What happens when we look at images together? Do we all see the same thing? How can the meaning of an image shift when we hear other points of view?
Images can mean different things to different people. The way we understand them can change depending on our experiences, the details we notice, and the conversations we have with others. We will explore who shapes what an image is ‘supposed’ to mean and how those intentions can shift, change, or even be challenged by the people who view and interpret it. Looking at images as a group opens up space to share ideas, hear new perspectives, and discover details we might not have seen on our own.
In this program, participants will explore photographs in Gallery 44’s exhibition space and take part in a relaxed group conversation about what they see. Two facilitators, Sai Bagni and Miranda McKee, will guide the discussion, but there are no right or wrong answers—just curiosity, observation, and sharing different viewpoints.
Sai Bagni is a visual artist and photographer who lives and works in so-called Toronto, Ontario and so-called Montreal, Quebec. Interested in notions of images as vessels for history-keeping, Sai is interested in photography as a means of subjectively interpreting the world rather than for objective documentation. Their work investigates themes relating to the internet, the queer body, banal environments, and collective memory. They hold a BFA in Photography Media Arts at TMU's School of Image Arts.
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As a researcher, educator and curator, Miranda McKee has spent over a decade developing exhibitions and public programs that create space for meaningful discourse and community building. Her research examines the role photography plays in shaping public knowledge, with a particular focus on how images are used to empower or mislead the public. Miranda holds an HBA from the University of Toronto Scarborough and an MEd from Lakehead University. She is a PhD candidate in the Communication and Culture joint program at York and Toronto Metropolitan Universities.
