About Eyedea Photo
Promoting Visual Literacy through Photography and Multimedia
About Eyedea Photo
Eyedea Photo is an online platform and visual identity that aims to:
1) Foster visual literacy
2) Advocate for social justice through photography and visual storytelling
3) Reveal alternate perspectives and realities
1) Foster visual literacy
2) Advocate for social justice through photography and visual storytelling
3) Reveal alternate perspectives and realities
Eyedea Photo was created in 2007 by Parker Mah, as a means of promoting visual literacy and unheard voices in a world increasingly inundated with visual content devoid of context or substance. It soon evolved into a space to spotlight photography and visual work underrepresented in mainstream media, with an emphasis on social justice-oriented, issue-based stories that challenge traditional narratives and hierarchies. For more than 10 years, Eyedea Photo has facilitated or participated in dozens of participative projects promoting visual storytelling as a tool for social change, often in collaboration with marginalized populations, through workshops, skill-sharing and community-building activities, as well as traditional exhibitions and publications.
About Parker Mah
Parker Mah was born in Vancouver in the year of the Rooster.
His diverse body of work tackles themes and realities of migration, transformation and identity. Photographer, multimedia artist and cultural educator, his creative focus centers around the hybridization of cultures, and the intersection of spaces – urban/natural, visible/invisible, collective/individual. His multidisciplinary approach draws inspiration from practices of jazz improvisation, oral history and social justice. His involvement with members of the Camissa Collective, a group of artists and activists in Cape Town who sought to catalyze social transformation for marginalized communities through photography, allowed him to explore the possibilities of more participatory aspects of the craft of visual storytelling. Later, in Dhaka, he was mentored by the great Mahmud Rahman of the MAP photo agency in practices of photojournalism. In Montreal, through his continuing involvement with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, and CKUT Radio, he began to explore different experimental and collaborative storytelling vehicles. The hybridization of these experiences forms the basis of a creative style which lives in the shared space between documentary and art. In 2007, he created Eyedea Photo, a platform promoting participative visual art as a tool for social change, especially among marginalized populations, through workshops and community-building activities. He is also an active musician and DJ, with over 15 years of experience performing both at home at abroad. He is currently based in Montreal.
His diverse body of work tackles themes and realities of migration, transformation and identity. Photographer, multimedia artist and cultural educator, his creative focus centers around the hybridization of cultures, and the intersection of spaces – urban/natural, visible/invisible, collective/individual. His multidisciplinary approach draws inspiration from practices of jazz improvisation, oral history and social justice. His involvement with members of the Camissa Collective, a group of artists and activists in Cape Town who sought to catalyze social transformation for marginalized communities through photography, allowed him to explore the possibilities of more participatory aspects of the craft of visual storytelling. Later, in Dhaka, he was mentored by the great Mahmud Rahman of the MAP photo agency in practices of photojournalism. In Montreal, through his continuing involvement with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, and CKUT Radio, he began to explore different experimental and collaborative storytelling vehicles. The hybridization of these experiences forms the basis of a creative style which lives in the shared space between documentary and art. In 2007, he created Eyedea Photo, a platform promoting participative visual art as a tool for social change, especially among marginalized populations, through workshops and community-building activities. He is also an active musician and DJ, with over 15 years of experience performing both at home at abroad. He is currently based in Montreal.