Our Stories, Our Images, Our Futures presents more than 120 remarkable photographs made by youth in Tajikistan (Dushanbe & Khorog), Kyrgyzstan (Osh), India (Hyderabad), and Canada (Toronto). Since 2014, twenty youth (10 boys and 10 girls) from urban and rural backgrounds in each country have acquired technical proficiency with cameras and editing, aesthetic sensibilities and story-telling skills. More than just an exhibit of photographs, this exhibition shows how putting a camera into a young person’s hands gives them a voice and transforms their outlook on life.

Curated by Zulfikar Hirji (York University) and Fredric Roberts (The Fredric Roberts Photography Workshops) in collaboration with Britt Salvesen (Los Angeles County Museum of Arts) and Arthur Ollman (Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography), the exhibition is the outcome of a unique collaboration between the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and The Fredric Roberts Photography Workshops. The exhibition is supported by the Aga Khan Council for Canada, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Museum and The Fredric Roberts Photography Workshops.

Visit the exhibition at the Ismaili Centre, Toronto from April 30 to May 31, 2016 during the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. The exhibition is also part of 21st Century Renaissance — the Ismaili Centre Toronto’s year-long, curated program of lectures, symposia, films, roundtables, exhibitions, performances, workshops and other activities, that explores historical and contemporary engagements between art, science, technology, religion, philosophy and ethics and asks questions about our intensely creative times and the future of humanity in the digital age. For more information on these programs visit: the21st.ca