Photography Exhibition and Reception – Parliament Hill – Ottawa

Below is the official information for the one time event of the Cape Farewell Photography images being hosted on Parliament hill in an event for the Cape Farewell Voyagers. Unfortunately I won’t be in attendance, but my father and grandmother will be. Also, best of luck to Jennifer Thompson who has the wonderful opportunity to speak to the leaders of Canada from a youth perspective about the climate crisis.

The Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P. Speaker of the House of Commons Canada in collaboration with The British Council is hosting a photography exhibition and reception in honour of the Cape Farewell Arctic Youth Expedition 2008 participants
and the 2008-2009 International Climate Champions.

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Room 216-N, Centre Block
Parliament Hill

L’honorable Peter Milliken, député Président de la Chambre des communes
en collaboration avec le « British Council » tenir une exposition photographique et réception en l`honneur des participants du « Cape Farewell Arctic Youth Expedition 2008 » et les Champions Internationaux du Climat 2008-2009

le mardi 26 mai 2009
17h à 19h
Pièce 216-N, édifice du Centre
Colline du Parlement

On assignment for National Geographic Traveler

A couple of images from my recent assignment for National Geographic Traveler – the Netherlands Editie.

I just got back from a trip in the Austrian Alps with a writer to create a story for the magazine about a specific region. Up before the crack of dawn, we were running all day then downloading and backing up long after the sunset. But that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have fun in the mean time. More to come when the story is published. (Images by Hein van Beek)

Z Magazine – Capitol Coal Action – the story behind the photographs

Below is an extract from a magazine article that Joshua Kahn Russell wrote on the Capitol Coal Action in Washington in March. Joshua is a good friend of mine and when he requested some of my images for the article and I was happy to provide them.

‘On March 2, 2009 around 4,000 people came to the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, DC, with over 2,000 risking arrest through civil disobedience. The vast majority had never been to a demonstration before, let alone engaged in non-violent direct action. People from communities most directly impacted by coal’s lifecycle—from Navajo reservations in the Southwest to Appalachian towns in the Southeast—led the march. With multicolored flags depicting windmills, people planting gardens, waves crashing, and captions like “community,” “security,” “change,” and “power,” we blockaded five entrances to the power plant that fuels Congress (the belching smokestacks just two blocks from the Capitol building made a fitting national target). We called the whole thing the Capitol Climate Action (CCA).’

Read more here

Canada House Photography Show – London

My most recent email today read…

Your great photos are now on display at Canada House, Robert. We are delighted to have them.

All best
Brendan

High Commission of Canada/Haut-commissariat du Canada
Head, Public Programmes/Chef, Programmes publics
Political Affairs & Public Diplomacy Division/Direction des Affaires politiques et de la Diplomatie ouverte
Canada House/Maison du Canada
Trafalgar Square
London/Londres

So yes, the images from the Cape Farewell Voyage are on display in Trafalgar Square in London at the Canada House. They are a part of the Nunavut exhibition so if you are in London, stop on by.

Cape Farewell in Prince Edward Island – News Release

Cape Farewell Youth Expedition Photography Exhibition at Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island

Charlottetown (April 15, 2009) – The Legislative Assembly of Charlottetown is hosting an exhibition of photographs taken during the British Council-organized Cape Farewell Youth Expedition 2008. Last fall Prince Edward Island high school student Sean White joined an international group of students who journeyed to the Arctic on a youth expedition that raised awareness of climate change in Canada and abroad.

The Cape Farewell Youth Expedition was an inspirational international project that brought together top scientists, artists, educators and high school students from around the world and from each Canadian province and territory on an Arctic voyage of discovery.

The voyagers sailed from Reykjavik, Iceland, skirted the southern tip of Greenland and ended in Iqaluit on Baffin Island. Students studied climatology, oceanography, geomorphology and biogeography. Their art projects included film, photography, fine arts, performing arts and writing. Throughout the voyage, P.E.I. photographer Robert vanWaarden documented the voyage and produced a collection of breathtaking images.

The exhibition will be officially launched on Earth Day, Wednesday April 22 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm during a reception, with remarks from the Honourable Richard Brown (Minister of Environment, Energy & Forestry) and Cape Farewell voyager Sean White.

The exhibition will be on display in the Legislative Library, on the ground floor of the Coles Building from Monday April 20 through to Friday May 15, and will be available for public viewing on weekdays from 8:30am to 5:00pm.

Climate Camp in the City – G20

The mainstream media imagery that emerged this morning in London, England was largely focused on the violent demonstrations, graffiti and the broken windows at the Bank of Scotland. It seems that while holding to the mantra that destruction and violence sells papers, they missed the non-violent civil disobedience images of Climate Camp in the City.

Workshops, music, games and free vegan food were the order of the day outside the European Climate Exchange on Bishopsgate in London. Campers were spotted reading papers outside their tents, growing flowers, gardening bus stops and cooking meals. The camp was complete with a free vegan kitchen and composting toilets.

Despite the non-violent actions of all the campers, the police tactics changed abruptly after dark as they kettled the camp. (Kettling is a controversial police tactic to encircle the protest and not let anyone out or in, including families and children). After 3+ hours of kettling, those campers that were caught and wished to return home were allowed to go free. Several hundred chose to stay and were forcefully and violently evicted by the police early in the morning. Despite the police actions, the campers maintained a spirit of satyagraha until the end.

Cape Farewell visits Regina and Yellowknife

The Cape Farewell Photography Exhibit is heading to Yellowknife and Regina. See excerpts from the press releases below.

Yellowknife (March 6, 2009) – The Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories is hosting an exhibition of photographs taken during the British Council-organized Cape Farewell Youth Expedition 2008. Last fall Northwest Territories high school student George Bailey joined an international group of students who journeyed to the Arctic on a youth expedition that raised awareness of climate change in Canada and abroad.

The photographs will be on display in the Great Hall at the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly from March 6 to 13, and available for public viewing on weekdays from 8:00am to 9:00pm and weekends 8:00am to 7:00pm.

and

Regina (March 2, 2009) – The Saskatchewan Legislative Building is hosting an exhibition of photographs taken during the British Council-organized Cape Farewell Youth Expedition 2008. Last fall Saskatchewan high school student Nicholas Redman joined an international group of students who journeyed to the Arctic on a youth expedition that raised awareness of climate change in Canada and abroad.

A selection of the photographs will be on display in the Cumberland Gallery at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building from March 9-31, and will be available for public viewing on weekdays from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Saturdays 10am – 4:00pm and Sundays 12pm – 4:00pm through the Prince of Wales entrance.

If you are in town, check them out.