Feels Like Home: Panel conversation
Sunday School, from the series The Hair Appointment, 2018. Photography by Jeremy Rodney-Hall. Directed by Josef Adamu. Produced by Josef Adamu & Helena Koudou. Styled by Habibat Julmat. Hair by Helena Koudou. Featuring Aziza. © Jeremy Rodney Hall. Image courtesy of the artist and Sunday School.
Feels Like Home: Panel conversation
Join filmmaker Alicia K. Harris, writer and filmmaker Sharine Taylor and photographer O'shane Howard for a conversation about their work and approaches to storytelling, in conjunction with the exhibition, Feels Like Home. Moderated by the AGO’s Emilie Croning with Sunday School creative director Josef Adamu, the panel will explore methods of storytelling that resonate with African, Caribbean and diasporic communities, and consider one of the exhibition’s guiding questions: What does “home” mean to you?
Alicia K. Harris is a filmmaker from Scarborough ON. She is best known for her short film PICK, which won Best Live Action Short at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards and Best Short Film at the Miami Film Festival. Her upcoming directing credits include the inaugural episode of “Black Life,” a documentary series about Black Canadian history for CBC, and the pilot of Amazon’s “Beyond Black Beauty,” a narrative series about Black cowboys. Alicia is dedicated to celebrating the Black experience in her work, with a focus on authenticity, beauty, and spirituality.
Sharine Taylor is an award-winning music and culture writer, filmmaker, copywriter and emerging production designer. Sharine’s (she/her/hers) combined passions for writing, archiving, media creating and curating has informed her approach in editorializing and documenting the expansive and generative cultural production that takes place in the Caribbean, and how it materializes, transforms and takes up itself in different geographies. In 2019, Sharine made her directorial debut continuing her aspirations to share the narratives of people with Caribbean heritage. Tallawah Abroad: Remembering Little Jamaica is a short that explores how a neighbourhood in Toronto’s west end, affectionately known as Little Jamaica, fights to preserve its history and cultural legacy amidst gentrification. In 2021, the film was awarded ‘Best Direction in a Documentary Series’ from the Canadian Screen Academy. Sharine is the creative lead at o&m studio.
O'shane Howard is a Canadian photographer, director, and creative director based in Toronto. Working collaboratively, Howard centres storytelling at the heart of his practice through moving and still images – prioritizing emotion, education, and culture to create work that resonates with wider audiences.
Howard's work has appeared in publications such as Women’s Wear Daily, Forbes, Revolt, CRWN, Ekstasis, Paper & Coin, City Life, Splendor, Vogue Italia, CNN Africa, CBC Life, and Amplify Africa Inc. In 2020, Howard was featured in Love Magazine Buy, Follow, and Commission: 9 Black Photographers You Need To Know Now, and in 2021 was featured by BuzzFeed as one of 27 Black Canadians You Should Be Following On Social Media. Howard has collaborated with brands including Nike, Adidas, Roots, Joe Fresh, Appleton Estate, among others; and has collaborated with a number of artists, writers, and musicians such as, Melanie Fiona, Jully Black, Stephan James, Kardinal Official, and Andre De Grasse. In addition to his work, Howard facilitates creative workshops for institutions. He has worked with Ryerson University, Lakeshore Arts, Launchpad Toronto, Afripedia, and Truly Inc.