A major international photo award has just been given to an Edmonton photographer whose work currently graces the walls of the Art Gallery of St. Albert. Amber Bracken took first prize in the World Press Photo competition in the contemporary issues, stories category for a series of her documentary project featuring 10 photos taken at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, the site of a massive protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
She was at the site of the protest for five weeks over the course of three separate trips between September and December as part of her continuing interest in covering indigenous rights issues. The images offer a deeper glimpse into a widely-reported confrontation between the North Dakota Sioux along with their supporters defending waterways and tribal burial grounds against American industrial and business interests who had heavily armed police on their side.
Her work brought people closer to the moment even if they lived far away from it.
"It was beautiful. It was cold. As a landscape, I felt that Albertans would relate to it quite well. I never really felt like I was too far from home actually in North Dakota. There's oil, there's farming, there's prairies ... I mean they have a lot more horses, I suppose. I felt like there were some parallels there. We do have our own issues here too, I just think that they haven't quite reached the scale, the critical mass that Standing Rock has."
She said that the weather, while bitterly cold at times, comprised just a small part of her challenges. Like any freelance reporter on a budget, she had to make it work financially, which meant that she car camped just like so many other protesters there.
"I guess the other major challenge would be making sure that I was listening to what the story was rather than trying to come in with my idea of what the story was."
One of the greatest things that she learned was how traditional and spiritual the people of the Standing Rock tribe were.
"At Standing Rock, pretty much everything is prayer. They wake up in the morning and there's ceremonies, smudging, prayers throughout the day. There's prayers before the marches, during the marches, after the marches. Even the smaller things like the act of preparing food for somebody is considered a form of ceremony. There's a definite grounding in intention. That serves very much to keep people on message and on point in terms of what they were trying to accomplish there. It created unity."
This is not the first time that she has entered the World Press Photo competition but this is the first time on the golden dais.
"I've never come close. It's amazing to get that kind of recognition among that many of your colleagues and that level of work. You can't understate it. It's really incredible. At the same time, it feels a little bit like winning the lottery just because there's so many people and there's just such a big pool of talent out there in the world right now. I feel like it's made my voice louder."
The 60th World Press Photo Contest received more than 80,000 images made by more than 5,000 photographers from 125 different countries. Visit www.worldpressphoto.org to view the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize winners for both single photos and photo stories in nine categories.
While you're at it, you could stop by the Art Gallery of St. Albert to see her photographic contributions to Creative Endeavours, an exhibit featuring the paintings, pottery and other works of octogenarian couple Gene and J. Marg Brenda. Bracken's photographs of the couple in their art-filled home also grace the gallery's walls. It's on display until April 8.
Canadiana-rama this weekend for AGSA
If you like art and fun plus music in the same place then the Art Gallery of St. Albert has just the thing. Canadiana-rama is its annual fundraiser with equal heavy emphases on the 'fun' and on the 'Canadian'. Think of maple syrup and Canadian salmon and bison, live Canadian music classics, Big Rock beer, and hands-dirty Canuck-themed art activities
There will also be a silent auction and to keep the culturally aware masses entertained.
Entrance is $30 with packages of six tokens also $30. The event runs on Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. at St. Albert Place.
Call the gallery at 780-460-4310 or visit www.artgalleryofstalbert.ca.
