At San Pedro House of Culture

The San Pedro House of Culture is featuring a new month-long exhibition called "The Golden Years ". The exhibit opened on the night of Thursday, March 26th, and features the work of Canadian born international photographer Karen Brodie, who relocated to the island 18 months ago. For the past 16 months, Brodie has filmed over 90 senior residents as part of her first of a series of exhibits being planned.

According to Brodie, she always tries to get a story behind each person photographed and has spent countless hours with the elders in the community. "I was looking for our elders to be featured. The reception was amazing and for the most part, people were opened to the idea. I wanted us to really acknowledge our elders. I think that as people begin to age, we tend to stop taking pictures of them and I think it's really important to have a history of people of their age and have their experience and advice shared to the next generation."

Brodie's black and white photographs feature elders in environmental portraits taken in their homes as well as during a photo session at the 2014 Lions Senior Citizen Christmas Dinner. The free exhibition continues at the San Pedro House of Culture (Saca Chispas) through April 30th and is opened to the general public during normal working hours. Besides the pictures on display, small copies are available for a minimal contribution of $5.00 which will go towards the House of Culture.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see many awesome photos in the San Pedro Sun

Comment...
Karen Brodie and Mito Paz took time to visit each and every single golden member that has made San Pedro the community that it is today. As I walked through the exhibit I couldn't pin point how I felt exactly, then I saw my grandfather's face and many other grand fathers and it hit me - I was honored. Thank you for honoring the people that made it happen for San Pedro. The fishermen. The teachers. The fathers. The mothers. The golden members of this island. Thank you Karen.


The Story of the Golden Years Project and Zaman's perspective

My time in San Pedro is coming close to a year, during these months, I run, I study, and sometimes I mingle. The photographs adorning the walls of San Pedro's hall of Culture whisper the stories of the island; the past generation, what this island once was. House of culture, what a perfect venue to celebrate the people who ARE San Pedro.

Ms Brodie, didn't just take pictures, she captured emotions, captured lives, captured the time that is and was. What a humbling experience to stand in front of a man who celebrates his own youth: "The key to looking young is to have a young girl on each arm" - Efrain Guerrero, "The owl comes no more." What a humbling experience to stand in front of a man who spent his life fishing, what a humbling experience to see the same man I once ran past on a daily basis -the man who Sweeps the sidewalk in front of Grand Bayman- and feel the sorrow that I've never once spoken to him. [Interesting how the man that made Zaman feel sorrow made me happy as we often exchange pleasant greetings]

Zaman Khan

Click here to read the rest of the article and see LOTS more photos on Tacogirl's blog!