#fac2017

[mehdielkorchi]

#fac2017 #hamburg #gang ##jungvonmatt #agencylife #sonsofjeanremy #blackandwhite#agenturensohn #fac #agency#advertising #jvm #advertisinglife#creativeagency #sonsofanarchy danke @_.t0b1 😎

[derandre]

Co #shoefie mit @amin.a.bdallah. #FAC2017 #FACdeinesLebens #yellowsuperstarsontour #thisisscholzandfriends #hanseleben (hier: Port of Hamburg)

[chlysbolt-hole]

Hi lovies! 😘😘😘 #fac2017 (at Meeting Hall Of The Church In Malabon)

[chlysbolt-hole]

👯👯 #fac2017

[chlysbolt-hole]

👯👯 #fac2017

[hyeinpain]

Super excited for Tiffany Hsiang's film, Apology at 7pm. I'm nervous to be at the panel after the screening. Join us at OCADU. #FAC2017 (at OCAD University)

[hyeinpain]

Feminist Art Conference opening is tonight at OCADU! I'll be speaking at a panel tomorrow 7pm, for free film screening. #FAC2017 #Art (at Hyein Lee Studio)

[factoronto]

MEET THE ARTISTS FAC 2017: LANA MISSEN

Born and raised in Cobourg, Ontario, Lana Missen is a Toronto-based visual artist working with photography to explore themes of the body, identity and female representation. Through portraiture, she aims to create visibility and a space to share her own and others’ stories to a wider audience. A strong believer in the importance of collaboration and community, Missen’s practice is based on engaging with individuals and her viewers.

In May 2016, she was one of the selected artists for the Feminist Art Conference Residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point. Her body of work “That F Word” was shown at OCAD University’s 100th Graduate Exhibition in Spring 2015, and was part of Toronto’s ‘Contact’ photo festival that May. Her first solo show of “That F Word” was held at OISE through partnership with WIA projects in June 2015. Missen has also displayed works in the juried CLIC Eastern Ontario Photo Show, where she won first place in 2012. She was part of the “Aperture” show at Moniker Gallery in downtown Toronto in 2014. She has an interest in art education and, outside of her fine art practice, Lana enjoys documenting performances of live theatre, dancers, and musicians. 

Lana Missen graduated in 2015 from OCAD University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction in Photography, and a minor in English. She returns to school for 2016/17 to pursue a post-graduate certificate in Arts Administration and Cultural Management at Humber College.

at the intersection (2016)

Your video piece at the intersection (2016) is a collaborative project created by yourself and the other artists who participated at the Feminist Art Conference Residency this past May, at Artscape Gibraltar Point in Toronto. It features 17 feminist artists present at the residency—ranging in age, backgrounds and disciplines—and acts as an intersection between every artist's sharing of their story of feminism. Your film does something crucial, which is to create a dialogue between different individual's conception of feminism. How do you reflect on the work now? What do you hope viewers take away from seeing the piece?

Participating in the Feminist Art Conference Residency this past May was an opportunity to have these dialogues around feminism in a more organic way. We all knew we identified with the term in some capacity, but it was exploring each other’s stories over walks, or cups of coffee, or dinner, or even in studio drop-ins, that I wanted to be able to capture some of these ideas, beliefs, and concepts at that moment in time. 

Reflecting on the work is twofold—there’s a personal element to it, but also a much larger context. These were artists that I had the privilege to make art and create community with, who were kind and willing to collaborate with me on this film. So personally, this work captures almost everyone who was there and working together, and a bit of what we learned and discussed from spending time on the island. At the same time, it situates different voices, with varying opinions in some cases, and a multitude of experiences, all existing at the same time and place. It acts a bit as a time capsule for what conversations were taking place in 2016, in Toronto, with feminists from varying disciplines and backgrounds. I hope viewers can take away that feminism is a multitude, that there are similarities and differences amongst all of our identities to the word. Ideally, a viewer at least leaves thinking about something new that they hadn’t considered before.

How do you view the current state of feminism and the dialogue that surrounds it—specifically in the context of Toronto, Canada? What's something you wish would change in this conversation? 

Personally, I view the current state of feminism to be this amorphous movement. I’m okay with that at the moment. There is still negativity and stigma towards being a feminist, and feminism; there probably always will be with it being a movement for equality. Living in the city, I have found less push back or lack of understanding than in smaller towns I have frequented, and it is refreshing. There are also more communities that are willing to advertise as feminist, so it is not as hard to find dialogues to join, either. The Internet is a double-edged sword for this—it helps make connections and fosters the sharing of ideas, but it also has a lot of trolls and people who feel that feminism is what they see on a meme.

I wish I could change the conversation so that individuals who view feminism as an oppressive movement would be able to consider it as not man-hating or women-shaming, but this all-inclusive radical idea that we should all have equal rights and opportunities, regardless of gender. Even if you can open one person’s mind just a tiny bit more than before, that’s progress. But it means having those difficult dialogues with people you perhaps would not normally invite into your circle.

Are there any upcoming projects we can look forward to seeing from you? 

I am currently enrolled at Humber College for their postgraduate program in Arts Administration and Cultural Management, but I am in the process of working through concepts for a couple different projects. The best way to stay up-to-date is through my website or facebook page.

You can find me at:

Website: www.uniquelystrange.com 

Facebook: Uniquely Strange Photography

Twitter: @uniquelyLANA

Instagram: @uniquelylana

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Interview and edits by Valérie Frappier, FAC Blogger