Have you ever wondered, what is ‘intersectionality‘, and how does it relate to performing my job better; communicating better; or simply being more inclusive all around?

How can using an intersectional lens enable us to gain new perspectives?

This past week the folks at Simply Good Form and PFlag Halifax had an exciting opportunity to explore intersectionality with The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 during Halifax PRIDE festival.

Through weaving a collection of character-driven, portrait photography of Yousuf Karsh, with intersectional reflections on identity by owner of OleosAndCanvas, Marcos Mena Cruz, a Cuban immigrant to Canada who is gay, combined with a poster called ‘Eye See You’ created by a 10-year-old trans child from Nova Scotia and printed by Pflag Canada with thanks to Rogers (phew, deep breath), we examined these questions:

Ask Yourself, What Is Real?

We asked participants of the workshop and ourselves, the following questions and then gave folks the opportunity to add a dash of vintage and PRIDE bling and glam and have their own portrait taken in the ‘style of Harsh’.

• ‘How much of our true selves do we really share with the world?
• How much of what we share with the world is truly us and how much is based upon peoples’ expectations of who they want us to be?’

^{Eye See You: Portraitures in Humanity event photos.}

Our video looped during the exhibit and runs approximately 9 minutes.

Thank you to the Yousuf Karsh exhibit for supporting this journey and reflection and to The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and Hey, Cis! podcast.

Interview by: Cyn Sweeney

Photography onsite at event by: Carolina Andrade and Carolina on Instagram

Photo Development with thanks to NSCAD Sr. students: Megan Hosmer and
Tania Fuentes Villa

The World of Yousuf Karsh: A Private Essence exhibit continues at The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 until October 6, 2022.  About the exhibit: “Witness the famed photographer’s iconic work and learn about his origins as an Armenian refugee to Canada in 1924. This special exhibition features over 100 portraits of major figures of the 20th century.”