UForChange: Mentoring the Future
SANJEEV WIGNARAJAH
It wasn’t long ago that professional photographer Supendra Chandrakumar, 23, was learning to take pictures.
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It was on a dull, autumn day in 2014 when he and his fellow students went outside to shoot photographs of the Regent Park community. He says that he’d never used a professional camera before.
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“It was kind of cool to go out there and kind of take shots whether it’s doing slow-motion, high aperture, low aperture shots,” Chandrakumar said.
Chandrakumar said it was incredible to take photographs of the city.
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“The feeling to capture an image that showed your love for a city was an unforgettable feeling,” he said. “Toronto means a lot to me. If you look at my Instagram account (@Supendra), you find that the city plays an important part of my life.”
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Chandrakumar values his experience at UforChange. He says that he met humble and down-to-earth people.
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“The program itself was absolutely amazing,” he said. “Trial and error was my main mindset. I learned a lot from UforChange.”
UforChange is a non-profit organization based in Toronto. It was founded in 2006 in the heart of St. James Town near downtown. Julia Girmenia, program manager at UforChange, said that the program serves young people from 16 to 29 and offers four programs: DJ, fashion, film, and photography.
“Youth come in and learn the foundation of that respective art and they’re taught by an industry professional,” Girmenia said.
The organization began 10 years ago as a project in St. James Town where there wasn’t any arts program in the community. The demographic for UForChange was new immigrants and residents of St. James Town. Girmenia says seven years later, the program serves youth from Toronto and the GTA.
Girmenia got involved with UforChange in 2011 when she was applying for internships and made the connection through a friend.
“She told me that this guy worked for this arts program and they need someone to do their social media and from there I started helping out with their events,” she said.
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PHOTOS BY: SANJEEV WIGNARAJAH
Photo Courtesy: Supendra Chandrakumar
Photo Courtesy: Supendra Chandrakumar
Chandrakumar has been part of the UforChange photography program for two years. He said he discovered the organization through a blog post on 1LoveTO about two individuals who were in the program and talked about sharing their experience.
“You get to meet people that have the same interests as you. Moreover, you can build your skills for free and on top of that it’s not a hassle to go into the programs,” he said.
Through the photography program at UforChange, students learn the foundations of photography from camera work to flash. The classes run through a series of cycles from September to April. In May, the students will showcase their work and graduate the program.
Students also learn how to brand themselves as artists through a workshop called Workshops in the 6ix. It offers courses in writing and the business of arts.
Michael Kim, a Toronto-based photographer and visual artist, teaches young people photography at UforChange. He says young students view photography as self-expression.
“They are learning to see every day mundane things differently,” Kim said. “I can guarantee that they will be able to look back in eight months and see how much they have improved. As well, their way of seeing the city will be different.”
Girmenia says Toronto’s photography scene is growing in popularity and gives credit to Instagram.
“Photography is becoming more accessible and I think a lot of people are just starting off with mobile photography to pique their interest,” she said.
Chandrakumar started out in photography four years ago when he was shooting cityscapes with his iPhone while he was working in downtown.
“It could be at Nathan Phillips Square. There’s tons of stuff to shoot. You could be at Union Station,” he said. “We’re just in that era where everyone wants to own a DSLR or even their phone to go shoot and upload it to their social media outlets and have people look at their photos.”
Since then, Chandrakumar has done wedding and event photography and is working on a project called #lovemycity, where he travels the world and promotes the city by bringing Toronto sports gear for people to put on and pose for pictures.
Girmenia says young people benefit from the program, not only by learning new skills but by having a support system with a mentor.
“They’re going through the program and being surrounded by people who are interested in the arts and that want to work on the same things they do and you have a mentor to ask questions when people are getting interested in something,” she said.
This past May, UforChange supported an arts showcase called The Broke Gallery that is run by UforChange alumni. It took place at Artscape Youngplace, a community cultural hub located near Shaw Street and Queen Street West. Chandrakumar said he missed the deadline to submit his work for the gallery because he was in India.