The next Sebastião Salgado?
By raincoaster
Hannah Walker was raised on the Downtown East Side. She has been a regular contestant in the Pivot Legal Society’s Hope in Shadows photography contest, which documents life in the poorest neighborhood in Canada (life expectancy has been estimated as low as 33 years). Year after year, she and her friends would line up in Vancouver’s grey streets, often waiting in the rain for hours until they reached the head of the line and each received a disposable camera and an entry form. After the camera was full, they’d drop it off and wait, hopefully.
Last year, after many attempts, she won.
Hannah Walker knew it would be a good shot, but the 14-year-old never imagined her photo would be chosen to represent her Downtown Eastside community…it must have struck a chord with fellow DTES residents, who picked Walker’s photo over 41 other entries in a public vote at the Carnegie Community Centre.
Says Pivot Communications Director Paul Ryan, “She’s telling people what it is like for her to live in this community and everyone saw a part of that in the photo. I think people tend to forget children and families live here too. It’s not just what you see driving through East Hastings… It’s hopeful and inspiring.”
You can see a younger Hannah and her buddies in this video, explaining why they’re such enthusiastic entrants. That’s the kind of excitement and optimism that is kids’ special magic and, as we can see from the fact that she did in fact win, it’s not always as sweetly misplaced as us old cynics might think.
When a child competes against adults, it can sometimes be a bruising experience, but much more often in my experience it’s a growth experience and kids, we learn daily, are much more resilient than adults are. Kids come in last and say, “The guy who won said he liked my shoelaces!”
And sometimes, we all win.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Very cool! Some people have natural talent in photography. I unfortunately, do not.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:55 pm
That’s a great story.
Sometimes kids have a really good eye, and pick out shots that most adults wouldn’t notice. (I was very impressed by these shots taken by a 5-year-old girl, for example.)
September 21st, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Glad you liked it. I think the video is so cool, and I actually met Hannah and her posse last year at the exhibition. They are the Hope in Shadows project’s biggest boosters, and their enthusiasm is infectious. They’re also a very articulate bunch of girls.
I, like you Glinda, am not what you’d call gifted in the photography department. When my mother left me her camera, I had to take it to the store to get them to show me how to get the film out. With digital cameras, I am enabled to take HUNDREDS of dreadful pictures at a time.
September 23rd, 2007 at 6:57 am
Thanks also for the link to Pivot Legal Services on the Eastside. A friend of mine used to work legal aid in that area of Van…after living on the streets as a child there herself.
There’s beauty everywhere, but sometimes you need a young, non-cynical eye to find it.
September 23rd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Indeed it does. It’s good to be in a position to give Pivot more exposure. Their calendar is one of my regular purchases.