paired with the written story, you get such an intimate perspective and voice from a person, even if you haven’t had the chance to sit and speak with them, and get to know them like we have.

With this particular project, we knew people would be sharing difficult stories. We also knew they had all been willing to share these deeply personal stories with the public-something that truly takes bravery and vulnerability. This influenced greatly the lighting and backdrop Gary chose, as well as the emotions he tried to draw from everyone during the session. He wanted to show the strength, hope and power thatevery one of the participants has and that they bring to our territory. 

At the end of the day, we truly believe that the more opportunities we all have to sitand listen to each other…to truly hear what each other has endured…the more empathy we will all have with one another, and that is how we will make systematic changes in our community.